Career & Finance Fridays
Employment & Career
Trades Jobs - Are they Right for You?
For as long as I can remember, trades jobs have had a bit of a stigma.
White collar jobs seem to get glamorized in our culture and the blue collar jobs often get a bad reputation.
I was glamorized into the university track through high school. I was book smart, driven, and held those prestigious senior executive roles in high regard. I wanted to be at the top of a business one day.
On top of that, I never felt like I was very good at manual labour or working with my hands.
So I went to university and got a business degree. I enjoyed the learning, but hated my first few jobs after university. All I did, all-day-long, was sit at a desk…and I did not like it.
I had spent my high school and university years working in restaurants…busy jobs where I didn’t stand still for 5 seconds. And now I found myself sitting for 8 solid hours a day.
Then I got married. And, as fate would have it, I married a tradesman. His job always seemed so compelling. He was busy - he never sat still and always had something interesting to work on next.
Not to mention that he was being compensated quite nicely for his work…definitely better than me.
As the years have gone on, I have found myself in different scenarios where I have had the opportunity to work with my hands and learn some new skills. Home renovations, owning a business (with machines that required maintenance), and life in general have given me a glimpse into the working life of a tradesman. It really appeals to me.
At this stage of my life, I own a business, have two small children, and have about 101 other things on my plate each day - so going into a trade is not in the cards for me right now. But as I reflect on the last 15 years of my life, parts of me wish that the trades would have been sold to girls like me as a very viable option.
There are so many trades to consider - not just the metal working or carpentry that I experienced in my high school home economics/technology classes. And to be good at a trade requires a high level of intelligence, competence, and skill. Blue collar jobs are not just for the “non-university type” - they are exciting jobs for all different types of people.