Anonymous wrote:Honestly? Outwardly I be okay with it (to them) but I work for Disability and know how easy it is to get a life altering (or at least job altering) injury working in a trade. So that part would worry me. So as soon as they started working I would ensure they have disability I surface and a set up for retirement since most trades are unlikely to have a 401k account.

There are hundreds of trades or crafts. Professional dance is considered a trade. I’d hope they found one that’s not tough on the body.

I think some people probably have mixed feelings depending on the type of trade school. I get the concerns about the physical toll on people's bodies and job stability but I love the idea of people finding what they want to do and not being locked in to a particular path.

Congrats OP, your teen has a passion and a practical goal with respect to a job. This significantly decreases the odds that they will be living in your basement into their late 20's and 30's after spending a lot of money getting a fascinating but highly impractical degree.

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Anonymous wrote:Honestly? Outwardly I be okay with it (to them) but I work for Disability and know how easy it is to get a life altering (or at least job altering) injury working in a trade. So that part would worry me. So as soon as they started working I would ensure they have disability I surface and a set up for retirement since most trades are unlikely to have a 401k account.

There are a lot of trades openings in city and county governments as well as unions, which provide excellent benefits for trades people. my dad and brother both work moderately physical trade jobs and have really nice lives

Another thing to consider is retirement. People can work in office jobs much longer. Trade workers tend to leave the workforce earlier due to either disability or just not able to keep up with the physical demands of the job.

Anonymous wrote:Lots of trade schools are harder than people think.

This. I would be supportive if my kids wanted to pursue a trade. I have a lot of electricians in my family who are happy and make a good living. It's not easy to complete electrical apprenticeship.

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Anonymous wrote:Honestly? Outwardly I be okay with it (to them) but I work for Disability and know how easy it is to get a life altering (or at least job altering) injury working in a trade. So that part would worry me. So as soon as they started working I would ensure they have disability I surface and a set up for retirement since most trades are unlikely to have a 401k account.

There are a lot of trades openings in city and county governments as well as unions, which provide excellent benefits for trades people. my dad and brother both work moderately physical trade jobs and have really nice lives

And a lot don't. It all comes down to where you live. My father-in-law lives in TX and still works as an electrician at 75 because he has barely any retirement and there was no union support there and he is struggling to do the job now at his age. I am not saying that golden trades with excellent benefits don't exist, but we deal with hundreds of thousands of disability cases a year and it's not office jobs.

Trades are skilled jobs.
They’re not necessarily easier than many office jobs. It’s a different skill set. One of my kids will likely go into a trade as he doesn’t want to sit in an office all day. He’ll probably have a creative job.
Not sure about the other one yet, he could go either way.

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? Outwardly I be okay with it (to them) but I work for Disability and know how easy it is to get a life altering (or at least job altering) injury working in a trade. So that part would worry me. So as soon as they started working I would ensure they have disability I surface and a set up for retirement since most trades are unlikely to have a 401k account.

There are a lot of trades openings in city and county governments as well as unions, which provide excellent benefits for trades people. my dad and brother both work moderately physical trade jobs and have really nice lives

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Anonymous wrote:Probably depends on the trade. A concern would be the physical toll some trades can take on the body and the potential for injury.

My uncle did flooring. He made good money, but his body did take a beating. I guess the same could be said for sitting in an office all day? That doesn’t do your body any favors either.

My uncle laid carpet. There's no comparison between the toll that took on his body and his brother and sister, both of whom had office jobs.

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?

We have a friend's daughter who is gradating from welding school. The school encouraged her to do additional training for very detailed welding. We are excited for the daughter to graduate and begin her trade.

Anonymous wrote:Depends on which kid. A trade would not suit one of my kids. Another one of my kids is very interested in food and we would support culinary school, but would also want them to get a degree in business management to complement, whether through community college, online, night school etc.

The us would do well if it emulated countries such as France or Poland, which celebrates trades and encourages kids to consider them while in secondary school.

The US, in fact, does this.

Anonymous wrote:Honestly? Outwardly I be okay with it (to them) but I work for Disability and know how easy it is to get a life altering (or at least job altering) injury working in a trade. So that part would worry me. So as soon as they started working I would ensure they have disability I surface and a set up for retirement since most trades are unlikely to have a 401k account.

Oh and I know folks have mentioned that office jobs are hard on the body too, but let me see it is VERY rare a person with a history of office work comes across my desk. In fact, the last one I had was due to a TBI from a car accident. You can be significantly injured or disabled and still work at a desk job. The same can't be said for jobs where you are active on your feet or lifting heavy objects. Again, not saying that this means no one should go into a trade, just that one should have the insurance to support them if something goes wrong.

Honestly? Outwardly I be okay with it (to them) but I work for Disability and know how easy it is to get a life altering (or at least job altering) injury working in a trade. So that part would worry me. So as soon as they started working I would ensure they have disability I surface and a set up for retirement since most trades are unlikely to have a 401k account.

Anonymous wrote:That's amazing, OP, and thank you for being supportive! One of my children is likely to get an associate's degree, leaning towards something like med tech, but I would encourage her to go into a trade if she wanted that. There's so much demand for tradespeople, it's a lucrative career and if you're good, you'll always have a job.

Med tech is a trades job. So are many high paying jobs. You can get a Vets Assistant assoc degree and apply those credits to vet school if you decided you loved it. Same with occupational assistant, PE assistant, computer programming, dozens of 1 or 2 year programs that lead to other things.

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

And wealthy people will therefore pay a premium for someone like OP's daughter.