Trades another job category to consider....

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I am thinking of enrolling one of these courses at a school near me in Boston MA to take courses in Machine Tooling and for journeyman electrician license...
To me it is just a way of passing time. I cannot be optimistic about finding a job in either since

A) I am 36 and will be competing with early 20 somethings who always seem to have first crack at jobs & are preferred automatically in most jobs (especially trades) in the Boston MA area

B) My 'baggage' from previous work history. I am getting help but I think only medication is effective but is a bandaid --- I take 40MG of Adderall & 80MG of Prozac a day now along with other meds.

My father thought such an idea was ridiculous since I have no experience in either field and of course (A) -- rampant age discrimination (35 is the new 55 ) of course is the next hurdle

http://wit.edu/continuinged/Workforce-T ... ician.html

Somehow the media and schools talk about this huge shortage and how younger people are "not interested" in the trades. Supposedly there are over 150,000 positions in the state of Massachusetts that cannot be filled because of lack of qualified / skilled applicants

What bothers you about working with your hands? Depending on the trade, it doesn't necessarily mean intense physical effort all day. Many of them are just doing fine work (eg locksmiths).

The thing about office work is that almost all those jobs are very, very social. If you're not a "people person", you'll be eaten alive by office politics.

For myself, I would rather work in a trade as opposed to the constant drudgery of an office. I am in pretty good shape for my age. I am 5'6"/135LBS and do 1-2 hours of workouts or other exercise each day. In an office environment I am constantly reaching for the 'Addies' (Adderall tablets) and make up for the extras over the weekend.. In most jobs you have to be social & work well with people, but I have found that in many office environments people are very cliquey and standoffish. If you dare try to make small talk or even say 'hi' to someone walking down the hall when you pass then you are given a condescending look or ignored

I've been a pipefitter apprentice for about 3 years now, and I work in Western Canada in the oilfields/mining sector. I think it's a great job for someone with AS who has some mechanical inclination and works hard (I think most of us do). You make big money out here, and there are lots of jobs and opportunities... There aren't that many desk jobs that pay $100K, and if you are on the right jobs out here, you can gross that as a first year apprentice. Trades are tough at first, and you can get picked on a lot (I did), but if you stick it out, it's worth it. You also need to go where the work is to get an apprenticeship. I would reccomend the construction trades, because they are the highest paying. Electrician, Ironworker, pipefitter, scaffolder, boiler-maker, and millwright are the best in my opinion.

My biggest problem with white collar jobs is the excessive amount of NT competition for them, and the emphasis on marketing yourself and people skills to get the job (it's who you know, not what you know). That and the education arms race going on, just to get in.

If you really want to get into a trade, a good way to start is to search for your local union chapter of the trade you're interested in, and contact them to find out how you can get an apprenticeship (union tradesmen tend to make the most money).

The best part of a trade is, it's easy to get into and make the big bucks (while things are booming at least, I think most of the US is hurting for work), and when you leave work you don't have to think about it. The worst parts are: lots of tradesmen are a**holes, and you need to learn how to blend in or you can get harassed pretty badly (women especially). Also, trades are hard on your body and life. You work 50+ hrs a week, your back hurts, and you're tired most of the time. Also the work can be tough to predict in construction, and it is a cyclical industry where it can be feast or famine. Many construction tradesmen are divorced too, as the traveling is tough on marriages.

A friend in the trade told me though: "Unless you're going to become a doctor or an investment banker or a wallstreet lawyer, this is the most money you're ever going to make" ... which is probably true. I would add that engineers can make big $, but again they need to go where the work is too or risk unemployment (there's a lot of unemployed engineers believe it or not).

Sounds great for you, but like I said I am not 100% optimistic when I have a poor previous career (in accounting & finance) as well as bad credit -- I don't know about Canada but in the USA pretty much every employer does a credit check now as part of the pre employment background screen.

How exactly do you get such an apprentice job? That is the question (that NO ONE has an answer for especially when you are older --- 28 is still golden in the USA, after 35 you are pretty much considered overqualified aka 'too old'..

