Young People: Develop A Trade

You need to start developing a marketable trade-type skill at an early age, young people. I don’t care if you‘re dreaming of becoming an actor, an artist, a writer, a historian, an explorer, a nuclear physicist, an astronomer, an astronaut, whatever the heck it is you want to become => it doesn’t matter. You still need to be able to fall back upon a learned trade should(when) it might become necessary.

Life is going to throw most of us a few curves along the way. As you slowly evolve and migrate toward the profession/avocation of your choice (hopefully so anyway), things may possibly get a bit economically tough. The monthly budget may not always be there as hoped. That’s when you need a skill set to fall back upon => to be able to cover those unexpected periods of economic duress that may come calling. Because trust me: the great majority of us will experience economic dislocation at some point in our lives. Just the way it is.

It’s best to be prepared for contingencies. I never developed a trade skill in my own life. And I suffered because of it. My little family suffered because of it. I was an electrical engineer earlier in life. I was decent enough at it. But after a number of years (10+) that profession bit the dust as woefully as an Indy car stretching for the finish line but running out of gas. I SO WISHED back then that I’d had a good trade to fall back upon. But I did not. And as I said, myself and the family suffered because of that.

You may be thinking ‘electrical engineer’? Why didn’t you fall back on being an electrician or something? First off, being an electrician is a completely different skill set as compared to being an electrical engineer.

As an electrical engineer, yeah: you work with a soldering iron, prototypes, circuit boards, drafting, manufacturing considerations and so forth and so on. But you don’t necessarily develop a good skill set working with your hands per se. Math and science, physics, electronic knowledge, related technological advancements, different more mental-oriented thought processes are required.

But an electrician? Power considerations, circuit breakers, wiring, the physical hardware, how-to-fix (install) electrical in the home (according to code)… I still don’t have much of a clue. Although it should be fairly easy for me to pick it up, I never studied or learned that trade. And firms that hire electricians don’t want engineers unless they have some direct work experience. They want people who actually have hands-on experience. I didn’t have any.

Point being, you kids out there, even when you seek a professional-type situation… you need to have a backup plan – just in case. Find something that is (hopefully) marketable. Develop any number of good skills: carpentry, construction, automobile repair, electrician work, welding, cooking… I don’t know. I wouldn’t be able to list everything that might be marketably viable. But you get the idea.

I believe the public school system continues to do a grave mis-service to the youngsters. Kids (starting early on) should be channeled into a trade of their own choosing => every kid, male and female. Currently most public schools will offer some trade training but it’s usually a little late in the game and it’s primarily presented as a backup offering to those not opting for college – and offered somewhat apologetically. It ought to be more pervasive and made more respectable as is currently being presented. A trade skill provides essential flexibility and useful employment capability directly out of high school.

I don’t care if a kid wants a trade or not. He gets the training anyway. It should be a necessary component of growing up. It should be required training every year for every student => grades 7 – 12. With six years of training a kid will at least possess one valuable skill set upon graduating high school. That just can’t be a bad thing – actually learning something of immediate use and value.