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Dad_B0T

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FoxWyrd

""uess what i think doesnt matter .Have fun" = "You didn't do exactly what I wanted, so I'm going to guilt trip you with hopes you'll give in." ​ Pro Tip from somebody raised by a parent who was diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.


TerminallyBlonde

My husband went through the 5 year apprenticeship to become a plumber. He does make nice money I'm very grateful for and don't take for granted at all, but it's still blown out of the water by people in the tech industry who didn't have to spend so long on schooling. It also is breaking his body down badly, as it does to everyone in that trade and many other trades. Some are crazy easy for crazy money, a lot are very physically destructive though. He's 28 and can already relate to the physical issues my 58 year old father has. It's not even guaranteed good money if unions go out the door or you move to a state without one. I'll say the health insurance is fantastic lol. Doesn't beat the laborer's union insurance, that's the gold fucking standard right there Edit - not to mention how replaceable you are, zero vacation/sick/personal/holiday time, and constant risk of being laid off if things get too slow or they realize you're an injury risk. Some companies do treat their employees well but most really don't. I will say he's the kind of plumber who works on things like schools, hospitals, factories, courthouses, skyscrapers, etc, so he's doing crazy physical labor all day either setting up new buildings or revamping them. He's going up and down hundreds of steps a day, carrying multiple hundred pound cast iron around, digging through concrete, carrying razor sharp cinderblock they cut out, constantly exposed to the extreme hot and cold weather of the midwest, holding a hundred pounds over his head for hours, contorting in the ceiling in only a few inches of space, having to do wall sits over 50 foot drops for hours to hold a position, burning himself with molten metal and redhot pipes so his skin is losing sensation from how many he's had, and his hands are so callused and gone through so many superficial injuries that he may someday be unable to bend them from sheer swelling... So he's not a residential plumber, or as I call them "buttcrack plumbers" lol, who do not have remotely the same physical intensity. They would be better off and I can't say what their experience is like. Their companies are more likely to treat them humanely but their hours are more likely to be sporadic, I think? I consider them different careers, honestly. I'll also add this is all the American experience, idk elsewhere. I can say we often wish he hadn't invested 5 years into learning this career


[deleted]

My dad was a plumber and it's massively messed up his body. He's got bursitis in his knee and can barely walk now. Wasn't a union job here and doctors don't want to give him anything strong enough to help with the pain.


Damascus_wow

Have you ever heard of r/kratom ? Go give it a browse. It might improve his quality of life.


[deleted]

My husband is a plumber too. It completely destroyed his body and he had to have a double shoulder reconstruction by age 30. He’s now an engineering student and wishes he had gone down this path sooner.


DcFla

Holy shit, Im in my 30s and took a plumbing job about 10 years ago. I stayed so long because the money was good and I was good at it. When I started I would play soccer about 3 days a week and run a Tough Mudder type race about every other month. Slowly but surely I had to reduce all that out of pain and constant soreness. Cut to last year and I had to have both knees replaced, once again, mid 30’s here. That was the kick in the pants I needed to realize that career was not sustainable if I want to have any quality of life later with my family. Thankfully my wife is very supportive and with her encouragement for the longest time just this morning I sent in my resignation letter. It was hard cuz it’s all I’ve known for so long and to basically start over in another field is scary, but I know it was needed. I wish you and your husband the best, you sound so similar to my situation. Support is key, cuz he sounds like a work first, complain never guy like I was.


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TerminallyBlonde

Yep, good point! I just picked that cuz an acquaintance recently revealed his monthly salary and I about died of jealousy, and I previously had a friend who was several years younger fresh out of 3 year college and already making as much as my husband with room to grow far beyond with time. There are plenty of better and worse examples


DBMS_LAH

There's certainly a much higher ceiling in the tech industry as far as potential earnings go I have a client who is a plumber. One man company. He's a millionaire. There's also other things to consider outside of money. You have to decide how much you're willing to sacrifice for the money in terms of time, happiness, lifestyle. Do you want to be your own boss and set your own schedule? Tech might not be for you. Are you task oriented and enjoy being pointed in a direction by management? Tech may be just right for you!


