Trade schools, learning a trade for stability and profit

NOHOME said:

Nurses are wonderful peoples but they do develop weird senses of humor as a coping mechanism. Never dine with more than one nurse at the table.

No we don't. We already had them walking in. 

I was just talking about this with a crew of welders I currently have doing work on site for me.

Welding would be my number one. It pays well and good welders are in high demand, meaning industrial welding anyway. The work can sometimes be physically challenging and you often have to work in uncomfortable environments, but that's pretty much the trades. Industrial welding can also involve a fair amount of travel and staying on site for several weeks, but there are home times between those. There are as many variations on all that as there are welders, too.  A decade ago I was managing a small production plant and we had pipe welders on site that would come up from FL and work 2 weeks on, 1 week off. They were making more than I was as plant manager.

HVAC is the second choice. Pay's a little lower, always in demand, and usually keeps you local. Busy season will depend on your location. You have to crawl through the worst parts of random peoples homes, or the worst parts of commercial structures. 

Aircraft repair - I have a friend who teaches airframe and powerplant locally, and although it pays well I wouldn't have the pure level of anal retention required.

Industrial Electrical - Ever seen what happens when 480 or 600v hits someone? No way.

Something to consider - Low voltage and electronic controls for industry. Things like PLCs, motor controllers, and automation. This is a fast growing need in every industry, it pays well, the work is easier (and safer) and it takes a different type of person than the other trades. Little programming, relays, control switching - fun stuff. As more manufacturing comes back stateside due to increasing automation, guess who they call to install and fix the automation?

In any case, working the line for a few years and focus on moving into management. There are a lot of great tradespeople that aren't ever going to be management material. If you can manage AND know the trade, your job gets (physically) easier and pays better as you get older instead of grinding your body down to earn a living. 

Any trades would be great IMO, I'd throw in concrete if he's fit since it's probably the highest paid.

Basically ask him if he likes to build and/or which seems the most interesting and go from there.

Came here to say plumbing.

Welding (my trade) is great, but hitting 50, my lungs, eyes, and back are kind of jacked.

Look into mechatronics, as suggested by UltraClyde.

Electrician?

 God, with no hobbies it's hard to say what for him to aim for, but there has to be something. Like, does he like fixing the toys that get broken by his kids? Does he do any good projects with them? He clearly has management experience, but I don't know how much it counts for since that all depends on your area and public.

mr2s2000elise said:

Nursing.

Nursing is not a trade; it's a lifestyle and a mentality. The term for a nurse who's in it solely for money is "E36 M3" at best, "Threat" at worst. I can tell hordes of stories about how bad it can be to work for some doctors, how you're -essentially- the politician standing in the center of a problem... his kids cannot prepare, or compare, to being in the middle between a real idiot-public and a highly trained specialist who doesn't understand why a problem is a problem. He has to have interest in medicine and caring for people AND work as a CNA before even attempting that.

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Yeah. No hobbies. No real interests. He watches too much college football. I'm going to forward some of these ideas to him and see what sticks.

Solar panel construction school? 

does he work well with others ?

is he self motivated  or always needs a kick in the rear ?

Is he Ok working outside in the rain , the heat or cold ?

The trades are great  in the good times ,  but you do not really get to chose  who you work with and where the work might be that week......

I wish him well 

tuna55 said:

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Yeah. No hobbies. No real interests. He watches too much college football. I'm going to forward some of these ideas to him and see what sticks.

What do you mean by a "cabinet shop"? 

To me, head into the trades with the desire and goal to be a business owner.  While young, be the guy driving the van and doing the labor. 

Later, be the guy who owns 4 vans and has guys laboring for you while you mostly visit customers and write bids.  

If you're a guy with 4 hvac vans, you have a nice life going.  Most importantly, you're still earning in the years where your back is not as strong. 

However, this goal requires the additional skill set of being able to manage people and manage a business.  

californiamilleghia said:

does he work well with others ?

is he self motivated  or always needs a kick in the rear ?

Is he Ok working outside in the rain , the heat or cold ?

The trades are great  in the good times ,  but you do not really get to chose  who you work with and where the work might be that week......

I wish him well 

Yes, very self motivated, yes ok out/in/hot/cold

bluej (Forum Supporter) said:

tuna55 said:

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Yeah. No hobbies. No real interests. He watches too much college football. I'm going to forward some of these ideas to him and see what sticks.

What do you mean by a "cabinet shop"? 

I've never been.

