The author has an excellent point.
Let’s look at one of my favorite hobby horses: the endless stream of know-nothing liberal arts majors flowing out of American colleges and universities. All of these bright-eyed students thinking that they’ll get some well-paid job because they’ve been propagandized with the idea that “a college degree is the path to a good job.” They get into the real world and discover that, no, there isn’t much in the way of demand for liberal arts majors, and their career prospects are dim in the US economy and have been getting only worse for at least 20 years.
On the flip side, allow me to point out that there will be an estimated 500,000+ welders needed in the next five years or so (estimate I’m quoting is from the American Welding Society). Welders work in rough conditions many times, but the thing about welding is this: these jobs can’t be outsourced. The idiot Harvard MBA’s cannot find a way to ship a bridge to India or China for welding and have it shipped back. They can outsource the steel, bolt and other component production, but the in situ welding has to be done here.
Certified welders make good money.
Certified pipeline welders make very good money.
No four-year degree needed. There’s no need to go to some Ivy League school and graduate with over $100K in student loans. You merely have to be a hard worker, have good eyes, a steady hand and attention to detail, and you too can be making over $50K/year pretty quick in your early 20’s. Experienced welders with experience in TIG as well as stick can be pulling down 40 to 50 bucks an hour. I see ads for experienced rig welders here in Wyoming that are paying over $40/hour.
On top of that, if you come to the job with your own welding rig, the company a per-hour rental of your rig + your fuel and provides your rod and consumables.
What’s the catch? The person holding this job has to WORK. As in, in the summer heat, in the winter cold (which in Wyoming isn’t an academic issue, and isn’t that pussy-foot cold like in NYC - we’re sometimes talking sub-zero, with 10 to 50 MPH breezes on your back), down in a ditch, up in the air, out in the middle of nowhere for a weeks at a clip. Often you have to sleep in shabby little motels in East Podunk when you do get to town, or you’re in a company man-camp’s single-wide with a couple other guys. When you have to put up in podunk motels, you’re paid a per diem.
Clean, boring Dilbertesque cubical living this isn’t.
Why are these guys getting paid so much? Because the demand for energy isn’t going away. Pipelines have to be built. Drill rigs have to operate. Wells are punched in. Big metal is going to be put together by someone, and those that are willing to learn how to do it will be paid well for it.
Welding is just one job. There’s pipefitters, equipment operators, diesel mechanics, riggers, etc - all needed on these projects all over the economy. There’s a big wave of Boomer tradesmen retiring from now to 10 years out from now, and there are nowhere near enough young people taking up the trades to replace them.
All these people add value to the economy.
Another pink-faced twerp with a BA isn’t.
Bookmark.