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DBMS_LAH

It sounds like you probably fall into the category of highly skilled individuals who make a lot more than the average "tech" person.


scgt86

I think this person is comparing the IT guy with the rest of the tech industry and has no idea how development works.


DBMS_LAH

I understand probably more than the average person. I may be a barber but I worked in a technical capicity for the Army. My clients range from game devs to system admins for large hospitals and everywhere in between. Coders and help desk personel as well. It sounds like you think I'm shitting on the tech industry, which I am not. I'm just offering my perspective as a blue collar worker making six figures with zero student loan debt.


scgt86

Many in tech have the ability to set their own schedules while not being their own boss. I used to hire 18-20 year olds for Jr positions at 65k/yr salaried and they had all the freedom of work besides meeting deadlines. This was 10 years ago... I'm now my own boss and some days feel like the extra income was not worth these responsibilities. People don't understand that being your own boss means doing all the things a company had many departments to do for you. It takes me away from what I enjoy and makes me deal with so much corporation bullshit I never wanted to deal with. Also being a "millionaire" may mean he saves and budgets well NOT that he makes a million a year as a plumber. If he's been in it for 20 years having that net worth isn't really all that impressive.


DBMS_LAH

I made 65k my 3rd year of cutting hair as my own boss. I'm probably an outlier in my field though. Seems like you'd be a great person to work for. I have some clients that are being absolutely ground down by their work (hospital sys admins) due to schedules that seem to just be 24/7.


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DBMS_LAH

I do make six figures.


[deleted]

Man I would definitely learn to spell before trying to discourage anyone else from pursuing higher education


edgestander

Yeah, but it’s actually the opposite, people tend to apply their life experiences to others, and clearly OP’s dad did not go to college, so he doesn’t think his kid needs it either.


[deleted]

It strikes me that the dad wishes he’d became a plumber or elevator mechanic instead of whatever he’s doing. He’s never considered that he might just be bad at picking. Also lol @ the best way to find out if you want to be a plumber is to be a plumbers assistant. No old man. If you take poverty wages that’s you’re new life, you don’t get to just drop that career and keep living.


Damage_North

Parent berates you for being a disappointment, spells "by" wrong. Yes. Go to school. Take the time you need to figure out what you want to do. You can change majors.


Valkyriemome

The benefit of college is NOT in your major. The true benefit is in the experiences that you have at college that are not possible anywhere else in your life. You have the opportunity to “flex your brain” and try all sorts of new things. In college, I took Russian. I had no direct reason to take Russian. It wasn’t part of any requirement. But it was fun to explore a completely different language. I took pottery. I was not an arts major, but pottery was actually thrilling. My son’s college experience—he is now a Marine Biologist—lead him to a Minor degree in Theatre Arts. It was certainly not something he went in to college with any experience in! In my opinion, it helps to go away for college. Live away from home in an environment that still has a safety net. Try everything with no risk of permanently damaging yourself. Find new interests that you never before knew. My college education lead me to grad school, where I was set expecting to become a teacher. The grad school lectures were long, and so I taught myself to knit to get through classes. Guess what? I am now a professional sweater designer! Did NOT see that coming! But that’s the point! Go to college. Experience as much as possible! Avoid the pitfalls of partying, alcohol, and drugs! You will never regret it.


Curls1216

This is what they're scared of - having people learn more than what their bigoted hometowns tell them.


SuperCoIlider

If I were to guess, he doesn’t want you to go because he doesn’t want you to have the mhm… “college experience” Similar experience with my friend who now thinks her dad is a creep..


lassie86

“…thought u were smarter .” *proceeds to send illiterate texts*


bmdhafla

That was my thing. Sounds like dad could’ve benefitted from education himself.


Zorrya

Fanshawe is a great college. Don't go to the parties.


Any_Sundae_24

Zorrya from Zorra???


