What is the best trade to go into ?

[Mencken]

I am trying to talk my nephew into a trade instead of university ( he is a bright but not exceptional student)

They never taught him about the benefits of trades in school as they gear you for university as though university is the Holy Grail

Police making double time and half watching a construction project

Retire after 9 years with 90% retirement package

Firemen working 7 days per month as they are on duty while asleep

Electricians playing cards on duty because all the work is the quick connecting of modules

Why go to university just to go into debt and then make less ?

Become a fireman and go to university part time if you insist on learning stuff you will never even use in conversation before you forget it

My advice to him is go to boot camp - you do not sign the army contract until after boot camp - get toughened up, make a couple of grand and get a bigger perspective before making a commitment

Quite the viewpoint you have. I think most police and firemen would disagree with your picture. And retiring after 9 years with 90% retirement package...that's pure fantasy.

As for trades, probably electrician is a good one...or one a bit more obscure - power engineering.

 

[Yoga Face]

Do not recommend that he join the military. By the way, you join the military first, then do what call "boot camp". You have to join before you get the training.

Doing basic training with no intention of completing MOSID training is a waste of his time and all our tax dollars.

Wrong on all points

You sign the contract after boot camp according to the enlisting officer I asked at the EX last year

It is less of a waste of tax dollars than lots of aspects of public school as it is geared to teach you to work and accept responsibility which makes a better citizen . Besides, he may like it and join up and get paid as the Forces teach him a valuable trade

 

[Yoga Face]

Quite the viewpoint you have. I think most police and firemen would disagree with your picture. And retiring after 9 years with 90% retirement package...that's pure fantasy.

As for trades, probably electrician is a good one...or one a bit more obscure - power engineering.

Police can retire after 9 years and receive 90% pension (when they reach the retirement age of course)

Firemen work 7 days per month then anything over that is overtime ( 7 * 24 = 168 hours )

Now include benefits in that .........

 

[Hangman]

Dude, that recruiter you spoke to at "the EX" was full of it. You cannot take BMQ (the first course in your military career) without joining the military. You join, are given a Service Number, issues your basic allottment of uniforms etc, and then start Basic Military Qualification (BMQ). Then there's SQ, then trade-specific training. But I'm sure the guy you talked to at the Ex knows more about it than the Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre.

How is someone supposed to do basic if they aren't in the military, with a rank (Private) and subject to the Code of Service Duscipline???

There are better non-taxpayer funded ways to learn discipline.

Wrong on all points

You sign the contract after boot camp according to the enlisting officer I asked at the EX last year

It is less of a waste of tax dollars than lots of aspects of public school as it is geared to teach you to work and accept responsibility which makes a better citizen . Besides, he may like it and join up and get paid as the Forces teach him a valuable trade

 

[Brill]

I think your nephew should be asking these questions, don`t hand him the answers to life.

 

[gdurham]

well there is nothing wrong with university really, even if he doesn't have the best grades it is still a great expierience. but I do think that it is good to have some focus or idea as to what you would like to become when you go into university. I have seen too many friends just flounder between courses and be aimless, kind of a waste of time.

I agree that cops and firefighters are not really tradespeople. when I think if trades I am thinking steamfitter, carpenter, electrician, plumber, HVAC etc. electrician and HVAC are the best in my view, with electrician the clear winner. my brother and a very good friend are electricians - they have great jobs and also do very well doing side jobs. they are always in demand. they work indoors unlike many other trades and it is a relatively clean trade (unlike for example a plumber).

the best would be to be an electrician and then get on as a firefighter. work your 7 days at the fire dept and then do electrical work.

one thing I will really try and push my kids on is not to go to the armed forces. one of my best friends has been in the forces for close to 20 years. my overall impression is that it is not a great career.

 

[papasmerf]

He has to be good with his hands to be a "tradesman" of any kind. I am a Electrical Technologist, Power Linesman and Electrician. They are very similar but you need to be good with your hands to be any of them. There will always be a demand for a tradesman, these are regulated trades. You can always find a job as a tradesman if you have the basics.

I am a Telcom Tech which is a CRAFT not a trade.
Linemen can make a boat load of money on storm clean up.
Electricians can do well.

All three are represented by the IBEW but all are completely different in what they learn and do.

Carpenters such as home builders are always in demand
But the ones who actually build things like custom cabinets and furniture are craftsmen and can demand more.

Plumbers and Steamfitters do well

Iron workers do great too.

