How do you feel about your teen going to trade school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disappointed because they can do more than that.

Excuse me? Please explain?

You just want to be judgmental. You don't need me to explain.

You are the one being judgemental because you said I would hope they would do better. You cannot seem to explain your judgment of those who are in the trades as you look down your nose at them.

I hope you tell this to anyone who works on your car, plumbing, hvac, etc…

[Anonymous]

I would think they were very, very smart these types of specialized jobs are in very high demand right now.

[Anonymous]

I had a college friend who dropped out in her 3rd year to go to machinist school. She loved it from the first day and makes really good money. She paid her mom back for the college tuition.

[Anonymous]

Id much rather trades than military.

[Anonymous]

I would be happy that my child is practical about her future and that she will be able to make a good living. I would be thrilled that she will be spared the floundering and entry level, low paying work that many experience post-college.

[Anonymous]

I'd be a little worried about sexual harassment in the building trades and auto repair (I've talked to women in those fields, it's brutal), but I'd rather my kid do that than hairdressing, phlebotomist or day care (all women dominated non-college jobs).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends on their abilities. If they are a top student, high test scores, etc. and can get into a great college, I’d be disappointed.

If they are a mediocre student, I’d fully support trade school.

It isn’t that one path is better than the other, but I would want my child to find a path that suits their abilities and talents. Yes the world needs great plumbers and welders, but it needs great doctors and computer programmers too

What if your kid was so amazing that they could easily do any of those things, but they hate the idea of being a doctor or a computer programmer and they have always just lived plumbing and welding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trades will eventually be replaced by cheap immigrant labor or ai/robots

LOL. Yeah, computer programmers are totally insulated from immigrant labor and AI. And it’s not like there aren’t any immigrant doctors.

[Anonymous]

I encouraged college but DS went into auto mechanics. He did a few years at Toyota, Mercedes and is now at a high performance exotic car shop. However, it is already taking a toll physically a few years in, so he is pursuing IT.

[Anonymous]

I’d support it 1000%. Being their own boss. Tradespeople are becoming increasingly rare. Think about how difficult it is to find a good contractor, plumber, electrician, body shop, etc.

[Anonymous]

My plumber studied econ at Brown and now owns his own plumbing business. I bet he takes home $150k+. I have several friends whose adult children graduated from good private schools and are now in their late 20s and not doing much, not really amounting to anything... I'd *much* rather my child be the plumbing business owner!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on their abilities. If they are a top student, high test scores, etc. and can get into a great college, I’d be disappointed.

If they are a mediocre student, I’d fully support trade school.

It isn’t that one path is better than the other, but I would want my child to find a path that suits their abilities and talents. Yes the world needs great plumbers and welders, but it needs great doctors and computer programmers too

People throw around being a doctor like anyone can do it as long as they have top scores. That’s not true. It takes a certain type of person to become a doctor, a certain personality type. And anyone interested in working with their hands would be bored to death sitting in front a computer.

There are students who want badly to be a doctor and they work hard towards. There are students who want to build things or fix things, that’s where their talents and abilities are even if they were valedictorian.

Welders who work industrial can earn $200,000 after experience. It’s plain snobbery to be upset at your kid having a goal as welder. I’d be happy.

What's interesting to me from this comment- I come from a family of many different kinds of physicians, down to the 5th generation of physicians on my dad's side, also a bunch of academics and lawyers, business ppl is that doctors are the sort of kids who would thrive in trade school- they work with ppl, they are service providers, and most importantly, they have to know how to work with their hands. My dad always said the difference between him (general surgeon) and a mechanic was the body that they worked on. From where I am sitting, this is mostly a class thing and as blue collar workers increasingly were squeezed out of building a good middl class life for themselves, they encouraged their kids to "class jump" to white collar work- since this has caused a huge shortage 2-3 decades later, its a great thing for kids to be able to have that choice but lets not pretend its not class based and you have to be "smarter" kid to be a doctor, it just has more snob appeal. Medicine is a trade, it's just "respectable" to use 19th century parlance. some people arent cut out to do trade work- my husband is a brilliant litigator and routinely drops and breaks things, cant even manage to hammer a nail into plaster without it crumbling, and im not much better- I love to knit but im bad at it. Some ppl dont have the dexterity to fix and build things.

Agree with all of this. Great post. I wish I had gone into the trades myself vs spending years sitting in a soul sucking office. The tradesmen in my family set their own work schedules and have a lot of fulfillment and joy in their daily lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Daughter is forgoing college and enrolling in trade school fall 2025 to be a welder.

We are thrilled and support her 100%.

The world needs more tradespeople.

How would you feel if your teen said no to college and wants to join the trades?

I would support it. But my concern would be about the physical toll some tradespeople endure after decades on the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I encouraged college but DS went into auto mechanics. He did a few years at Toyota, Mercedes and is now at a high performance exotic car shop. However, it is already taking a toll physically a few years in, so he is pursuing IT.

There is a reason that successful trades people seem to be so adamant about their kids going to college. Even if you make a lot of money, there is a physical price you pay

[Anonymous]

President Clinton said every child should go to university.