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Mike Rowe and Trades


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Yesterday I read an article online about Mike Rowe and his thoughts on trades training.  I know this forum is often focused strongly on college as an end goal, but I wondered what your thoughts were about what he said, and if you feel his ideas have merit.  I have at times been castigated a bit here on the forum because I am not a "college at all cost" kind of person, and maybe I haven't spoken to that as succinctly as I think Mike did.

 

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/23/mike-rowe-of-dirty-jobs-speaks-about-hard-work-how-many-are-following-the-worst-advice-in-the-history-of-the-world/

 

It had me wondering, how many folks here have kids that are not likely to be headed to college?  How many of you have struggled to help them find a path as they think about their future?  Did you start when they were younger thinking in one direction but time and experience led you differently?  Are there many of you who are not "doing high school" with the same materials that the majority of folks seem to use here?

 

I'd really love to read the thoughts of those of you with kids like that...I already know the thoughts of so many others whose kids are college bound, and I deeply respect them (and have a couple of my own who are likely to head there!).  No bashing, please, I don't need to be called ignorant, foolish, or limiting for simply acknowledging that every kid isn't going to go to college, or if they go, they aren't all going to finish.  (I have privately been called that due to posts here, so sorry if I am tentative).

 

So, anyone willing to share?  I wrote what I thought over at my new homeschooling blog, so I won't bother to repeat it here, but it got me to thinking there MUST be someone here out of the thousands of moms, who might have something pretty insightful to say about this.

 

 

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Our goal has never been college. Our goal has always been to raise educated, useful, happy, productive adults. This may or may not include college. Our ds knows that the goal is to find work that pays the bills and makes him happy. He also knowsvwe won't be paying for college, so he had better need that degree. We have also made it clear that if he does go to college, he also should have a skill that is useful. Again the goal is to raise productive, happy useful adults. Not everyone needs to go to college. We will always need mechanics, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians. These jobs can pay the bills, and can make some people very happy! My dh loves working on cars, always has, and we more then support ourselves on his salary. He would never have been happy in a office, he needs and wants to work with his hands. I know many people who classically educate in real life that have similar goals. It has only been here that I see such a college push.

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I feel my goal is to raise my kiddos to the point of college, as well as a trade if that is what they so desire. I have had so many in my family start out in trades only to find themselves in college by their early thirties. Their experience have taught me that we should prepare our kiddos for multiple life paths. What one chooses at age 18, might be totally different from a career the same person chooses at age 40.

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Definitely these should be options. I especially think that a lot of 18 year olds would benefit from a few years working while deciding what they want to major in. At the university, I see so many students come in as 'undecided', when they are really there because it is the next step after high school. Quite a few of them fail out and leave with nothing other than $5k of debt and some bad grades on their permanent record (we're low-cost and most students have Pell). For these students, a job would have been a much superior idea.

 

However, parents of academically capable kids should not decide for their kids, especially not while still in middle school, that they're going for a trade and therefore don't need a college-prep education. IOW, doors should be open as long as possible. Please note, I did say academically capable -- I have no issues whatsoever altering the educational trajectory for less capable students.

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I could not read the article, because the website had so many pop-ups and doo-dads that I could not wade through them to get to the text. (I was also extremely put off by the obvious political agenda of the site.) I did skim through an article written by Mike Rowe that you posted previously. While I want to agree with him, I found his writing awfully hard to trudge through.

 

I will say that, In general -- and this always gets me either odd looks or eyerolls given my own kids' educational paths -- I don't think we should be pushing college for everyone. I think it creates unnecessary pressure on young people who don't actually need the kind of education that college was designed to provide to get in and try to get through, no matter what. And far too many of them can't make it and still end up burdened by debt for degrees they never finished. Those students would have been much better off with solid high school educations and access to high quality job/vocational training.

 

And, from the other side, I think the push to send everyone to college actually dumbs down and cheapens the education available to those who truly are prepared for and interested in the kind of experience college was designed to provide, which was not specifically vocational.

 

Unfortunately, what's happened, I think, as we keep trying to raise standards, is that we're not actually teaching most people more than they would have learned in previous generations. Instead, we're massaging curriculum and scheduling in order to justify handing out diplomas and degrees. Since we are told that more kids graduation from high school  is a goal, we make it easier to graduate from high school. Then, we point to the raising graduation rate and say, "See? We're making it better!"

