My experience in the skilled trades is that I worked hard, got an associates degree with 3.86 gpa, have taken all the extra training I can find and have modern and broad skill set. I could go find 4 new jobs by the end of the week if I needed to. The jobs are definitely out there. I'm working in the engineering office now but I'd rather much be out on the shop floor getting my hands dirty. The problem is, that the skilled trade jobs just doesn't pay enough to keep food on the table.
The trouble with all those jobs employers are so eager to fill is that they want to pay me $17.00/hr and work the night shift. No thanks! That's no kind of life. I'd do it if I had to live but it's impossible to support a family long-term at that rate. There are many better options than working lousy hours for 60 hours per week for just enough to scrape by. So as long as they want to pay those puny wages, qualified and capable people are going to go elsewhere.
The skilled workers are out there. If the employers were to start paying wages where a skilled worker could earn $75,000 /yr without having to work 70 hours per week, the skilled workers would come out of the woodwork. People are not going to go work in a machine shop for $14-$15 an hour when they can work shorter hours with better benefits at Walmart and collect government benefits to make up the difference.
Some much needed wage inflation would bring the good workers to the market. The way things are set up now, hard work in a blue collar job rarely seems worthwhile. Mike Rowe can talk about it all he wants - but until he lives it and sees what it's like to try to support a family on a non-union, blue collar wage, he will probably never understand why those jobs are going unfilled.
If employers want to pay peanuts - they will end up hiring monkeys.
The trouble with all those jobs employers are so eager to fill is that they want to pay me $17.00/hr and work the night shift. No thanks! That's no kind of life. I'd do it if I had to live but it's impossible to support a family long-term at that rate. There are many better options than working lousy hours for 60 hours per week for just enough to scrape by. So as long as they want to pay those puny wages, qualified and capable people are going to go elsewhere.
The skilled workers are out there. If the employers were to start paying wages where a skilled worker could earn $75,000 /yr without having to work 70 hours per week, the skilled workers would come out of the woodwork. People are not going to go work in a machine shop for $14-$15 an hour when they can work shorter hours with better benefits at Walmart and collect government benefits to make up the difference.
Some much needed wage inflation would bring the good workers to the market. The way things are set up now, hard work in a blue collar job rarely seems worthwhile. Mike Rowe can talk about it all he wants - but until he lives it and sees what it's like to try to support a family on a non-union, blue collar wage, he will probably never understand why those jobs are going unfilled.
If employers want to pay peanuts - they will end up hiring monkeys.
