trade school instead of a bachelor's degree

[dfrecore]

Articles like this only show a narrow slice of the real world. Most people in the trades do not want their family members to follow in their footprints because it is really physically work. My whole family is electricians and plumbers and the wear and tear on the body is a real thing. Busting concretes and hauling toilets around is ok in your 20s and 30s but there will be point to where you cannot do it physically. If you are not business savvy and become a manager/owner of a company you are one bad injury from zero income. Also, the six figure trades are because of immense overtime, meaning you are never home and long days. I know many excellent tradesmen that can be laid off because of seasonal/weather, economic slow downs etc. Just like the bachelor degree path has pitfalls, so does the trades. Like anything, lucking into the right circumstances really helps.

I am going to say that I think this is overstatement.  I don't think "most" people in the trades don't want family members to follow along, I personally know a lot of people who are in the trades and encouraged their kids to get into it.  My dad was a lineman for 30 years, then taught it for 10.  A friend's son just asked about it, and my dad was super enthusiastic about telling him how much he loved it.  He declined multiple offers for promotions because there was no chance he was going to sit behind a desk rather than work outside. Yes, he worked some overtime, but not so much that he was "never" around.

And, plenty of people who make a lot in the trades are around to raise their kids.  I know, because I know them, and because I was on the board at our local soccer club for several years and saw it first hand.  MANY of the dads that coached were able to because they worked in the trades, and got off earlier than dads that sat in offices from 8-5:30 every day.  I know my dad worked early, from 6am-2pm for much of the year, and was able to coach baseball because of that.