Trade careers winning; are our kids hosed?

[Anonymous]

Artificial Intelligence, robots, self driving electric cars are going to have huge impacts.

Schools and colleges are preparing kids for a world that, to a great extent, will no longer exist in 10 years.

White collar jobs including law and medicine will be heavily impacted. Government, too.

Some blue collars jobs will be unaffected, but many others can be be done by subsequent versions of Optimus Prime.

[Anonymous]

Schools and colleges are preparing kids for a world that, to a great extent, will no longer exist in 10 years.

Not really. College isn't a trade school (certain graduate disciplines aside, like medicine and law). There will always be benefits to being an "educated person," with knowledge of art, music, literature, science, mathematics, etc. That is why colleges require that students take a wide variety of courses, regardless of their intended major subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Schools and colleges are preparing kids for a world that, to a great extent, will no longer exist in 10 years.

Not really. College isn't a trade school (certain graduate disciplines aside, like medicine and law). There will always be benefits to being an "educated person," with knowledge of art, music, literature, science, mathematics, etc. That is why colleges require that students take a wide variety of courses, regardless of their intended major subject.

Me when I’m delulu

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll quote Mr Crawford, from European History during my lower year:

“I better never catch you disparaging someone with a trade job. There’s a good chance the guy down the street who owns his own plumbing business made more than you will straight out of college.”

So while you’re wringing your hands over the notion that your prep school kid might — shock! — end up with a trade job, the good teachers at those same schools are telling your kid to stop being an arrogant prick.

I guess you aren’t paying attention. PE is gobbling up all these industries, so there wont be any plumbing business owners, just stuck as low paid techs digging through literal cr@p.

+1. And this constant stream of articles and commentary pitching trades as the end all, be all and the savior for our kids will simply leave them oversaturated.

I don't know if oversaturated is the word, but the anxiety about pursuing trades is just the newest fad, following the anxiety about coding. People feel like they have to find "the key" and optimize for it, instead of raising thoughtful, well-educated kids who can turn their hand to a lot of different things as the world changes around them.

When I was 20 I had never even thought about the job I have now in my 40s. The job I got right out of grad school doesn't exist anymore, but I'm still using the skills I learned there. Probably the most impactful class I ever took, K through grad school, was APUSH. The kids will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Well said, PP. The key is being comfortable with adapting, more learning, and being able to teach yourself new skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All this rat race and kids like ours will struggle getting jobs.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/01/31/labor-market-gap-trade-workers-white-collar/

How are you this dumb?

[Anonymous]

There’s been a national shortage of non-computer based jobs for years.

I think it’s wonderful that trades will (hopefully) have a renaissance due to AI and the ability to command higher incomes.

Already, many Gen Z and Millennials are electively leaving 9-5s for the flexibility that being independent (albeit largely still computer based) work allows to be more present parents, spouses, and polymaths pursuing passion interests and taking care of themselves.

Hoping nursing, teaching, and other roles - including mental health professionals - will too.

AI mostly scares me, but this will be a silver lining. This will be a difficult transition for the next 10 years, for sure, but we and our kids will adapt.

[Anonymous]

PP here, this was supposed to say:

Hoping nursing, teaching, and other roles - including mental health professionals - also have a renaissance, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids like ours can still get trade jobs if they want.

New level of cluelessness unlocked. Congrats.

Sounds like you are clueless. Be prepared to support your child through its senior years. You enabled their degree in a field with limited prospects. And you are the one with the inflated opinion of your kids being to good to be a carpenter, mechanic, HVAC tech. Bet you can't or even ever taught your DC to change a tire.

The only reason there are limited prospects is because this administration is killing off all sorts of white collar industries while also alienating our allies from hiring Americans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s been a national shortage of non-computer based jobs for years.

I think it’s wonderful that trades will (hopefully) have a renaissance due to AI and the ability to command higher incomes.

Already, many Gen Z and Millennials are electively leaving 9-5s for the flexibility that being independent (albeit largely still computer based) work allows to be more present parents, spouses, and polymaths pursuing passion interests and taking care of themselves.

Hoping nursing, teaching, and other roles - including mental health professionals - will too.

AI mostly scares me, but this will be a silver lining. This will be a difficult transition for the next 10 years, for sure, but we and our kids will adapt.

None of these pay enough to be able to afford housing, health insurance, food etc.