Many drivers make more than I do with an M.D.
People laugh when I tell them that I seriously considered becoming a truck driver.
Why laugh? Decent bucks, get to see the country, meet interesting people, and hardly anyone sues truck drivers.
Among other things, I have also worked heavy construction from pick and shovel to equipment operator, done remodeling work, concrete, framing, fitted structural steel, bartended, roughnecked on oil rigs, and did a host of different jobs around the farm as a younger man, working with cattle, tobacco, and sheep.
I have picked tomatoes in the hot sun and trailed along a pipeline with a 'jeeper' looking for tears in the protective jacket while it was being lowered into the trench.
I have nothing but the greatest appreciation for people who make their livings thus year in and year out, who seek excellence at their trade, and would turn again to whatever task I need in order to feed my family--doing each to the best of my ability, because I do not do things by halves.
I learned a lot about how things work, met a lot of fine people along the way, and do my best to not wear my education on my sleeve. In the context of the jobs I was doing, it was seldom relevant, and the tricks of the trade--whichever trade at the time--were the relevant knowledge that others possessed and I did not--although I learned as much as I could as quickly as I could because that is my nature.
When one considers the current job market, and the proliferation of people who simply don't want to get their hands dirty, a trade (union or not in a right to work state like this one) means a relatively secure occupational niche and the ability to start their own business fairly quickly--without the capital outlay or debt of a four year degree.
Pay depends on demand and competence, and while demand overall cannot be controlled, competence can be, and an increase in competence leads to an increase in demand for your work, whatever it is.
I haven't driven truck for a living--my one opportunity was lost when the employer saw me showing a kid how to break concrete with a jackhammer and decided he wanted me breaking things instead of hauling them--but I'd sure consider it if demand for geologists flatlines.