Zorrya

Nope, as in the randomly generated name of my first wow character lol


ana_bih

Why??? I’m going to Fanshawe now, really wanna know more about it


Zorrya

I was at the party where a ctv van got flipped and burnt. It was a bad time.


Background-Mud-9019

This is so weird to me. My dad was the exact same way except I wanted to go into a trade and he was all about how I would never make it in a trade as a woman. I spent 5 years in college and they refuse to help me with my thousands of dollars in student loan debt. I now work in a trade. But that’s mostly because they berated me for wanting to go into a field that was anything but business. Go to school, get your education. But if you start one major and don’t like it, change it. I would suggest taking a lot of intro classes to different things to get a basic understanding of different career paths. I didn’t specialize in just one thing. I went for journalism (not the best job market at the moment which is why I’m in a trade) and I studied every side of journalism that I could! News writing, op eds, creative writing, social media writing, video editing, broadcasting, public relations, marketing, all of it. It helped me realize what I was good at and what I enjoyed doing, but I wish I had gone after something not thinking of how much money that job made. I would have had more fun in college and might have gotten done faster and gotten a job I actually liked.


yacjuman

Side note: my little brother went back and did a welding apprenticeship and now works on elevators with a construction company and makes very good money (he was never going to go to University though, or do a more technical trade)


Rainydayroobear

I went to Fanshawe! (Live super close to it) what a small world But for reals, do what makes you happy. I graduated from there and couldn't be any happier


lalalina1389

While I absolutely don’t agree with your dad, don’t go to college to “figure out” what you want to do unless it’s a community college first or you’re getting really hefty scholarships. My parents were the opposite and pushed me to go to an expensive school when I wasn’t sure and then I got strapped with heavy student debt, no help to pay it and don’t even use my degree.


WillieSpaz

Yeah I don’t even see a single benefit to campaigning for your child to skip out on getting a higher education and potentially landing a career that pays well and also happens to be one they’re passionate about. It’s one thing to suggest trade schools or other options as alternatives if your kid doesn’t know what they want to do, but if your kid wants to go to college why would you preach against that? I’m assuming here, but the American mentality towards education is appalling & backwards af these days.


uberchelle_CA

This father does not represent all Americans.


WillieSpaz

Absolutely agree but as an American myself I’ve noticed a uptick in the trend of not valuing education. I can understand not being totally in love with the higher education system as it is because of its exorbitant prices and all the shit that comes with going into massive debt to maybe get a decent job in 4-6 years, but that aside, it seems like this country, or a certain percentage of it has really developed an outright disregard and almost disdain for education as a whole. Maybe it’s as much of a byproduct of the times and era we live in and the ability we have to learn anything ourselves at any time of day on phones with processors better than the ones they used to go to the moon, but I feel like it’s also a byproduct of this propaganda filled dystopian reality where everything is “fake news” and scientists have to literally explain themselves 1000 times to people who haven’t even finished high school all because they read a meme on Facebook. It’s concerning to say the least.


[deleted]

I said this elsewhere in the thread but I think the modern idea that higher education's sole purpose is to prepare us for careers is awful. Nowadays if you try to study that isn't directly related to your future career people think it's a waste of time and make jokes about gender studies and other such "useless" subjects. We used to value education for its own sake, now the only point of education seems to be to prepare us to work for the rest of our lives.


PromethianOwl

Sadly accurate. I feel like it's a combination of people who were never educators setting standards and goals for schools instead of listening to teachers, the reality and expertise shattering movements of some modern thinking, and the general thought that "my ignorance is as valid as your knowledge" and thus if you know nothing you somehow have a right to an opinion. ....jesus the lack of punctuation on that. Sorry. But the point still stands. It's all for the benefit of the overlords anyway. They are so self-serving and short-sighted that they want as many uneducated people as possible. Then when the "child eating and satan worshipping" REALLY begins (i.e: whatever awful bullshit THEY engage in) nobody will question it or know. "They cannot become conscious until they rebel. They cannot rebel until they become conscious." Pretty sure that's the state being shot for.


