Top 3 Reasons to Join a Career in the Trades

Published: Thursday, November 15, 2018

Top 3 Reasons to Join a Career in the Trades

Growing up is hard to do. For a lot of people, it means graduating from High School and attending a good College so they can earn a degree in their dream job, and ultimately become wealthy. In most scenarios, however, this ends up being far from reality. Between switching majors, college tuition fees, and simply balancing education with having a social life, large groups of students tend to leave college feeling apprehensive about their future. While this is true in a majority of cases, it seems that any talk about joining the trades after High School, generally sends people running in the opposite direction. Here are 3 of our best reasons to reconsider a career in the trades.

Constantly Learning While Earning

One of the most difficult things about earning a College degree, is just being able to pay off your student debt. With a record number of students earning degrees, and not being able to find jobs in their field, a lot of graduates get stuck in limbo. While there are many other challenges that arise, this is the most common and difficult issue for people to cope with. In the building trades, this is something that goes out the window. A vast majority of beginning tradesmen actually get paid (and generally paid well, especially in a union) to learn on the job. While it may be frustrating to begin, there’s always an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve your skills, which almost certainly guarantees you will make more money. Another benefit to working in the trades, is that it can give you a similar sense of fulfillment from learning that college provides, because you will NEVER learn everything about your trade. There are countless men and women that work as plumbers, electricians, contractors, etc. who have been working in their trade for 20+ years, yet they are still learning every day. 

Sense of Pride/Fulfillment in Work

There are many reasons to consider a career in the trades, but one of the most important is having a sense of pride in the work you completed. Being proud of the work you do, will provide you with a much greater sense of fulfillment in your profession. There are too many people working in careers that they don’t love, or simply aren’t passionate about. While the trades aren’t for everyone, anyone who appreciates being “hands-on” would bask in the enjoyment of a trade position. There’s nothing more fulfilling than to be assigned a task, problem solve for a solution, and implement that into a finished project for a client. In addition, there’s a dire need for trade-professionals in the contracting field right now. According to an article written by PBS in 2012 (the problem is only getting worse), over half of tradesmen are over the age of 45! That means within the next 10-20 years, over half of the tradesmen work-force will need to be replaced. This is a huge opportunity for students and young people around the country.

Leaving a Legacy While Helping People

With so many opportunities on the table, it’s important to understand how many of those opportunities provide a service to the community around you. Being a tradesman is providing a service that people need. You will actually get paid to assist people in need of help! Everyone needs a home to live in, or a faucet to wash their hands with, or a light to turn on before reading. If helping people is important to you, you may want to consider starting a career in the trades! It’s not all about residential though. There are thousands (if not millions) of commercial projects built around the world every year, like hospitals, restaurants, clinics, apartments, etc. With so many niches, it’s hard not to find at least one thing you enjoy to do. Imagine being a part of a team that builds a hospital, which saves hundreds upon thousands of lives each year. That’s something you can tell your children about. That’s something to be proud of! The most difficult part of it all though, is showing up every day and giving 100%. Most of the trades are extremely physically and mentally exhausting, and it’s definitely not for everyone. However, you just may find something you never knew you were passionate about! 

Written by: Andrew Sample

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