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friedguy t1_j8gx1fq wrote

Reply to comment by LilyWhitesN17 in College Tuition Has Outpaced Inflation by More Than 3x Over the Last 40 Years by ThePinkHulk

Yeah, don't get me wrong I believe we need to encourage more people to enter the trades and general blue collar work. But we also shouldn't pretend is just as cut and dry as just earnings. My best friend from high school didn't go to college and worked for FedEx right off the bat. He paid his dues and ended up making really good money for a while, but we're both in early '40s and he's got a myriad of health problems and it's getting harder and harder for him to want to work while my work is steadily getting easier in life. I feel like the hardest I ever worked was in my late twenties to mid-thirties, both workload wise and the mental stress of proving myself... Since then it's been smooth sailing, I would be glad to continue doing what I'm doing for about as long as possible.

My friend is not a great example oh how to do things because he's lived beyond his means and perhaps miscalculated or just chose to ignore the reality that is kind of work would get tougher as he got older. However, I've got an uncle who retired with the post office early, and lived very modestly, invested his money, etc. He has a hell of a good retirement for a guy who never got a formal education. I honestly don't see my friends retirement after FedEx to be that great based on things he talks about.

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LilyWhitesN17 t1_j8hu5qk wrote

I think on America we only care about feeding the college machine. If you are in high school and don't plan on going to college, the guidance counselor has nothing for you. I went to high school in both the USA and in the UK. In the UK it's 5yrs, and in your 4th year you start going to apprenticeships a few afternoons a week where you start to learn a trade, car body repair, brocklayer, plumber, etc.. after 2yrs of that, you finish school, and they take you on as an apprentice.

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friedguy t1_j8i7b3z wrote

I have a really good plumber, he's been working on my home and rental property for over 10 years and I trust the hell out of him. We've traded life stories and he's made the same comment about apprenticeships, that is how he learned the basics.

His opinion is but the problem is on both sides, quality youngsters these days aren't that interested in doing something like that but also most successful plumbers don't want to bother because there's not much long term incentive. That used to be that you could train up a young guy and he would be an asset to you for years until he was ready to be in his own business but nowadays everybody wants instant gratification.

I can't disagree, I went through a corporate banking training program myself and by the time it ended I was already applying for other jobs with my new and improved resume rather than wanting to stick around. My old bank's training program still exists but it's really been reduced to a one week crash course rather than a month out of state.

He's told me his own son is a teenager and not showing much aptitude for college life and says he'd like to follow his dad's footsteps. Says he is torn because he'd love to trade up his son but only if his son puts his best foot forward, just like he's also willing to fund his college education but it would piss him off to watch his son just party it up and graduate with an easy degree.

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LilyWhitesN17 t1_j8ir52p wrote

I think the college model we have is all about sales, and selling the college experience, when it should be about getting the skills to fill a position in business...somewhere. All the other ancillary football and basketball stuff is nice, but why am I paying for that? When the highest paid state employee is the football and basketball coach, there's a problem.

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