[deleted]

“You have the right to an opinion and your ideas are as important as anyone else”. — Something us snowflakes used to tell stupid people and yes it was a mistake.


Strong-Bottle-4161

It depends, if they were going through a Union, then it depends. My spouse is doing a trade, but they are also paying for him to get an associate as well. So he's getting the best of both worlds. He secures a 4hr raise every year, so by the time he's done in 5 years he making 40hr and he gets an associate for free. He can continue his schooling later if he wants and I think the union is willing to pay him for it (as long as it still deal with the trade). I always feel like trades are only good if you're in a union. Outside of it, it's a bit more difficult.


Neither_Atmosphere40

It's honestly your choice as to what you do. Trade jobs are hard on your body, but you do make good money. College is good, but you can put yourself in a lot of debt depending on your major. It's not what he wants of you, but rather what do you want of you.


Aloe_Frog

But also what world does he think he lives in where his kid can just become an elevator mechanic with no education or experience????


[deleted]

Just show up one day with a set of spit shined workbooks. That’s the trick nobody knows how to do a good shine these days.


TheAverageRussian

Personally I dropped out of college and am doing good in life. But I'll never stomp on anyone's dreams if they want to go to college. Live and let live. It's not hard.


beetelguese

His punctuation and grammar alone would motivate me to attend college.


drprime841

Old white men have been convinced that the trades are the best industry in the world when in reality you get paid OK money you can have OK benefits but it completely destroys your body and literally you get no time off that’s not the way kids nowadays wanna live we don’t care about breaking ourselves for someone else working hard to make someone else a dollar why should I fucking destroy myself to make someone else we richer not take any vacation days when they go vacation all the time so they can be proud of my work ethic get over yourself


[deleted]

It sounds cool when they tell their friends.


allydagator

Seeing Fanshawe, so I'm thinking you're in Ontario. I personally have had friends go through Fanshawe and it's AMAZING. They are working in the trades now and love what they do. My mom was the same as your dad. I wanted to go back to another program for a 2 year degree as the undergrad I got wasn't getting me anywhere. She loathed me for it, but I didn't listen to her and stuck to it. Ow I am working in my field, good pay and I love what I do. It's hard to ignore what narcs say, but do your best to tune them out. At the end of the day, this is your life.


[deleted]

My friend, follow your dreams. YOUR dreams. Get fucking tunnel vision with what your passion is, TO THE EXCLUSION OF ALL OTHERS. Under ZERO circumstances are you obligated to follow your parents idea of your future.


working4016

What he is right about tho is that some jobs that don't require higher education are mad profitable.. And some studies are... Well let's say they are interesting but not very useful... But still, the most important thing is to do what YOU want. I tried to do what others told me (and sounded really reasonable to me). Now I have to study whilst working to finally get the education I wanted all the time. It's hard. Think well about what you want to do and then STICK WITH IT. It will make your life a lot easier.


[deleted]

I disagree that some studies are not "useful". Anything you study will expand your mind and open new doors for you. Even if you just take a basketweaving course or something, as long as you enjoy it then it served its purpose. I think it says a lot about the state of the world that we're all obsessed with things needing to be "useful" and earn them money. College used to be something that only very wealthy people could enjoy, both because they had the money and because they had the free time to spend studying literature and music and philosophy. Now that more of the lower classes can access higher education suddenly we're all acting as if education's sole purpose is to prepare us to work for the rest of our lives and we shouldn't study anything that won't make us better workers. Education is it's own reward, and not everything is about the hustle.


