re: America needs carpenters and plumbers. Gen Z doesn't seem interested

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I tell every high schooler I talk to that if they don't know what they want to do, consider going to trade school, become an apprentice and work your butt off...the master electrician will have to leave their company to someone...

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I didn’t know what I wanted to do for about 7-8 years after high school. fricked around, went to school here and there, never got a degree mainly because I didn’t know what I wanted to do and couldn’t stay motivated to keep going. Worked a job that I liked but definitely wouldn’t consider a real career path. I’m 29 now and am doing something that I actually want to and can make a career out of but damn if I don’t wish I’d have had someone impart that advice to me from an early age.

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not really

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3% is the same as 29%?

you finally caught it

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Again, you can't "set" your price. The reality is that the job is not that technical any longer. Anyone who can climb a ladder and does not need a reminder to breath is capable of doing 95% of the work any trade requires...technology has made the work incredibly simple. Troubleshooting used to be where the skill came in...today it mainly consists of pushing a button and replacing the aged component which is plug and play.

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You have no clue. I have very advanced troubleshooting and diagnostic equipment and in many cases it still takes research and a good bit of skill to properly nail down a particular problem. Technology doesn't solve as many problems as it creates and advances in tools aides productivity and capability but doesn't substitute for experience and skill in using those tools.

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He had the correct pct, just not the correct context.

You'll catch on.

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I caught on immediately.

It took you a few minutes

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Unskilled labor always costs more in the long run, after they screw it up and you have to hire someone with skills to fix it.

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Yep.

I have a friend that was a painter. Small business with him and one or two other workers. He did really good work. Knew his stuff and was meticulous yet efficient. Got a good bit of work fixing the frickups of the contractors that used an army of illegals to slap paint on. Spent a lot of time removing paint splatters on surfaces.

Mexicans aren’t known for their “quality of work.” They’re just cheap and fast.

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Mexicans aren’t known for their “quality of work.” They’re just cheap and fast.

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If you have shitty specs you'll get shitty work. I am not convinced anymore that Americans, even "skilled" provide better quality for basic carpentry.

Finish carpentry, I agree.

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You will believe anything for a false sense of "superiority."

I see clairvoyance is one of your pretend specialties too.

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goddamn man

you literally said "not really" and then edited your post to fix it when you realized you read it wrong

its ok, you at least edited when you realized you read it wrong

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As a house owner I wish I had learned carpenter at some point in my life.

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My Dad was a carpenter. I wish I paid more attention all those times he tried to teach me when I was a teenager. But being a dumb teenager, I thought it was too boring.

I'm better at carpentry than most simply from being around it my whole life, but I'll never be as skilled as my Dad.

It's also partially his fault though, as he made sure that none us would follow his path as anymore than a hobby.

Which I think plays a big part in if there is any "shortage", that father's working in the trades don't want their kids working in the trades. My Dad certainly didn't. And neither does my BIL that owns his own electrical business.

You’d have to be pretty slow to believe that 1/4 25-35 year olds live at home and don’t work/aren’t in school, even for a second

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If you can read a tape and do basic math, you can do basic carpentry.

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No shite. It's not a difficult skill set to learn, but I've never received any level of training on how to fix mistakes or dealing with difficult spaces.