 

It's a lot like standardized testing as a measure of school success: The fact that students earn higher scores on standardized tests this year than they did last year doesn't necessarily mean they learned more. It may just mean they are getting better at taking standardized tests.

 

The fact that more kids are going to college doesn't necessarily mean our high schools are doing a better job of preparing them. It may just mean we are making it easier to get into college. (Yes, I know we've all heard how hard it is to get into college these days, but that's a myth. There are actually more "seats" in college classrooms than are filled each year. What is actually happening is that more students are trying to squeeze into a small percentage of colleges that are perceived as attractive or prestigious AND are competing for scholarship money to make it possible to attend. The fact is that any reasonably capable student who wants to go to college and can afford to write a check to cover the tuition can find a college that will admit him/her.)

 

I don't think the current approach does any favors to the kids who are being pushed unreasonably to chase after, endure and pay for an "education" they don't need. Nor do I think it benefits the students who are actually interested in and have the ability to benefit from a meaningful college education. And I can't see how it's good for the country, as a whole, to keep supporting this strategy.

 

 

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Mike Rowe has said this often since beginning Dirty Jobs, there is a deficiency in skill trades. We just want our daughter and any other children to be happy. If they want to go be a skill tradesman/woman/person we support that. If they want to go to medical school or law school or whatever else, go for it. Our goal is to raise kids on how to learn

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My wish for my kids is that they grow into adults who are terminally curious about the world. I don't want them to dismiss something because it is too dirty (manual work), or too old (history), or too far away (international travel and geopolitical news), or too artsy (art museums), or lofty (literature), or precise (math), or impractical (almost any language studied in the US that isn't Spanish - with German and Latin falling square in the middle of impractical in many minds).

 

I want to hold doors open for my kids as long and as wide as I can. Which is why my tech minded son still studies Latin and reads Jane Eyre and why my language and politics leaning son will still do four years of math. It's also why we have scrap wood in the garage for them to build stuff with and why I don't hire a lawn service when I have three strong sons. (In fact my eldest spent two weeks of the summer working

 

I think that it's easy to read too much into some of the posts here. There are some in any group of parents who expect college or else (just as there are parents who proclaim any college to be a waste and potentially a den of iniquity at that). What I hear in most college related posts isn't a college or bust voice. But it is encouragement that kids can live through more demanding math and literature than they would pick for themselves. That we should be stingy in applying labels or ruling out options. (I remember an article about schools in Hawaii in which a building trade union official lamented that the union had started its own math instruction program for high school graduates because they couldn't find enough students who could pass the math test to begin apprentice training.)

 

I also see a lot of posts that are attempts to share hard won experience. That an adult life in construction is hard on the 50 year old body, that many jobs can be done just as easily from overseas. Also that there are lots of colleges out there, that some of those colleges encourage applications from far more qualified students than they can accept, that it's wise for students with hopes to attend very selective schools to understand that there are expectations from those schools and also a game to be played. And that there can only be so many students accepted, so make sure you have a Plan B, C and D.

 

I suspect that I'm a voice who can be read as pushing college. Especially when I'm talking about applications to service academies. My intent isn't to push college over all other options. But I do want students to have a realistic and accurate understanding of the application process and what will weigh in their favor. I talk to too many students who finally get around to talking to a service academy representative when they have already missed several important deadlines. Or who think that all they need to do is meet minimums, rather than be an outstanding candidate in a highly competitive process (made more competitive by the area in which I live).

 

Cyndi, I don't think you are naïve, foolish or any other negative adjective. I think there are a lot of kids who go off to college just because it is the next thing, without thinking through what they think they might be doing four years later. But I also wonder if we've had some major shifts as a culture. My dad recently retired after about 50 years of manufacturing. He had spent at least the last 30 supervising various manufacturing plants, from door manufacturing, to paint, to adhesives and packaging. He is the sort of experienced mechanic who is almost a self-taught engineer. He could design a new production line and also drive a fork truck. But I also know that they men they hired to replace him all came with college degrees. Similarly, I look at the big Nestle manufacturing plant that was lured into the former automotive town where our extended family lives. Great big plant for food processing. The jobs they have listed frequently expect a technical background and a bachelor's degree. There are some entry level production jobs, but there doesn't seem to be a pathway into management without a degree.

