That’s actually what my nephew did after he stopped long haul trucking but before he started driving construction equipment. He liked driving for a beer distributor - people were always happy to see him.
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Salary is not all there is to life. UPS or FedEx or trades are great if folks like that, but so are jobs like gardener or vet assistant that don’t pay a ton, but might bring a lot of fulfillment and satisfaction as long as you can support yourself.
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Our school system has a vocational campus that trains students in manufacturing fields like mechtronics, programming, CNC machining, and machinists. Students go half time to their normal high school and half time to the vocational campus and graduate with a HS diploma and certification in their chosen field in five years with no debt. At an info session, the head of the program was touting examples of machinists making over $100k a year out of the program.
In other news, we met a 22 year old machinist (I don’t know if he was a grad of our system vocational school) who was earning $60/hour straight time. For a standard 2,080 hour work year, he grosses $124,800; throw in minimal overtime and he is grossing over $150k. This is compensation for a straight hourly worker, not shift manager or operation head. We have a friend who owns a machine shop and his income puts all but a few of my college classmates to shame (and my classmates with similar incomes were serial entrepreneurs or got stock in tech startups early in their careers).
It boggles my mind how some in our society look down on people who did not attend college, including skilled trades and business owners, who are financially far more successful than the vast majority of liberal arts grads. I find it disconcerting that kids out of HS are not entering construction and manufacturing trades because our economy desperately needs them.
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It is true that many trades are hard on the body, and there is risk of injury. In many shops, the older guys are supervisors or running jobs, so the young apprentices are doing the heavy lifting. A common career progression in the trades is apprentice-journeyman-master, which often leads to lighter work like bidding jobs (sales), training, scheduling, operations management, etc.
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The military isn’t for everyone, but it can be a great opportunity, especially if the person scores well on the ASVAB. Very few jobs in the US military actually entail combat, and there are a host of Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) that prepare young people for the civilian job market. A bright kid can enter the Air Force or Navy, get trained in a marketable skill like aircraft maintenance, logistics, communications, etc., and gain some discipline and maturity in the bargain.
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But the damage has often been done by then. My mother-in-law’s partner has owned his own construction firms and done a lot of manual labor for all his life. He’s also had two knees replaced and one hip and has limited range of movement in one shoulder. The docs have pretty much done all they can for the shoulder. He loves his work, though, and still can’t bring himself to retire (obviously just supervising and calling the shots at this point.)
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Of course, remember good paying jobs are typically skilled (although not all skilled work is well paid), and that any skilled work requires learning the skills and becoming proficient in them (whether that means going to college, going to some other school, or doing apprenticeship). The requirement to learn and become proficient in the necessary skills means that the skilled trades have an educational barrier to entry that means that not everyone is able to get into them (even though the education is not generally through a bachelor’s degree granting college).
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Only about a third of young Americans are even eligible for US military service by current recruiting standards.
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Very true, and many people have no idea about this.
Absolutely, which is why skilled trades have apprenticeships where new hires perform coursework in addition to their hands-on fieldwork. As with engineering majors, there is a hierarchy among the trades, with the most skilled (electricians) at the top, and unskilled (construction laborer) at the bottom. Anyone can be a construction laborer or painter, but not everyone will make it through an electrical apprenticeship and pass the state exam.
This may be considered heresy in this forum, but many college students in soft humanities majors (think Eng Lit or anything that ends in “studies”) would have a hard time becoming an electrician, operating engineer, or CNC machine operator.
I think the percentage is lower than 33%. Applicants are disqualified because they 1. don’t have a HS diploma or GED, 2. they have a criminal record, or 3. they are not physically qualified, mainly due to obesity and lack of exercise. The Army has already started lowering standards to meet recruiting goals, and I am sure the other services will follow. The only bright spot is the Marines continue to make their recruiting goals and maintain their standards.
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Why would it be heresy?
Just because someone is skilled in one thing does not necessarily mean that they are able to do something unrelated. A high school English teacher and electrician are not interchangeable when you need someone to teach your kid English or install an electrical panel in your house.
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And so what?
I think the skilled trades are a great choice for the right kid, but let’s not romanticize it either. My nephew is an apprentice plumber and he works hard, back breaking hours in conditions that many wouldn’t enjoy (including in the vats at a hot sauce plant). While he makes decent money it is nowhere near six figures and he is 2 years into it (started right out of HS).
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Wow, I didn’t know this. That’s a low bar IMO.
I bet Sgt. Hulka could whip them into shape. 
Better Sgt. Hulka than Gunnery Sgt. Hartman.
One is a “Big Toe” and the other will put a boot in your ***!
My college athlete son told me he wanted to be a Navy SEAL but he’s automatically disqualified.
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