Again, I could take go for the Journeyman Electrician course & license but without having an employer sign off on the experience part, it is pretty much useless if you cannot find an apprenticeship. The only answer I got about this was 'This program will qualify you for jobs and about this "shortage" that the media keeps talking about that seems to ONLY APPLY to people age 30 and younger.

My father basically laughed at the idea basically I would be wasting my time and not to expect any help whatsoever for this.

{{{If you really want to get into a trade, a good way to start is to search for your local union chapter of the trade you're interested in, and contact them to find out how you can get an apprenticeship (union tradesmen tend to make the most money).}}}}

You have NO IDEA the competition for such jobs at least in the NYC/New England area and how much patronage, cronyism & nepotism there is. Again, they are only interested in the wet behind the ears just out of high school 19 year olds if they have any openings.

{{{{The best part of a trade is, it's easy to get into and make the big bucks (while things are booming at least, I think most of the US is hurting for work), and when you leave work you don't have to think about it. The worst parts are: lots of tradesmen are a**holes, and you need to learn how to blend in or you can get harassed pretty badly (women especially). Also, trades are hard on your body and life. You work 50+ hrs a week, your back hurts, and you're tired most of the time. Also the work can be tough to predict in construction, and it is a cyclical industry where it can be feast or famine. Many construction tradesmen are divorced too, as the traveling is tough on marriages. }}}

I don't want to offend you, but you really sound like a shill for CNN or some of the Mainstream Media here that talks about big bucks, 100K salaries with no experience and basically a world of rainbows & unicorns. When you have constantly tried to do the right thing and constantly treated like s**t by others (even if it subtle) it is hard to be optimistic..

Again, how exactly do you 'get into it' (especially if coming from another career)?? NO ONE seemed to be able to have a concrete answer to that question. I think before spending close to $10,000 I should have that comfort level

Oh yeah, I did constant a few of these local union chapters in this state and wasn't given the time of day let alone get any information (they didn't seem like they would provide ANY information whatsoever and couldn't believe I would dare contact them)

I can tell my experience. I have 2 different types of jobs and I have an HVAC certification. So far, I have worked in building maintainence jobs at a department store and worked for a short time for a service company for only a short time. But the owner will give me a good reference. Space is right about getting picked on, in fact, it is the reason I did not do a trade in the first place, that and my dad was against it because he worked in a mill and was afraid I would be picked on too. In fact, when I worked at the department store, even though my boss liked me the Loss Prevention officer gave me a hard time and I ended up quitting because of him (no I did not steal a thing but I did not handle his questioning very well) and my boss did not stand up for me. Anyway I like heating and air conditioning, I find the equipment interesting. There is customer service involved which I think I would like but other people I can't handle it if the customers were mean.

Oh, and my other job? Transcribing medical records, a desk job. Turns out a lot of women in that field are assholettes too. And that industry is unstable too.

Nick, one way I got into a trade was I took a general maintaince job at, in my case, a department store. So I did a lot of cleanup, floor stripping, carpet repairs, and minor repairs.

One form of discrimination I have found in trades is that I am a bit older and gay and do not have a family. I think what happens is that some young man comes along and somehow tells the employer "I have a wife and kids and another one on the way" and they get the job because they "need" it more. I also think that employers like people with "obligations" too.

I hear what you're saying, and I agree about the nepotism/cronyism in the unions, it's the same here. Let me clarify that I live in western canada (alberta/SK area) and it is fairly easy to get into the trades HERE.... most of Canada and the USA is hurting pretty bad and even very experienced guys can't get any work let alone a green guy like you. If you are really serious about working here, you can get in, but you will need to come here in person and beg for a job (that's what I did) and you will most likely get in. It's not that uncommon, lots of guys from across canada are here doing apprenticeships. 100K in your first year is high, but it can be done. It's a matter of what jobs you are on (some have lots of overtime hours, this is where the biggest money is) and some pay living allowance ($100+ tax free every day you work in addition to your wages). Also I'm speaking about industrial work, that is where the money is, commercial jobs you won't make anywhere near that.