 

On the other hand, I fear that a great deal of college time is a tremendous waste of time, money and effort. I worry that the goal of many university departments is to indoctrinate rather than educate. That reading classics isn't enough, but that classics are only acceptable with an ideological spin on the interpretation. That history departments teach far too little American, European and global history and far to many studies of minor topics. I see many students who seem to graduate from college with impractical degrees and a lot of debt.

 

I'd like to see trades promoted more as an option. I'm just not sure that the structure to support a working life in trades will exist for my kids' generation.

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I wanted to shore our son's non-college success story, but it got too personal. Suffice to say, at least one academically strong homeschooled student has tried college, left college, and is well on his way to the fascinating career of his dreams WITHOUT a college degree! (A very hands-on career....)

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One development near us is that the local vo-tech school has expanded to become a full academic high school, so it's no longer enough to want to learn welding. You still need to to take bio. I think in all the frantic panic about our slipping behind the world in STEM fields, we're forgetting to train plumbers, which will not end well when techies need their drains snaked out. I don't know if the same thing is happening to vo-techs elsewhere, but it seems rather stupid.

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I didn't read all the posts...

 

I have sons who will likely go through trades. Which has nothing to do with whether they will end up with a degree.

 

I get frustrated by the social set up that says there is an either or set up when in fact, there often isn't. It is not a trade vs higher education. Quite often a trade IS just as validly a higher education as a college program.

 

For example, I find it ridiculous to say someone whose focus and core curriculum was built around music (or biology or...) received "higher" education and a college degree. But if someone has a focus and core curriculum built around machines, building, maintaining, blue printing, and so forth, well they "just" have a trade. And maybe a certificate.

 

They both have a trade or skill. They both have obtained higher education related to their chosen profession. But only one of them is deemed to have received "higher" education.

 

I call BS on that.

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Plan A, B, C, and D for 18 and I believe Plan A-D for when they're 30 as well. I don't think everyone needs college (I'm a 46 year old college freshman). I don't think a degree is the only way to be successful. 

 

Dh spent over 30 years in construction, some years successfully, some years break even, working for himself most of the time. By 40 his body was hurting, at 52 he's looking to change careers. He considered night school in his 30s but would have never made it awake through class. A physically demanding job (degreed or not) needs  a backup. The challenge he's found is that changing careers requires a degree, that magical piece of paper to get your resume in the pile. 

 

He recently took a math placement test for college and did well. I'm not surprised, he's not academic, but he basically see structures in 3D. 

 

IMO there needs to be a change how trades are looked at. Where we both grew up trades is a viable option for a man/woman who wants to work hard and possibly be their own boss. We have, however, lived in an area where the trades were not respected. It seemed everyone who dropped out of school picked up a hammer and wanted to call themselves a professional carpenter. My dh has a GED, so it wasn't like he was looking down on them, but I was shocked at how some of his customers initially treated him. It truly was quite different from where we grew up. If you've watched This Old House, this is part of the professionalism dh tried to bring to his job. "I'm a professional with years of experience, business owner...." type stuff. Where trades weren't respected it was hard to find quality subcontractors who would do the work right the first time. It was its own self-perpetuating cycle. 

 

Anyway, I think we (as a nation) need to get to the point where we respect the career choices, and provide options for those who want to do something different later on. If online options for degrees had been as abundant as they are today, dh could have changed careers earlier. 

 

I'd also like to see more apprentice programs, even ones where individual business owners could get a grant or loan to hire an apprentice. Dh liked to mentor individuals, but it's hard to teach when your customer wants you done yesterday. You just don't have the time to devote to that while on the job. 

 

I do think business training is helpful for anyone wanting to own their own trade business. Dh learned it all the hard way over many years. I always said ds would go into construction over my dead body, thankfully he doesn't want to to that. Dh wants ds to attend college and not do construction. Trades are hard, you have to wear different hats, stability can vary over regions and times of the year. In our area pay has stagnated and dh was making the same salary in 2012 as he did in 1999. But we'll always need someone who can fix your toilet or remodel your kitchen - that's not going away. 

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OP, I just wanted to say I agree with what you have said and what Mike Rowe says.  Debt is a 4 letter word.  There is more than one path to success.  College is not for every one. 

