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Need some advise

W

wasy

Active Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
1,186
Location
Toms River, NJ
I'm looking for some guidance regarding my son. It is apparent that college may not be the right path for my son so we have come to a cross roads. While he ultimately needs to decide whether to continue with Community College or enter the real world I'm curious what you guys think about what is the best trade to learn and how to start off in that trade. I personally think he should consider an apprenticeship with an Electrician. You guys have any thoughts about what you would do? Plumbers, Electricians, HVAC and so on? Is it best to attend a trade school first?

I'd appreciate any and all advise.
 
There are plenty of good "trade" fields but the bigger question is what does your son want to do? He's the one that needs to be making this decision IMO..... not dad. I know you mean well but if he's currently in college he needs to be making life decisions himself.

I sure don't mean for that to come off as you shouldn't be helpful or supportive which I'm sure is what you are trying to do...... but its ultimately his decision at this point in his life.

Electrician
Massonary
Mechanic - aviation
Culinary
Plumbing
refrigeration/air conditioning

I'm sure there are a ton of others. What does he express interest in? I would highly recommend a trade school to "get started".
 
Hey brother,

I'd like to chip in two cents here, being spawned from two parents who thought schooling was the only option for me to be successful..
My parents would accept no less than my education being tought in a school, which for me was agonizing. Eventually I wound up on my own temping for a few years, struggling to make ends meet. Then I finally decided to get my sh*t together and get a career rolling.
Ten years later I'm doing very well as a self taught I.T. guy at a local municipality. I'm extremely proud of my success, and the fact that I earned it all through my own motivation and skill, as opposed to being shown 'how to do' the things I do.

I find there's many advantages to this style of learning, my skillset is more broad, and I'm always curious / open minded. This path in life has worked well for me, and I wouldn't have gotten as far (IMHO) if I hadn't struggled so much to begin with.

I'd rather (looking back on it now) have had the money spent trying to push me through school put into a fund of some sort to help with the house and kids I'm looking at, but that's neither here nor there.

That's just my 0.02$ that perhaps there's other options besides school.

Cheers and good luck bro! holler if you have any questions etc.

Rob
 
I agree with Doc, Join the Seabee's and he'll learn far more then just how to build something.
 
Military isn't an option for medical reasons. Decision is entirely up to him I just hoping to offer advise.
 
AVB said:
I agree with Doc, Join the Seabee's and he'll learn far more then just how to build something.
Click to expand...

I was going to say the same thing...the Seabee's are an outstanding bunch...my father in law was one.

That aside, your kid needs to be pulling these thoughts together on his own and find out what really suits him, what interests him. Having said that, as long as people continue to eat, the world is going to need plumbers.
 
You know,

I thought about my response above, and realized I attempted to make the wrong point, the true point is:
If he isn't sure, give him some independance and see what he's into. Maybe travel, peace corp, working on a boat in alaska, whatever. He'll figure out what will make him happy.
Just be supportive, it might take a few tries.

Cheers,
Rob
 
I'm a Millwright by trade, and wouldn't be afraid to recommend it to anyone who's interested in "Blue Collar" work. Obviously, that depends on industries in your area.
 
Well I can say that I'm sure I could have done very well with college, I have always been well suited in academics, however, after 3 months of college, I dropped out. I was sick of school and felt like I just needed to get on with it. I fell into aviation and am very happy with it. It is a blue collar job, but enough to pay the bills. As a kid, I was always fascinated with planes and helicopters. If you have aviation jobs available in your area, he could go to an A and P school for 6-12 months and get a decent job. Planes and helo's aren't going anywhere. Everyone flies.

The bottom line is, he needs to go into something that he is interested in.
 
rectifythis said:
Well I can say that I'm sure I could have done very well with college, I have always been well suited in academics, however, after 3 months of college, I dropped out. I was sick of school and felt like I just needed to get on with it. I fell into aviation and am very happy with it. It is a blue collar job, but enough to pay the bills. As a kid, I was always fascinated with planes and helicopters. If you have aviation jobs available in your area, he could go to an A and P school for 6-12 months and get a decent job. Planes and helo's aren't going anywhere. Everyone flies.

The bottom line is, he needs to go into something that he is interested in.
Click to expand...
I had the very same experience, college just got boring and the Vietnam war was going on, so i joined the military. When i got out, the G.I. Bill paid for my education as an electrician, which lasted four years and i acquired an Associate's Degree, with the training i recieved. Now to become an electrician it takes five years and you are competing with guys with degrees just to start. I suppose a degree does'nt guarantee anyone a job after school, so they're going for the higher paying blue collar jobs. Which is a shame, because in construction you need guys that want to get their hands dirty, everyone can't be the boss. :cool:
 
You cannot tell other people how to bring up their kids. What is right for you is usually not right for them.

I have 4 sons and a daughter. I never pushed my kids one way or the other. I gave and offered them whatever
opportunity existed and/or whatever they wanted to do. If they chose not to go to college, it would be their choice.
My eldest son who is an extremely succesful businesman chose not to go to college but at 27, he decided he wanted
a degree and studied at home to get it. I'm still not sure why he did it because it didn't help him financially or
in his business, just something he wanted to do.