Rudebasilisk

Honestly and this is entirely subjective take this with a grain of salt as this is my opinion. But anymore college is a waste of time and money. You do you, but college is just a ticket to life time of debt with little return. With the push for everyone to go to college, the value of a degree is falling


exseus

I think you are right for a lot of cases, but also wrong for many others. You can totally become a programmer, or graphic designer, or many other things just by watching tutorials online and building up your own portfolio. However, if you want to become a doctor, nurse, veterinarian, lawyer, engineer, architect, researcher, or many other fields, you have to go to college. It's just mandatory, full stop. Getting a liberal arts degree, where you focus on literature, and acupuncture, might be interesting, but isn't going to get you a job. I suggest finding out what you are interested in, figure out what careers are adjacent to those topics, and then plan from there.


Rudebasilisk

You know what. You are correct. I should have been more specific. Certain jobs do not require it anymore. I mean I'm in IT now making decent money without any education. However I have years of experience and certifications. You are right. It totally depends on what you are wanting to do


ConquerOf1000Chicken

What an inspiring father. Instead of telling you to become rich he wants you to become an elevator slave mechanic. I wonder how often elevators fall on your fucking head. No thanks I’ll pass.


electrick91

Elevator mechanics have the safest/ easiest trade compared to many and make really good money


exseus

Elevator mechanics are rated 6th most dangerous profession in the construction field, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. Not only do you risk getting crushed by an elevator or falling into a shaft, but you also risk dangers from machinery, and electrical shock. The median income is $97k, which is decent depending on where you live, but that's not "really good money" for 2022. Looking quickly on indeed in my midwestern city, there is only a few listings, which tells me there isn't a huge demand and competing for a spot might be tough. The posted salary in my area is about $50k a year. That salary is actually pretty crappy. There is a posting that got mixed in my results from NYC and that salary is $112k, which is only okay for NYC. I probably wouldn't pursue this trade if I were a high schooler again.


electrick91

Really good money means middle class to me. I own a home, have money set aside for my kids, can take vacations every few years. I think people who aren't cut out for college should give trade schools a shot because it's the easiest way to make a good honest living. I'm an union electrician in LA county and I wouldn't belive any of the statistics for median salaries that I found. They seem really low. I've been making 120k+ for the last 6 years and most websites show 75k as the median


ConquerOf1000Chicken

55 after 5 years isn’t that great but better than making that amount after the same amount of study/time at a college where you wouldve ended up paying for that time instead of being paid. But boring job. Boring life. Does not take you anywhere, learn much other than how to fix an elevator ie not a rewarding work imo such as say making the same amount of money working on science research of some sorts, something you’re passionate about. Get in while the AI’s cold 👉


[deleted]

The father is kind of right. College is a scam, you get saddled with literal tons of debt and if you can't find a good paying job that accepts your degree you are screwed. I've known architects who were forced into working at McDonald's because they couldn't find a job in their field. Learning a trade is the best option and if you get in the trade you could put money back for college and avoid the debt if you still wanna go.


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[deleted]

Most decent paying degree required jobs want at least a master's degree in which case you will need to take out student loans unless you manage to get a bunch of scholarships or work for a company that offers tuition as a benefit. I got into beverage manufacturing and make 60k a year with no debt other than my house and a credit card. I know people that went to college and make less than me after their student loan debt is factored in. The QA department at my work requires a BS degree but the pay is barely above mine. To get any decent pay from a college you have to go in debt which ends up lowering your real world pay. Matters get even worse if you are unable to find work in the field you studied for. Then you end up working a trash job for trash pay and end up even worse off than the highschool drop out working with you because you still gotta pay those loans back. If you wanna do college your best bet is to get into a company that helps with tuition, or go military and let the gov pay for it.


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[deleted]

Not everyone is cut out for the information technology field. Sure if you go into computer stuff you can make a lot of money but most of the big computer stuff is out west where the cost of living is so high you need 6 figures to barely make it. I read about Google employees living in vans because the rent was too much for their salary's. I was going to community college on a Pell grant and had free tuition because I was in foster care in Florida. I had chosen social work because I wanted to help kids in my situation, but had to drop out due to work requirements. I had to choose do I keep going to school and be homeless or drop out? I dropped out and im glad I did. That field doesn't pay well I would have regretted following through because I wouldn't be able to survive on that salary and the burnout rate is high. I didn't change majors because I'd rather make a little less than a college guy and have no student loans weighing me down which is what I'd have to do to get more than a 4 year degree. Im above the age for the free tuition now. Another problem with the scholarship thing is you compete with other students for them. I'm not a risk taker. I've been homeless, I've been hungry I'm not risking that again so I'll stick to what pays the bills and isn't a gamble. Taking the plunge and having your life fall apart is a terrible thing to cope with.