 

[loujjj]

As far as working with your hands, how about elevator mechanic strong union top paying trade around $42.00 per hour with great pension & benifits.
I work in renovations ,suck up a load of dust along with a sore back from heavy lifting...no limits if it's there you pick it up!
Firefighters suffer the same fate as contractors,they have about 23 days a month off so I bump into them all the time. Most moonlight as contractors
and under cut price and why not when your getting 80k++++ for doing next to nothing.
So I guess that sums it up .Become a firefighter and in your spare time you can do it all!!!!!

 

[Yoga Face]

Dude, that recruiter you spoke to at "the EX" was full of it. You cannot take BMQ (the first course in your military career) without joining the military. You join, are given a Service Number, issues your basic allottment of uniforms etc, and then start Basic Military Qualification (BMQ). Then there's SQ, then trade-specific training. But I'm sure the guy you talked to at the Ex knows more about it than the Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre.

How is someone supposed to do basic if they aren't in the military, with a rank (Private) and subject to the Code of Service Discipline???

There are better non-taxpayer funded ways to learn discipline.

Sounds like I might have been misinformed, but my question was very specific and it was confirmed by a second recruiter but thx for the feedback

Yes you do join the army as a private for the BMQ but as no contract has been signed you can quit anytime until you sign a contract after BMQ was what I was told

My presumption was this is a way to get better recruits because once you are in BMQ a lot of privates fall in love with the army (much to their surprise) and stay for a career or to learn a trade

The forced discipline, esp in the special forces, can be gotten no where else for those who do not have internal discipline . Where else do they make you work hard by yelling at you (even beat you up)

 

[Yoga Face]

Firefighters suffer the same fate as contractors,they have about 23 days a month off so I bump into them all the time. Most moonlight as contractors
and under cut price and why not when your getting 80k++++ for doing next to nothing.
So I guess that sums it up .Become a firefighter and in your spare time you can do it all!!!!!

My point exactly

Pursue any dream - IE passion ( no matter how absurd ) - you want for five days a fucking week as you have a career to fall back on


But getting in may be a problem as the job is so fucking incredibly good there is a huge line up but no harm in inquiring

 

[capncrunch]

Do not recommend that he join the military. By the way, you join the military first, then do what call "boot camp". You have to join before you get the training.

I totally disagree with this.

Were I to have the chance to do it all over again, I'd join the forces and get trained as a plumber. No joke. I have never, ever, met someone from the military that say it was a bad decision.

Everybody shits.

 

[Yoga Face]

I totally disagree with this.

Were I to have the chance to do it all over again, I'd join the forces and get trained as a plumber. No joke. I have never, ever, met someone from the military that say it was a bad decision.

Everybody shits.

But they are still in the military

The ones who did not like the military are gone so you cannot ask them !

 

[capncrunch]

But they are still in the military

The ones who did not like the military are gone so you cannot ask them !

Some are still in, yes, others have retired after putting in their 20 years. Sure, it's not a life for everyone but, like I said, no one I know or have met personally who are or were in the forces speaks as if it was a bad decision. Maybe your experience is different, YF, and that's ok too. I'm just sharing mine.

Make it sew.

 

[aldershot]

If your nephew goes through basic training with the Canadian Armed Forces he will be committed to 1 year of military service, or he could join as a reservist. After that he can decide to continue or leave the service. I hope he is smart enough to not listen to his twisted uncle Yoga face. Your advice seems very short sighted, uninformed and self serving.

 

[my name Peggy]

If your nephew goes through basic training with the Canadian Armed Forces he will be committed to 1 year of military service, or he could join as a reservist. After that he can decide to continue or leave the service. I hope he is smart enough to not listen to his twisted uncle Yoga face. Your advice seems very short sighted, uninformed and self serving.

+1

I love how you called me 'glib'. You compare me to Tony Robbins? I compare you to Tom Cruise, and I think we know who's the smarter, sane guy in this equation lol.

Ironic too considering you offered to give him an interest-aptidude test, which directly coincided w my point about finding his passions in life?

At the end of the day, you dont sound like you are 'showing him the alternatives', you sound like a guy impressing your ill informed, convoluded logic on the poor kid who can only decide on his own what to do and what makes him happy(God forbid).