Right or wrong, (some would say "they don't know what to do so decide for them"), they have all turned out great and they
made their own choices. T

My other three sons run our business, they are all successful. They were not pushed into the business just like they were not pushed
to go to college and BTW, none of these guys has a college degree but what they do have.. hands on knowledge to be
entrepreneurial in their own right and experience that is not taught in a college.

Brian
 
I can say, the building trades (electricians, plumbers, finish carpenters, etc) are making a killing in my area. Not the easiest jobs in the world, but the money is good. My cousin is a plumber, taking the business from his dad who is soon retiring, and they have more work than they know what to do with.
Whatever you guys decide, let your kids make the decisions, that's the best way to learn, IMHO.
Rob
 
All I know is my air conditioning guy recently hit me up for $1600...Let the kid choose his own way.
 
Landscaping might be another option depending on the surrounding area. I live in Brooklyn, and I wouldn't think that landscaping is a big business, but my co-worker (who works with his father-in-law as a landscaper) tells me about the numerous places he goes to just to trim some bushes, clean up a garden. Some are houses, some are big corporate buildings. This concrete jungle never ceases to amaze me.

As long as your son knows that the harder he works, the more successful he can become, anything is possible. He just has to go out there and grab it for himself. That being said, I kinda feel awkward when I know a waiter at a decent restaurant can easily pull in $400 a night.
 
Turn him over to the real world. Let him set up informational interviews with the trades he thinks he might be interested in. Recommend that he ask questions like: What's a work week like? How much does an apprentice earn? How long will it take to earn a Journeymans license? What do I need to know before I start? Do I need to be good at math? Would you choose this profession if you could go back and change?

The big trick, and hard part of informational interviews is to remember that he's not there to get a job, and shouldn't even think of asking for one. He is there to learn everything that he can from someone who does it every day. Ask good questions, and listen to the answers.
 
I have to agree with most the guys on the board. My old man was glue collar guy GM. He also built every home he lived in himself, well and his child labor force. My mothers side have a contracting business electrical. I myself am the only Grandson/Son in any trade out of 5 boys counting my consents.

I have worked, mason,ash-fault, concrete form, carpenter,millwright. I Finally decided electrical was the way for me to go. Make no mistake, The trade is not really hard, what happens if you have a switch up side down, it says NO !!! on it. LOL

My day today was like this. Sunday morning have to get a JOB finished and its out side underground work second day of rain. Pipe and trench went in yesterday 360' trench 2 hours nothing but a down pour. Today 1200' #10 wire back fill Mud every step of the way, sticking to the boots, shorts, Just Lots of Mud.

Can your boy hack this, does he have drive. Blue Collar work you say. Labor jobs are time consuming. You need to have an education. Drive to complete a task, because the right time to do most jobs is never when you are doing them. 1200 volts Humm, that will just kill you, and all you have to do is get close.

I have seen guys fall from a shy lift, become berried in a trench, hit buy a boom from a back hoe. These things happen every day. Not because the person is not smart, or care full enough. Because the other guy was not.

Make no mistake, My parents told me it Military or collage or there is the DOOR. I took option 3. It took till I was 27, but things are good today.

Good Luck.
 
Much as we want to, we can't do it for them. Of my sons, only 1 got his college degree. #2 is a warehouseman and is quite happy with that. #3 is a clerk for a large string of dental practices, makes an acceptable wage, and is miserable. #4 is a casual for the City, biding his time for an empty slot at the police academy. All 4 are good men and make their way honestly. I couldn't ask for more.
 
Well I agree with everyone above that he needs to find his own path. With that said, I'll give my opinion on a few trades. Most of them pay pretty well and currently are in very big demand. Masons and sprinkler fitters are always in high demand, but it's very hard, backbreaking work. When you retire, you'll know what you did your whole life. Ironworkers seem to be a different breed and have the most dangerous job. If I were to choose a trade, I'd probably be an electrician, carpenter, or pipe fitter.
 
Growing up as a child my parents wanted nothing but the best from me. Starting in 8th grade I was sent to boarding school at Cardigan Mountain, then in 9th grade went to Cushing. After graduating from Plano Senior High, I went was forced to go to college. The 2nd semester my parents stopped paying for me, they knew I was just pissing their money away. My dad helped my older brother and me start are own landscape business, that was a blessing. We had the company for 3 years before we knew that this was not what we wanted to do for the rest of our lives. So we sold everything, my brother went to work for my dad and I decide that I was ready to go back to school and make some real money. My father did not pay for anything until I proved to him that this go around I was serous. I am now married with a little girl on the way and life could not be better. Alright once my wife is done with nurse anesthesia school, and then it might become more enjoyable. The bottom line is I hit the same road cross that your son is at; I gave up school for awhile and worked my ass off. Either way he will find out what he wants to do, you just need to be there to pick him up when and to motivate him. Good luck bro, those years were some rough years between my father and me, but know I don’t know what I would have done without him being there to push me
 
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