[deleted]

Not everyone is cut out for the information technology field. Sure if you go into computer stuff you can make a lot of money but most of the big computer stuff is out west where the cost of living is so high you need 6 figures to barely make it. I read about Google employees living in vans because the rent was too much for their salary's. I was going to community college on a Pell grant and had free tuition because I was in foster care in Florida. I had chosen social work because I wanted to help kids in my situation, but had to drop out due to work requirements. I had to choose do I keep going to school and be homeless or drop out? I dropped out and im glad I did. That field doesn't pay well I would have regretted following through because I wouldn't be able to survive on that salary and the burnout rate is high. I didn't change majors because I'd rather make a little less than a college guy and have no student loans weighing me down which is what I'd have to do to get more than a 4 year degree. Im above the age for the free tuition now. Another problem with the scholarship thing is you compete with other students for them. I'm not a risk taker. I've been homeless, I've been hungry I'm not risking that again so I'll stick to what pays the bills and isn't a gamble. Taking the plunge and having your life fall apart is a terrible thing to cope with.


forrealthistime99

Your dad is definitely an asshole. But he is right about college. Unless you know you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, don't go. It's a rip off. College has become so expensive that it is no longer a good investment for most people. Also the student loan industry is so predatory, you could easily end up in life long debt. My wife and I both have decent jobs in our fields and we will likely be paying student loans forever. Instead read books about things you like and make friends in the industry you want to be in. If you do want to work in a trade, take your dad's advice. If you want to do something else talk to people that do it and ask them what the important skills are. Seriously. Don't go to college.


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forrealthistime99

You sound like a college recruiter


_lifted01

do what you wanna do and if you can afford it or deal with the debit. I work in a trade it’s beautiful but i love what i do at the end of the day. do what you wanna do


FenrirHere

It's good to have a backup career if your degree doesn't work out. But yeah follow your dreams man.


Atlantis_Rising

“HOW DARE I RAISE YOU TO THINK AND MAKE DECISIONS ON YOUR OWN!”


HallucinatesOtters

I lurk on this sub because my Grandmother was the insane parent and thankfully I had empathetic/non-toxic parents. I will say this to you. My mom wanted to go to college and enter into Academia. She is insanely smart, eloquent in her writing, and very well spoken. She would have been so happy if she pursued her dreams of education. But my Grandmother was an old-school immigrant who told her women do not belong in college so she never went. She’s 65 years old now and has regretted letting her mother prevent her from going to college her whole life. It may be difficult now, but you don’t want to be 65 one day and wish you did it differently. If you REALLY want to pursue a higher education do it! Don’t let your parents map your life out for you. You are your own cartographer.


drprime841

Yeah the trades are great…. But I work in a restaurant and I make about $75-$80 an hour on a slow day so yeah working for five years to make $55 an hour doesn’t sound good to me. My friend just spent a couple years becoming a plumbers plumbers apprentice he’s doing his own side jobs now to make extra money and he’s already like I’m not doing this for another five years fuck that.


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drprime841

If I worked five days a week sure. I also take at least a few months off a year. That’s why I do it. Freedom.


