Quote Originally Posted by jeffjr464 View Post
want a good piece of advice? get into a TRADE, i have university educated friends and alot of plain high school educated friends, i never went to collage or university either and i make more than teachers or most university educated people , most of my friends who went into the trades, plumbers,electricians etc make waaay more than any of my university educated friends, only way university pays off is if your going to be a doctor, lawyer or get your BA to become a teacher, a high percentage of my friends in the trades make 85-90k a year OR MORE, the demand for skill labour is crazy right now, plus once you get fully done you can branch out and start your own gig
That also depends on what type of trade you get in. I'm a Union Ironworker myself, and make $28/hour. Demand for Ironworkers is great, but its not for everyone. Not everyone is comfortable walking something as wide as a ruler (not length wise) at dwindling heights. Not many are comfortable building bridges, power plants, silos, skyscrapers, and mass buildings...

As well as that, the area (state/city), and the rate on renovation and construction will determine the need for that particular trade. Even the time of year will determine how booming construction is. The electricians here make around $5-6 more than we do, yet they're laid off throughout a lot of the year, where-as we're constantly busy. The Carpenters are pretty slow majority of the time to.

If you do decide to go for a trade skill; remember this... Its not what your getting paid, its your work ethics, attitude, and craftsmanship that keeps you working. If you're lazy, suck at your job, or plain just show yourself off as an oaf on the job site; your going to be laid off majority of the time and not many will want you on their job site. If your skilled, proficient, and professional about what you do, then you won't go hungry Just to give an example...my first year in, I made $123,000...it wasn't just because of my wage rate