Forget Harvard and a 4-Year Degree, You Can Make More as a Plumber in the Long Run

[Brian]

I recall this argument coming up a few times in bad times and of course a strictly financial argument for an average result. Actually on straight return out of last recession "Getting on with the County" or equiv Sate/Fed would probably have been best option in last 10 years for benefits and pension plus spread on average... but maybe that is for politics section.



http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily...63704-224.html

[loosechickens]

Well, since it is fairly common practice now in many law firms to outsource much of their research and preparation of cases to attorneys in India and other places, and often X-rays, etc. are being read by doctors in those places (I read that if you break your leg and go to Bellevue in the middle of the night, the radiation guy who reads your x-rays is in Bangladesh), traditional, even professional positions are not immune to being outsourced to far less expensive workers in other countries.

And since those countries are educating a larger and larger percentage of their people to be able to do such work, fields like law, engineering and some medicine may soon feel the heat that the IT field has felt in trying to hang on to well paying jobs.

I'm actually not so sure that if I were raising kids today, while I'd probably still want them to have an education (education being valuable for much more than earning money), I might recommend something like learning to be a plumber, starting their own business, as a way of ensuring that their job wouldn't be done elsewhere.

Heating and airconditioning, plumbing, electrical work, other skilled trades that have to be done "on site" just might be a good idea these days as the world's work forces begin to find a common level, which means in the case of the first world, a downward spiral in many cases.

White collar, mid-level, college educated professionals have felt the pain of this recession in ways they seldom have before, and are finding that it is lasting longer as well.

Who knows? It's always hard to figure out what the next "best thing" will be. Because there are probably businesses and innovations out there that we're not even thinking about yet.

[razz]

Funny but I was just commenting to DH after looking over the proxy for my shares that the directors in their 60's almost without exception for the men had achieved no more education than a bachelor degree and were at the top of their respective fields. Nowadays, it seems that young people need a masters degree or more simply to submit a resume.

Things have changed dramatically.

I am not sure that the trades are the solution though since so many products are designed and built for easy installation/replacement by the home owner with little expertise required.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I am reading a book I bought secondhand right now called the 4-Hour Workweek, and in it, the author writes how he is freed from a lot of the mundane parts of running a business by hiring virtual assistants in India or the Phillipines or somewhere else low-wage.....These people can perform many basic office tasks online, can do website creation and maintainence (sp?) - so much for my sideline business doing that!!! - and so much more, at much less than the going rate here in the US. I looked into this with a sinking feeling, as I realize that more and more and more office jobs and office work are going to go to these virtual assistants in the future - it's too compelling not to give them the business, as they don't expect health care, or vacation, or a 401(K) or any type of benefits from you at all, and there is no paperwork that has to be filed to satisfy government requirements with them.....I hear a big sucking sound of office jobs being shipped overseas to these virtual assistants en masse, anyone else hearing this? Rob

[Zigzagman]

I have always thought that a law degree and a chef school were equivalent. You might not use the degree right away but at some point in your life there will be a pay back.

In my previous life - we always got good candidates with the required academic degrees from the military. They usually are more mature and disciplined than their peers. I'm not sure how that equates with the modern ideal for tech jobs.

It could be that creativity is more prevalent is an environment that is not as disciplined as the military?

Peace

[Rogar]

There are probably a few good employment shelters from recent economic events and employment trends, but I'm not so sure whether plumbers are among them. Last time I used a plumber he said that most of the new residential construction plumbing is done by recent immigrants or green card carrying workers and that they do excellent work and are extremely difficult to compete with salary wise. I'm assuming he's talking non-union jobs? And who's to say how budget shortfalls will change government employment and it's benefits.

I think if I were advising a young person today on career choices, I'd suggest finding a technical field they enjoy, and to become very educated and exceptionally good at it. Hopefully things will fall into place. Plan on changing jobs a lot and providing for retirement and possibly health benefits on their own right out of the gate.

[loosechickens]

yes, of course.....while I used plumbing and other skilled trades as an example....what would be most important is to discover work that has to be done "on site" and can't be outsourced, and sometimes that is hard to do.

certainly, having a lot of job skills in your quiver, constantly updating educational and skill sets, etc. helps, but in a global economy, I think it's inevitable that jobs and salaries will eventually find a global level and that level is likely to be far less than what we feel is sufficient. I don't know what the answer is, but.........

America, at this point, is rivaling some Third World countries with the degree of income inequality, and that huge spread, with its squeezing and pressure on the middle class.......these concerns are only going to become more pressing.

There are lots of times when I don't like that I've gotten older (when I creak and groan), but it's almost a relief to be out of the work force and into retirement, because I think it's going to get a lot worse out there in the work world before it gets better.

[gimmethesimplelife]

yes, of course.....while I used plumbing and other skilled trades as an example....what would be most important is to discover work that has to be done "on site" and can't be outsourced, and sometimes that is hard to do.

certainly, having a lot of job skills in your quiver, constantly updating educational and skill sets, etc. helps, but in a global economy, I think it's inevitable that jobs and salaries will eventually find a global level and that level is likely to be far less than what we feel is sufficient. I don't know what the answer is, but.........

America, at this point, is rivaling some Third World countries with the degree of income inequality, and that huge spread, with its squeezing and pressure on the middle class.......these concerns are only going to become more pressing.
,
There are lots of times when I don't like that I've gotten older (when I creak and groan), but it's almost a relief to be out of the work force and into retirement, because I think it's going to get a lot worse out there in the work world before it gets better.

I am 44 and often when I talk you my mother, who is 69, I find myself being jealous of her as her working days are done now, too. I am not a lazy person per se (though I have never really bought into the American work ethic, life seems to short to me to buy into it), but I do wish sometimes I was older as what is coming in the working world IMHO is indeed not going to be pleasant.....Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

yes, of course.....while I used plumbing and other skilled trades as an example....what would be most important is to discover work that has to be done "on site" and can't be outsourced, and sometimes that is hard to do.

certainly, having a lot of job skills in your quiver, constantly updating educational and skill sets, etc. helps, but in a global economy, I think it's inevitable that jobs and salaries will eventually find a global level and that level is likely to be far less than what we feel is sufficient. I don't know what the answer is, but.........

America, at this point, is rivaling some Third World countries with the degree of income inequality, and that huge spread, with its squeezing and pressure on the middle class.......these concerns are only going to become more pressing.

There are lots of times when I don't like that I've gotten older (when I creak and groan), but it's almost a relief to be out of the work force and into retirement, because I think it's going to get a lot worse out there in the work world before it gets better.

I am 44, and my mother is 69.....I often find myself wishing when I talk to her that I was older, as I am jealous to some degree that her working days are behind her. I am not a lazy person per se, I just am not looking forward to the continuation of what I see happening in the workplace.....I didn't sign up for it but I am going to have to deal with it to some degree anyway.....Will be glad to be done with working whenever that day comes.....Rob

[redfox]

I'm in debt for my MA, at age 55, and though I wish I had not taken all that debt on, it helped me get work that is much more interesting than I was doing (despite my recent bitches about it all!), and I am glad I got that degree. I wish I could get a PhD and teach at the college level.

Money is not all there is to a J.O.B.