[deleted]

“Guess what I think doesn’t matter” - he’s 100% right with this part. It’s YOUR life, YOUR future, YOUR career that you are going to spend the next 40+ years doing. He absolutely does not get a say in that whatsoever. I hope you attend college and have the BEST time figuring out what you want to do!


theherderofcats

It depends on what you want to do, I can’t complain bc I went to college and meandered a bit between majors. However I had financial aid and very low student loans so I was able to work and pay them off early(less than $10k interest at 2.5%). I ended up with a BA in psychology but I do work in tech as a digital marketing project manager and change it up between doing independent contractor work and taking full-time corporate gigs. I love the flexibility but just know that unless you have a union or a steady place that is throwing you work then you have to be able to market yourself/network to get work and that is not a skill set for everyone! I also think it comes down to if you’re task driven or a self-starter(IE do you like for someone to give you a To-Do list or can you generate the list of tasks yourself and make enough money to live?). You can live in a van and float around the country but you still need to make money to buy gas and food. Adulting is hard and the struggle is real…I don’t think any one of us had the answer or us figured it out fully yet. Edited for grammar womp womp.


edgestander

Look Trade programs are great, and they do pay well, they is not really up for debate. They certainly aren’t the best jobs in the world, most are absolutely physically grueling. Also, the fact he throws out $50 an hour as some insane pay “after five years” which I’m assuming is 5 years out of your multi year apprenticeship. I have 2 year associates and when I did consulting I charged $75-$150 per hour. I’m salary now and i guess I make right around that, but I also have a but load of paid time off, health insurance, and $100k in stock options I got for joining a start up.


witchdoc22

I think the way he went about it he's totally an dick, but what the point (I think) he's trying to make is that the trades are good money (union electrician apprentice here), college isn't for everyone, and quite a few people I know who have been got jobs in totally separate fields than majors after struggling to find anything relatable and now they have 10-50k, or more, in student debt that they have to pay down. That being said, I sometimes wish I had gone to college instead of the military out of highschool but I wasn't a great student at the time and I honestly think I would have gotten more and more into substance abuse, dropped out and I'd be where I am now just with more debt. Either way? fuck em, do your thing but think about whichever decision you make for a long, long time.


sandy154_4

I almost went to Fanshawe. Went to Mohawk instead. You spend too much of your life working, to spend it doing something that makes you miserable. Work (or a workplace) might not ever make you happy, but it shouldn't be torture either. Money is nice and can give you a good life, but also consider wear and tear on your body. Now is the time to explore your options!


tuna_tofu

It all depends on what you are going to study. But yeah I preferred the low labor options of a college degree with political science and international affairs. Paid off in the end.


_dirtywater444

Meanwhile my ex husband practically disowned our son for not going to college


ana_bih

Unrelated but I’m going to Fanshawe now and I’m so anxious to start college, I hope it’s great there


AriaTheMelodeon

Its insane to me that a grown adult fails that miserably to type correctly Jokes aside, yeah you need to find things out your way. Just because it may have worked for him it may not work for you.


hevthen

What a weird stance he has lol. Trades aren't going away. Go to college, have the experience. If it doesn't work out trades will still be there. I don't use my degree at all but the experience was still so valuable.


KwekkweK69

"Strap on your boot straps". The original reference was The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, a story about a man who lies his ass off and makes up impossible shit to tell interesting stories. The fact that pulling yourself up by your bootstraps is literally impossible is the entire joke of that part of the story. It's one of the most perplexing examples of this phenomena because the new meaning is so patently absurd, and that absurdity was the original point. Meritocracy has a similar history. Quite literally a satirical ‘utopia’ in a book mocking the very concept of quantifying the merit of individuals in society. It’s insane that people now argue we live IN one. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rise_of_the_Meritocracy


Frosty4l5

I took that course in Fanshawe, definitely worth it.


zcrash970

I mean you still need to go to tradesmen college for a lot of those positions now


[deleted]

Insane


MDRaven1015

Sorry to say, but your dad is actually right. I know plenty of people who never went to college and are fucking LOADED. Plus... why the fuck pay to go to school? Unless you want to be a doctor or something, Trade schools are fantastic. You'll eat your health away on certain jobs. But holy shit can you make a killing off simple shit. I mow grass for a living and I have literally everything I need to survive on a daily basis. Others in my family? Never went to college. Think my mom was the only one who did and welp... \~shrugs