Did anybody say "tattoo removal"?

Fully support a trade school route. Don't rule out college, because A&M definitely is a cool place, even if its not the A&M of the old days pre 20 by 20 & entrance initiatives. In my mind, all a degree does anymore is get a foot in the door. What your teenager does with that foot is on them.

Oilfield isn't bad, lots of good experience, trainings etc with good pay. With all the automation/electrification, lots of jobs with knowledge/skills needed that would be transferrable, all without a degree, though I'm sure it helps put you on top of the stack especially with a good work ethic.

Really depends on what they're interested in. If outdoors scares a kid, oilfield probably not the right choice. For someone thats mechanically inclined & loves moving around - might fit the bill. Lots of options here that most kids (me included) didn't even consider when going to college.

tstc may be the only decent government program

Hagen95 said:

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You're responding to the same guy? Next time you actually talk to a plumber, ask them if they deal with **** in their job or ever have?

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Never trust a plumber that picks his nose. Just sayin

Captain Winky said:

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I think the whole trade school circle jerk is way overblown. Hey go be a plumber and wade through other people's sh/t. That's easy for you to tell someone else, but would you be willing to. The trades also exclude about half the country's population. We expect and think women can take on these jobs? Yeah, no.

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This seems pretty obtuse. I think lots of people are still willing to work hard, even if that percentage in Gen Z is low. All the more reason to get in a trade. Do the type of work that few are willing to do and you can have a very nice career.

As for women, they are probably better than men at some skills. I think I had read somewhere about them being technically better at certain types of welding. Plus, there are all kinds of opportunities for woman-owned businesses.

i swear some of yall are from another planet.

I met an ATS programmer that said he was one of only four or five people in the state that do what he does, and the money is really good.

Sounds like a good plan!

What about mortician? It's recession proof. You'll always have customers.
I believe RTT has some background here.

Haven't read all the responses but I might suggest:

Trade school -- petrochemical plant operation, electrician

College -- whatever degree relates the most to AI with a minor in Chinese language (Mandarin?)

Hagen95 said:

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62strat said:

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ABATTBQ11 said:

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Hagen95 said:

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Do you like dealing with people's ***** Because that's what plumbers do. It's literally ****ty work.

Climbing in attics in the summer to work on A/C systems is pretty taxing labor, but it can be a good wage. There are plenty of trade jobs for a reason. Very few people want to do the labor involved.

My kids are looking at careers as they graduate HS now and it's still easily more lucrative to go to a good college and get a good degree. There are plenty of outliers but the averages are still there for college being a good successful life.

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That's what service plumbers do. Plenty of plumbers do new build and renovation work only, meaning they're really only in the business of installing new stuff. They're not the ones you call for stopped up drains.

Same for HVAC. Some of it may be crawling in attics and servicing equipment, but others are only installing in new builds. Others are doing commercial work, which is very different.

Honestly, being an elevator installer or technician is a pretty nice gig. You're pretty much only going to work in conditioned space, and the pay is really high. Median is about $100k, and even the lowest of the low paid make decent money, like $50k-$60k.

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I wasn't going to say anything.. but clearly this person doesn't really know the industry.

I don't know a single plumber that deals with people's ****, or a single HVAC tech thats crawls in attics.

That's because I work in new build, commercial, and so do all my plumbers and hvac techs.
It's pretty kush for these guys. Maybe a little cold if the timing is bad and there's no heat yet in Dec-Feb.

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I'm a building inspector/official and deal with tradesmen all day, every day, (commercial, residential, industrial). Sounds like all you do is new construction, which isn't what all trades people deal with. There's a whole world of plumbing that you aren't dealing with.

I thought we were recommending jobs to young kids coming out of HS. An apprentice tradesman isn't for everyone.

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Well this is ironic...

Kool said:

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Wouldn't recommend becoming an M.D. unless it was your absolute passion since you were a kid or something like that AND your Mommy and Daddy are going to foot sever hundred thousands of dollars in tuition bills. I feel blessed and fortunate that Kool Jr. has no such aspirations.

Depending on the regulations of the state you want to live in, however, being an Anaesthesia Assistant, Anaesthesia PA, or Certified Registered Nurse Anaesthetist would be a great job to aim towards.

Hang out in the O.R. scrolling through your phone, occasionally looking up at some monitors and adjusting knobs while the M.D. takes on all of the risk. What's not to love for an 18-year-old?

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Oldest daughter is almost done with her accelerated BSN degree and after a few years wants to become a CNP. The medical field can be good if you have a passion for it because it's hard to outsource that to India or China.

Army Officer!

My wife is a PA and loves it.

Her best friend is a CRNA and so is her husband in Houston. They make some good money

oh no...don't recommend that. do anything except for joining the Army.

Waco area, I think. They probably have similar programs, though.

I've had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the Army.

But not for everyone that's for sure. Some how still on my first wife and no DUIs!

People make money in various ways but as society gets dumber and dumber and more distracted, money intake has expanded onto non-traditional jobs.

It's just about going viral, that's it. Go do something stupid or be funny on camera and you'll become famous. Then you can grift and get into cripto like that Tuah girl. There are 18 year old kids streaming on twitch about gaming and politics that make a lot of money. Have charisma, be funny, go viral, stream. Sad but it's reality