He probably wont make the right choiceon his 1st try, as most ppl today change their career 5 times intheir life. That doesnt mean he's wasting time or money. Each step is a valuable lesson, whether that be the army,tradeschool or college and should only be decided by him, not someone w a wonky view of what is means to be successful(hint 'playing cards on duty' should not be the deciding factor)

 

[Hangman]

You don't get beat up on basic training. Even the shouting is just a game. The worst thing in BMQ these days is getting red chits for not having your boots shiny.

I'd recommend a kid learn a real trade, as military qualifications often aren't recognized in the real world. Make lots of money as a plumber or electrician. Then, if he wants discipline and some extra cash, go join a local reserve unit and play Army on weekends, even go overseas with a mission...

 

[Yoga Face]

+1

I love how you called me 'glib'. You compare me to Tony Robbins? I compare you to Tom Cruise, and I think we know who's the smarter, sane guy in this equation lol.

.

As for who is smarter Tony or Tom I would say Tony because he is the head of a pseudo - cult and gets rich giving the same advice any Career coach is aware of while Tom is a follower of a real cult and gives his money to someone who claims to come from a different planet

Ironic too considering you offered to give him an interest-aptidude test, which directly coincided w my point about finding his passions in life?

At the end of the day, you dont sound like you are 'showing him the alternatives', you sound like a guy impressing your ill informed, convoluded logic on the poor kid who can only decide on his own what to do and what makes him happy(God forbid).
.

I would always advice anyone to double then triple check any advice esp if it came from me ! then make their own decision.

My advice is meant to be taken as a suggestion only

I am not Tony Robbins !


BTW my Tony Robbins comment was not meant to be an attack on you and sorry if it was so interpreted. I just cannot stand that guy! I paid $200 to go see him in Buffalo ( just for the tickets!) because my SO loves him

I wrote any points he made and here they are

1 Find yout passion - I disagree. My passion is to be an actor but if I had gone that way I would be living a life of poverty

2 Ask the very best for advise - Nonsense. You do not ask MJ how to play hoops because he is a natural and does not fully understand how he does it because he just can do it

3 Define your goals and keep a dairy - I agree with this point

He probably wont make the right choiceon his 1st try, as most ppl today change their career 5 times intheir life. That doesnt mean he's wasting time or money. Each step is a valuable lesson, whether that be the army,tradeschool or college and should only be decided by him, not someone w a wonky view of what is means to be successful(hint 'playing cards on duty' should not be the deciding factor
.

Doing full research will minimize those mistakes

 

[desert monk]

I say steamfitter. millwright second. You need to be willing to travel, but the money is 2nd to none. Then when you get sick of construction, become a lifer at a refinery/mine/power station.

 

[Yoga Face]

You don't get beat up on basic training. Even the shouting is just a game. The worst thing in BMQ these days is getting red chits for not having your boots shiny.

I'd recommend a kid learn a real trade, as military qualifications often aren't recognized in the real world. Make lots of money as a plumber or electrician. Then, if he wants discipline and some extra cash, go join a local reserve unit and play Army on weekends, even go overseas with a mission...

getting yanked out of bed before daybreak to go on a march before breakfast sounds like discipline to me

And yes, before accepting a position in the army do your research before hand Esp if you plan to use it upon getting out of the forces

 

[JohnLarue]

I am trying to talk my nephew into a trade instead of university ( he is a bright but not exceptional student)

They never taught him about the benefits of trades in school as they gear you for university as though university is the Holy Grail

Police making double time and half watching a construction project

Retire after 9 years with 90% retirement package

Firemen working 7 days per month as they are on duty while asleep

Electricians playing cards on duty because all the work is the quick connecting of modules

Why go to university just to go into debt and then make less ?

Become a fireman and go to university part time if you insist on learning stuff you will never even use in conversation before you forget it

My advice to him is go to boot camp - you do not sign the army contract until after boot camp - get toughened up, make a couple of grand and get a bigger perspective before making a commitment

Your approach is all wrong
If you "talk him into something" there is a possibility he may regret it latter and resent the hell out of you
Encourage him to throughly investigate and research both routes "Trades" & "University" before making any life long decisions

Both have advantages and disadvantages

What if he is not the career dog-fucker you are and deep down wants to get a whole lot more out of a career than putting in his 20-25 years and out?

As a trades person he will generally doing what is asked of him i.e weld this, wire that, stop that leak, put that drain in

If he goes to university he may (nothing is guaranteed) get to make decisions like " We need to put a drain here"

DO NOT sell this kid short and decide for him.
It really must be a decision he is happy with and one he makes himself.

Shame on you for trying to talk him into what is good enough for you