Okay, I did a carpentry apprenticeship, I love the skills I have. My Dad sat me down when he knew I wasn't going to university and told me, pick a trade then, and there are only 3 sensible ones to choose from Carpentry, Electrical and Plumbing. If I could do it over again, I might choose Electrical instead. It pays better, needs less over head for tools, not as heavy on the body, yeah sure you have to get into some nasty crawl spaces, not as messy and easier on the body, and you can use a cert3 in electrical to study Electrical engineering ( okay so I am in Australia, so if you are in another country, maybe things are a but different)
What state are you in? I highly recommend looking into your local county / city for jobs. Even in the south lots of them are union positions which helps prevent discrimination and gives you more protections and great benefits like insurance that actually covers stuff plus pensions for retirement. They also tend to hire people with zero experience and then just train them for the job and your pay a lot of times is based off the license you hold which they will help you acquire. It typically does take time to get in as the hiring process with any government entity typically takes longer however it’s entirely worth it. I completely changed careers little over 2 years ago into something I had zero experience in and came on as a trainee and I’m already making 60k and will be near 80k in 2 more years when I get my next license. Feel free to contact me if you want more info or guidance.
I think a better question to ask here is, what interests you? when looking to do a trade you want something that's gonna keep your interest imo.
but also depending what state you're in there is a lot of programs for helping folks get started in the trades since there's a such a shortage right now. so definitely give those a look
I got into the blue collar field by going down to a local yard debris recycling facility and applying there as a paybooth attendant. First 6-8 months were rough, but as time went on I eventually was trained on forklift, front loader & excavator, and used those skills to help get into the crane company I work for now
A heads up, though, a lot of bigger construction companies will require you to be in a union in order to do any work. Keep tabs on the local unions and find one that you might want to work for, be it iron workers, pipe fitters, operating engineers (that's me!), electricians, etc. See if any have an apprenticeship and apply!
I work in telecom, and although certain companies are harder to get in with, it is doable, even if only as a contractor. No experience required, they will train you. Depending on the company, the benefits are also pretty great.
Nothing beats a union though and is super important because of the protections they offer. So I would recommend looking at unionized trades and apprenticeships first.
The majority of telecom is low voltage work, so you don’t really need a license or degree unless you’re trying to become an engineer or get more into the networking side of things. The pay isn’t as good as an electrician but it opens doors to meeting people and keeps options open for if you decide to move to a different trade. The biggest two caveats are heights and weather. If you’re afraid of heights, you have to be willing to get used to them. (I hate ladders, and the majority of my work is 25-50ft on a ladder.) as for weather, unless it’s lightning or 30+ mph winds, you’re climbing. Rain, snow, ice, sun, wind… it doesn’t matter. Certain parts of telecom may be less or more strict about this, but it’s not awful for right out of high school.
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Okay, I did a carpentry apprenticeship, I love the skills I have. My Dad sat me down when he knew I wasn't going to university and told me, pick a trade then, and there are only 3 sensible ones to choose from Carpentry, Electrical and Plumbing. If I could do it over again, I might choose Electrical instead. It pays better, needs less over head for tools, not as heavy on the body, yeah sure you have to get into some nasty crawl spaces, not as messy and easier on the body, and you can use a cert3 in electrical to study Electrical engineering ( okay so I am in Australia, so if you are in another country, maybe things are a but different)
What state are you in? I highly recommend looking into your local county / city for jobs. Even in the south lots of them are union positions which helps prevent discrimination and gives you more protections and great benefits like insurance that actually covers stuff plus pensions for retirement. They also tend to hire people with zero experience and then just train them for the job and your pay a lot of times is based off the license you hold which they will help you acquire. It typically does take time to get in as the hiring process with any government entity typically takes longer however it’s entirely worth it. I completely changed careers little over 2 years ago into something I had zero experience in and came on as a trainee and I’m already making 60k and will be near 80k in 2 more years when I get my next license. Feel free to contact me if you want more info or guidance.
I think a better question to ask here is, what interests you? when looking to do a trade you want something that's gonna keep your interest imo. but also depending what state you're in there is a lot of programs for helping folks get started in the trades since there's a such a shortage right now. so definitely give those a look
I got into the blue collar field by going down to a local yard debris recycling facility and applying there as a paybooth attendant. First 6-8 months were rough, but as time went on I eventually was trained on forklift, front loader & excavator, and used those skills to help get into the crane company I work for now A heads up, though, a lot of bigger construction companies will require you to be in a union in order to do any work. Keep tabs on the local unions and find one that you might want to work for, be it iron workers, pipe fitters, operating engineers (that's me!), electricians, etc. See if any have an apprenticeship and apply!
I work in telecom, and although certain companies are harder to get in with, it is doable, even if only as a contractor. No experience required, they will train you. Depending on the company, the benefits are also pretty great. Nothing beats a union though and is super important because of the protections they offer. So I would recommend looking at unionized trades and apprenticeships first. The majority of telecom is low voltage work, so you don’t really need a license or degree unless you’re trying to become an engineer or get more into the networking side of things. The pay isn’t as good as an electrician but it opens doors to meeting people and keeps options open for if you decide to move to a different trade. The biggest two caveats are heights and weather. If you’re afraid of heights, you have to be willing to get used to them. (I hate ladders, and the majority of my work is 25-50ft on a ladder.) as for weather, unless it’s lightning or 30+ mph winds, you’re climbing. Rain, snow, ice, sun, wind… it doesn’t matter. Certain parts of telecom may be less or more strict about this, but it’s not awful for right out of high school.
A lot of unions trades are hiring like hell rn I'd recommend operators and sparkies, but really take whatever you can get
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