 

I'm fairly certain that our son will head off to college to study engineering unless God says otherwise.  :)   He comes from a long line of engineers and he has the genes for math and science.  I do see him getting weary, though, of book learning.  At the moment we are staying the college prep route.  Our daughter, I'm not sure where she will end up but she is only 11.  She's bright but flighty and lives in the moment.  She has a wonderful zest for life and is artsy.  Right now she is not liking math.  And she sees that she doesn't always grasp math as quickly as big bro which bothers her.  But we are plugging along because we want her a good foundation in math.   And getting good at math can mean doing lots of problems.  At least it seems like a lot to one who doesn't want to do it.  :)  Maybe I should show her all the problems in a Saxon lesson.  Then she wouldn't complain about doing 3-4 pages a day in Math Mammoth! :)

 

I think all parents should make sure their children have a solid foundation in the basics - reading, writing, and arithmetic.  With that foundation and critical thinking skills, whatever path is taken will be successful.  Recently, a local businessman who runs a diesel repair shop was complaining that even in tech school grads nowadays are lacking critical thinking skills.  So critical thinking skills can't be forgotten either.  With a great foundation, one can always build upon it at a later time in life, no matter that age or path of education chosen.

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My belief is most students will need some kind of post secondary education or training. The foundation before high school graduation is essential whether the student is planning on an apprenticeship, trade school, or college. When I look at the people I see who have been particularly successful with trades (plumbing, HVAC, hairdressing, etc.) all are well spoken, well educated people who know how to present themselves professionally.

 

This may be of interest to someone reading this thread. A free trade school for young men, located outside of Philadelphia. It offers associate degrees in several trades and it is has free tuition, room,and board. It looks to be a very strict Christian environment with an emphasis on structure and hard work.  I haven't investigated the program, but for the right person it might be worth checking into.    http://www.williamson.edu/index.htm

 

Mike Rowe also has a trade school scholarship program going on right now. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/the-next-big-thing/

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I took my graduate level education and became a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom.  Is that a trade?  I doubt there is much in the way of a degree for that sort of work.  There certainly isn't much in the way of training or apprenticeship either (although there are some fabulous mentors to be found).

 

One important point (that I'd like to echo from previous posters) that I've learned from friends and relations in various trades is that choosing an apprenticeship or trade progression for a career doesn't mean you can be a slacker in high school.  Many trades are quite lucrative but they require skills and an education.  If you intend to open your own shop you will need enough of an education to run a business.  This doesn't mean you need an MBA but it isn't a pass on having a successful and challenging completion of high school. 

 

It is important to me is that my kids enjoy life, remain open to experiences and learning, and that they go on to earn an honest living to support themselves and their families.  I have mentioned that both a professor of engineering and a plumber earn an honest living-they need to decide where their own goals and life style choices lie.  In the meantime my job is to prepare them as best as I am able so that they have choices as adults.

 

 

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I only read through some of the posts so forgive me if I'm repeating something already stated.

 

I am in the camp of "dc has to go to college."  I have family members who are in trade and as successful as they are, I also know that there have been occasions where the lack of a degree was a roadblock for them.  I have no problem with any of my children going into a trade that they enjoy (as long as they can pay their own bills!) but I'm also trying to be realistic in that going back to school at an older age or when one has a family is much more challenging than if they go straight after high school.

 

If they're not sure what they want to study, I can suggest to them to get a degree with a business bent so that if they work for themselves, they can at least understand the financial aspect of the their business

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I'm a firm believer that college is not for everyone and that learning a trade is a valuable skill and education. Speaking practically, there are many who have a trade who are unlikely to be outsourced while many of those with an education are in constant worry of losing their jobs to other countries. Electricians, , plumbers, beauticians, and mechanics, just to name a few, are always in constant demand which should go far in proving their worth to our society.

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Yes and no. Where I live electricians and a few other trades are NOT in demand. Almost every electrician I know has had to change careers or leave their family and travel to different parts of the country to find work. Same with a few other trades. I do not follow the details of each trade but yeah, it is more than one. My son is still young and while I will encourage him to seek a career in a field that will give him a job where he will not have to fear outsourcing, I will never encourage him to be an electrician without a degree in electronics. Actually, no matter what his career goals I will encourage him to further his education. He may be able to get a job without going to college but to keep the job or move to a better position he will most likely need a degree.

