He has also appeared in every film made by Pixar; they consider Ratzenberger their “good luck charm,” and that’s a gig that pays well.
I admire his work—and that of Mike Rowe—on behalf of the skilled trades and manufacturing. To be fair, many of the low-skill manufacturing jobs will never come back. But on any given day, there are between 400-600,000 advanced manufacturing positions that go unfilled, simply because most workers lack the necessary training. You can train someone for one of those jobs in 3-9 months, but many are unaware of these opportunities.
An even bigger problem: the myth that you can only succeed with a college degree. Those unfilled advanced manufacturing jobs start off at $40-45K a year, plus overtime and full benefits. Many skilled trade positions pay even more, especially after a few years on the job.
Unfortunately, most young people—and their parents—would rather go deeply in debt for a worthless degree that gets them a job at Starbucks.
I’m glad to hear that Ratzenberger was wise enough to invest his earnings after careful consideration.
And that he has made a place for himself in Voice Overs.
Most people used to believe that ‘you could not suceed’ without a College Degree! My family certainly believed that, and undertook many sacrifices to help me afford what my scholarship didn’t pay for. Those were some of the best years of my adult life. However, I now know, college is not truly a necessity. No regrets though. At least I had the experience and met all those interesting people. It was worth doing.