Originally Posted by
braslvr
Most of the country is in desperate need of tradespeople and has been for many years. 20-30 years ago high schools started suggesting/insisting that EVERYONE should go to college and get a degree. Industrial arts classes were cut back or eliminated at most high schools. This is the result. I'm currently 1 month in on a 15 month wait to get a new roof on my house. I recently waited 10 weeks to get a head gasket replaced on a diesel pickup by a competent shop. It goes on and on. In most of CA, it's normal for halfway smart construction tradesmen to make $125K/yr or more. In many areas, Electricians, plumbers, HVAC, and others are making $80-110/Hr + benefits, and people are waiting weeks or months for their services. It's a crying shame more young people don't take advantage.
Meanwhile, virtually every restaurant and bar in Northern CA is still short staffed to the point they have reduced hours/days, capacity limits, long wait times, and even have to close suddenly for a day or more if staff doesn't show up. Many have signs posted asking customers to be patient due to staffing shortages. On the plus side, it looks like maybe, finally, staffing is starting to increase, barely. I hope we have turned the corner.
For the last 20+ years I've been owning/running a mid-size home inspection company (+/- a half dozen employees) and working in the field most days with prospective homebuyers. The lack of real-world skills that homebuyers today possess is staggering. They literally don't know the difference between a water heater and an electric panel. Good or bad the "dot-com" age has produced a workforce of people completely out of touch with the reality of what provides their basic needs. I've often joked (not really a joke I know) that if there were real chaos and these "kids" had to go provide for themselves in "the wild", most would get eaten before it got dark. I'm not saying everyone needs to be a hunter/survivalist but some basic skills and understanding of how a house works would be a good start.
Bringing it back to the recent posts and higher education, as you point out there is A LOT of money to made in the trades. And not just performing the trade. Owning/managing a trade company is quite lucrative. Certainly, more money than steaming lattes at Starbucks with a basic college degree. And, bringing it full circle to the topic of the thread, many of the higher end serving/bartending jobs here on Maui at the nicer resorts likely pay more than a median job with a basic college degree. I'm a huge proponent of higher education and encourage my kids to continue on through college. But at the same time I don't fool them into thinking that's all that is out there or that they need to think about.