 

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I agree with Mike Rowe, but would suggest certification at a minimum, and preferably an associates degree at an accredited school (NOT ITT tech...we've learned that the hard way in this family...those credits don't transfer to a regular school). Our local community colleges offer associates degrees in things like Plumbing, etc.. That AA may be needed if one is injured and needs a desk job one day.

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I do agree that you shouldn't go into debt. That being said, I've had friends miss out on jobs here because they never completed their degree, or they don't get paid as much because they don't have one. My friend K got a job offer doing something with computers because they thought she had a degree from somewhere, but they took back the offer when they found out it was incomplete. They said they'd give it to her if she finished her degree, even though her major was art history or something completely irrelevant. My other friend B also has a job in technology and while he's one of the best employees he gets paid less than my husband simply because he didn't go to college. I think these situations are silly, but they exist and I don't want my dd to be held back by not going to college.

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Our goal has never been college. Our goal has always been to raise educated, useful, happy, productive adults. This may or may not include college. Our ds knows that the goal is to find work that pays the bills and makes him happy. He also knowsvwe won't be paying for college, so he had better need that degree. We have also made it clear that if he does go to college, he also should have a skill that is useful. Again the goal is to raise productive, happy useful adults. Not everyone needs to go to college. We will always need mechanics, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians. These jobs can pay the bills, and can make some people very happy! My dh loves working on cars, always has, and we more then support ourselves on his salary. He would never have been happy in a office, he needs and wants to work with his hands. I know many people who classically educate in real life that have similar goals. It has only been here that I see such a college push.

:iagree:  :thumbup1:  Love this!

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We have a trade business. My husband is very intelligent, yet does not have a college degree( one credit shy! ). Our problem is hiring trained, educated, individuals. It seems any kid who cant make it in the academic track is pushed into the trades program. Imagine the caliber of applicants we get! We are working on highly technical equipment! Our hires have to take certification courses, work with clients, logically troubleshoot issues with equipment, write paperwork, bill clients etc.

 

Our country is going to be in some BIG trouble if trained skills are not given respect and $$$. Trades are not for losers! Trade schools are not for dummies! My kids are very intelligent. My boys have been trained by my dh, taken trade courses etc. they work in the field while in college. We hope they will take over our business when we retire. 2nd ds is probably the guy to do it. He is the brightest in the bunch! He is studying water treatment, hydro engineering and also small business entrepreneurial skills. He is going to be in high demand, as our trade is becoming more and more technical.....with fewer and fewer skilled people to install and repair equipment. It is a tough business. Clients are huffy and sometimes treat the guys like morons who couldn't get a job, so get in there and fix my furnace! ( which they do not know how to do even with their trust fund and multiple degrees.).

Now, I am a very academic mom! I believe everyone should be introduced to beauty first! Beauty should be the foundation on which we build the rest of our education. And what is more fun than a plumber with a copy of Lord Byron in his bag??

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We have a trade business. My husband is very intelligent, yet does not have a college degree( one credit shy! ). Our problem is hiring trained, educated, individuals. It seems any kid who cant make it in the academic track is pushed into the trades program. Imagine the caliber of applicants we get! We are working on highly technical equipment! Our hires have to take certification courses, work with clients, logically troubleshoot issues with equipment, write paperwork, bill clients etc.

 

Our country is going to be in some BIG trouble if trained skills are not given respect and $$$. Trades are not for losers! Trade schools are not for dummies! My kids are very intelligent. My boys have been trained by my dh, taken trade courses etc. they work in the field while in college. We hope they will take over our business when we retire. 2nd ds is probably the guy to do it. He is the brightest in the bunch! He is studying water treatment, hydro engineering and also small business entrepreneurial skills. He is going to be in high demand, as our trade is becoming more and more technical.....with fewer and fewer skilled people to install and repair equipment. It is a tough business. Clients are huffy and sometimes treat the guys like morons who couldn't get a job, so get in there and fix my furnace! ( which they do not know how to do even with their trust fund and multiple degrees.).

Now, I am a very academic mom! I believe everyone should be introduced to beauty first! Beauty should be the foundation on which we build the rest of our education. And what is more fun than a plumber with a copy of Lord Byron in his bag??

 

I'm sorry to derail this thread, but the idea of a smart guy, that works with his hands, and reads poetry has my heart going hubba hubba!!! 

