Quite a few GTAM guys have pushed trades for a while. I guess it fits our demographic here. Well trades is an option I've thought of sometimes, but most of the guys I know personally are in IT/programming or law (I don't know why I know so many lawyers, but I can assure you that knowing a lot of lawyers doesn't do you a hell of a lot of good, especially since most of them are American), so I don't have as much direct exposure to trades.
What I do know is that regardless of profession, anyone who's doing well will tell you "You should do what I'm doing!" (well, except the lawyers, they always say "For the love of god, don't go into Law."
), so of course I see trades guys on here who say "You should go into trades, I'm doing great!". Well, I do know a few trades guys and lemme tellya, none of them are doing what I'd call great; they're just getting by, doing work in bits and pieces, wherever they can pick it up. They aren't gripers either, though I've heard trades guys I don't know well gripe about getting dicked on their certifications or apprentice hours or such. From what I can tell, it looks like any career - if you know guys who will treat you well and get in with them, you'll do well, but if you don't know anyone it's all too easy to get screwed over.
When I look at masters and apprentice wages posted to the union sites, they dont seem that sky-high either - top rate in a lot of trades looks around the low to mid $30s/hour and that's after many years of putting in your time. That's solid for sure, but hardly outstanding. Like, in Toronto you might be able to carry a mortgage on a crappy condo with that (assuming you're the sole breadwinner, which I am). It's tough to look at that if, like me, you're making about $24 and say "Well after many years of hard work and putting in your time at a big cut in pay that you probably can't afford, you could make just a little more than you are now." So where does the "doing great!" come into it? You own your own business and charge a higher rate? You being paid over the posted union rates? You do a lot of overtime because there's lots of work? You're in a specific subspecialty that charges a premium? You move to Alberta and are laughing at the Toronto rubes from afar?
So to the trades guys on here who think they're doing well, I just want to ask, what are you doing and how did you get there? I don't mean show me your tax returns or anything like that, just the short story version. I'd appreciate it.
What I do know is that regardless of profession, anyone who's doing well will tell you "You should do what I'm doing!" (well, except the lawyers, they always say "For the love of god, don't go into Law."
), so of course I see trades guys on here who say "You should go into trades, I'm doing great!". Well, I do know a few trades guys and lemme tellya, none of them are doing what I'd call great; they're just getting by, doing work in bits and pieces, wherever they can pick it up. They aren't gripers either, though I've heard trades guys I don't know well gripe about getting dicked on their certifications or apprentice hours or such. From what I can tell, it looks like any career - if you know guys who will treat you well and get in with them, you'll do well, but if you don't know anyone it's all too easy to get screwed over.When I look at masters and apprentice wages posted to the union sites, they dont seem that sky-high either - top rate in a lot of trades looks around the low to mid $30s/hour and that's after many years of putting in your time. That's solid for sure, but hardly outstanding. Like, in Toronto you might be able to carry a mortgage on a crappy condo with that (assuming you're the sole breadwinner, which I am). It's tough to look at that if, like me, you're making about $24 and say "Well after many years of hard work and putting in your time at a big cut in pay that you probably can't afford, you could make just a little more than you are now." So where does the "doing great!" come into it? You own your own business and charge a higher rate? You being paid over the posted union rates? You do a lot of overtime because there's lots of work? You're in a specific subspecialty that charges a premium? You move to Alberta and are laughing at the Toronto rubes from afar?
So to the trades guys on here who think they're doing well, I just want to ask, what are you doing and how did you get there? I don't mean show me your tax returns or anything like that, just the short story version. I'd appreciate it.
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