They make builder basic level cabinetry for whoever

I would strongly encourage him to contact the academic advising department at the local tech school(s). These people not only get paid to help prospective students figure out what program(s) might be a good fit, they also get paid to find free money (for things like job loss) help them attend. Even if he ultimately decides to go another route, there isn't much better of a starting point for somebody who doesn't really know which way to go.

Does he want a dirty or clean work environment?  Does he want to work set hours or do whatever is necessary to make things happen?   Is he good with mechanical things?  Can he do math(simple math)?  
 

these are the kinds of questions you need him to answer before jumping to conclusions. 

He can earn more than $45K a year at either of the IT distributors there in Greenville out by the Airport in sales or service roles. It's not the world's least stressful job but good upside without a degree. 

Another possible option is an apprenticeship. I did one at a federal shipyard and make pretty good money now. The biggest deal is benefits, an pension, and a 401k matching. Took four years to get Journeyman and I got an associate degree.

Norfolk, VA for sure and possibly Kings Bay, GA would be the closest to SC.

We had to tighten our belts the first two years but after that all was good.

There may even be non-federal apprenticeships near you guys. After 13 years now I could get a really decent job at any federal SY or any private SY/builder pretty easy.

Up here in NH we also have https://www.bringbackthetrades.com/ that offer help and scholarships.

You might have similar down there.

I would go HVAC with the intention of owning my business by 50 and paying younger guys to crawl under and over houses for me. That would actually be my plan for any trade you do out of a van. HVAC, plumbing, residential electrical. I would want to be estimating and sending out crews by the time my joints were getting super creaky. Or hopefully before. Welding is similar. Every welder I know over 50 is looking for a way out while they can still move. 

In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :

I'll second this. Having a CDL with good driving record your guaranteed job easily. 
I've been delivering sodas for 6 years, easy job although physical.Make over $80 a year, M-F, typically home before 3 pm

If he has carpentry skills with making cabinets there should be work.   

I'm getting new cabinets and I can hang cabinets.  I just suck at cutting trim.  

I would pay him to hang and cut.  Then she wants new trim........there has to be work out there if he's skilled.  

Wonko and Crxpilot have expressed my thoughts well! One caveat on the machinist... don't expect the same pay down here in the south as up Wonko's way; Way less (on average) then the lower cost of living would imply. 'Course it may have evened out some as all the yankee's take over the Carolina's.  I haven't worked as a machinist in about 15 years, so I don't know for sure.

After switching over to Instrumentation & Control work, I wish I had gone to a school for that back in the 80's; I always recommend that to folks that are not sure what hands on craft to pursue.

As far as an apprenticeship goes, the best program is Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School up in VA; but that's a 4 year commitment, and you said he is not interested in moving. Might still be worth him looking at. I've never regretted my time there. Only apprenticeship I know of where you go to classes on company time, as part of your 40 hrs. Too many (not all) apprenticeship's are more about putting time in than ya learning something, unfortunately.

No clue how he would look into a job out at the Oconee power plant in Senaca, but that would be a great career move for him.

Beyond hobbies what is he actually GOOD AT? Even things like being organized, detail oriented, good ifluencing people, etc would go a long way in thinking about this.

One thing to consider in what trade to go into is would he rather work at one site all the time, or be all over the place? Also, would he rather be self-employed, or work for someone else? Also look at the stability of employment. If he wants to be at one site, working for someone else in a more stable job, look into something more industrial, like a millwright, instrument mechanic, machinist or industrial electrician. Lots of HVAC, plumbing and residential electrical companies are one man shops always searching for the next job, competing with the other guys and are much more vulnerable to economic downturns. Carpenters doing home construction for example are quite vulnerable to downturns in the economy putting them out of a job.

HVAC is the way to go. You're not dealing with E36 M3 like plumbing, plenty of demand, plenty is cash side work. People are happy to see you when you show up because relief is on the way. 
 

People are angry when they see a plumber because it's usually an emergency and they need to shower/E36 M3 real bad. 

We have an opening for a machinist at my workplace. So far, they have interviewed 10+. They had 12 more scheduled for interviews and tests in the past few weeks. Only 2 showed up, and they failed the written test on math and geometry.  Based on the conversations that I have had with our veteran machinists, guys who can do more that run a CNC to turn out widgets are in short supply.  It took about a year to fill a similar position not long ago. 
 

Welders, machinists, circuit board technicians, high level mechanics, etc... are all in short supply. Anything that requires brains and hand skills will be a good move.  Willingness to get dirty will pay dividends. 

There's a big difference between a "machine operator" and a machinist.