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We have a trade business. My husband is very intelligent, yet does not have a college degree( one credit shy! ). Our problem is hiring trained, educated, individuals. It seems any kid who cant make it in the academic track is pushed into the trades program. Imagine the caliber of applicants we get! We are working on highly technical equipment! Our hires have to take certification courses, work with clients, logically troubleshoot issues with equipment, write paperwork, bill clients etc.

 

Our country is going to be in some BIG trouble if trained skills are not given respect and $$$. Trades are not for losers! Trade schools are not for dummies! My kids are very intelligent. My boys have been trained by my dh, taken trade courses etc. they work in the field while in college. We hope they will take over our business when we retire. 2nd ds is probably the guy to do it. He is the brightest in the bunch! He is studying water treatment, hydro engineering and also small business entrepreneurial skills. He is going to be in high demand, as our trade is becoming more and more technical.....with fewer and fewer skilled people to install and repair equipment. It is a tough business. Clients are huffy and sometimes treat the guys like morons who couldn't get a job, so get in there and fix my furnace! ( which they do not know how to do even with their trust fund and multiple degrees.).

Now, I am a very academic mom! I believe everyone should be introduced to beauty first! Beauty should be the foundation on which we build the rest of our education. And what is more fun than a plumber with a copy of Lord Byron in his bag??

 

I was thinking about this just the other day.  A friend is coordinating one of the state mandated recertification workshops that everyone with a pesticide license must take.  She had written a sheet of word problems--percentages, proportions, area and volume problems.  Granted, they were not complicated but they were non-trivial.  Critical, in fact, since over use of pesticides is a huge problem for many of our watersheds. 

 

Good arithmetic skills are a necessity in the profession.  Some chemistry knowledge is needed, some entomology.

 

Some of these people work on golf courses and also have turf grass knowledge.  Others own their own pesticide businesses or do farm related work.  Their knowledge base exceeds this one subject. 

 

I hear you, Mommyfaithe.  People in the trades should not only be treated with respect but monetarily rewarded.

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I'm strongly pushing my kids to get degrees. Because though I think it is stupid, it is a roadblock to not have one. Ignoring that won't change it. At some point they will want to move up and it's exceedingly difficult without a degree. Especially in a digital age where not checking the box on the online application means no one will even see the application.

 

But I have no problem with them going to trade school too. That's what one is doing now.

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I'm strongly pushing my kids to get degrees. Because though I think it is stupid, it is a roadblock to not have one. Ignoring that won't change it. At some point they will want to move up and it's exceedingly difficult without a degree. Especially in a digital age where not checking the box on the online application means no one will even see the application.

 

But I have no problem with them going to trade school too. That's what one is doing now.

I agree.  My kids know the degree is not optional...however,  their degree might not be their dream degree to begin with,  but one where they can earn a good living while pursuing their passions as adults.  This has worked beautifully for my oldest dd's ...one a graphic designer,  the other a registered dietician.  Both are in fields they love and their good paychecks help them to continue in their heart pursuits.  My oldest son is a trained and certified heating technician and could get his plumbers license if he wished to.  He is also certified as a personal trainer and swim coach/ water safety instructor/ lifeguard...which is how he is making money right now,  while pursuing an amateur kickboxing maui thai career..  He is also slowly working on his degree in business.

Ds#2, is a certified A/C refrigerant technician,  water treatment specialist and is a plumbing apprentice.  He is also pursuing a degree in small business/ entrepreneurial studies and will be formally studying Hydro-engineering once he takes a few more math classes.  He is a straight A student.  He is the plumber who always has his copy of Lord Byron close by :-)   

 

It is not an either/or situation in this world,  but a both.  If you are willing to work hard,  really bust your butt,  you can have both an education and a well-paying career that is not necessarily on the beaten path. 

 

We can not outright pay for our kids college educations, but,  we can provide them with the tools to earn money, pursue their degrees and have an income to cover their costs.  Getting a technical certification that helps pay for the cost of college,  gives you skills and some hands on experience is a win/win situation.

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The book Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew Crawford is a good read. I think he uses some colorful language, so keep that in mind. It's been a while since I read it. 

 

Here's the author bio: 

 

Matthew B. Crawford is a philosopher and mechanic. He has a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Chicago and served as postdoctoral fellow on its Committee on Social Thought. Currently a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, he owns and operates Shockoe Moto, an independent motorcycle repair shop in Richmond, Virginia.
 
 
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