I’ve worked trades. I loved a lot about it! But I’m so glad this article pointed out the range of status: not all trades, or roles within one are equal. If you are an incredible welder who can run a perfect seam every time you can command a huge salary. For the rest of the welders it is quite different. If you can handle customers and a crew you can run a quite lucrative electrician shop, for the rest of construction it is quite different. Repeat.
I’m not saying it should be that way, but people need to be clearheaded that a top blue collar job is not as easy as showing up. There are real performance differentiators - reliability, judgement, skill, etc - and the numbers touted often belong to the top performers.
And anyone who thinks office politics go away in a family owned shop is extremely naive. Nepotism is default (and frankly reasonable. Why wouldn’t someone leave their business to their daughter if they were interested?). Large places are like that, too. Someone on a union job asked me point blank who I knew, the implication being that I’d have to know someone to get hired on.
I loved the camaraderie, being on the move, and building something physical. But it wasn’t a nice relaxing stable existence, either.
>* I’ve worked trades. I loved a lot about it! But I’m so glad this article pointed out the range of status: not all trades, or roles within one are equal. If you are an incredible welder who can run a perfect seam every time you can command a huge salary. For the rest of the welders it is quite different. If you can handle customers and a crew you can run a quite lucrative electrician shop, for the rest of construction it is quite different. Repeat.*
This is quite obviously true whenever you hire trades people. I had a guy just cut into a pipe behind some dry wall. I’m uncertain how after looking at hole and the pipe.
I remain convinced that anyone enterprising could build a very lucrative trades business simply because so many trades people are bad.
It feels weird. Those with capability to pay should choose quality. But often they still choose price. And identifying quality is rather hard... Good reputation and good quality should carry business in future and get bit higher prices.
Maybe we just live in world where every time when there is advantage gained from quality it is later destroyed to make slightly more for bit of time...
Most people are a bad judge of quality. They just don’t know the difference between a good and bad electrician. Even more obvious stuff, like painting, I find people can’t judge quality.
So you end up with a ton of unreliable reviewers online.
These days I take recommendations from people who are picky and when I can see the results myself.
egocodedinsol · · focus · HN ↗
I’m not saying it should be that way, but people need to be clearheaded that a top blue collar job is not as easy as showing up. There are real performance differentiators - reliability, judgement, skill, etc - and the numbers touted often belong to the top performers.
And anyone who thinks office politics go away in a family owned shop is extremely naive. Nepotism is default (and frankly reasonable. Why wouldn’t someone leave their business to their daughter if they were interested?). Large places are like that, too. Someone on a union job asked me point blank who I knew, the implication being that I’d have to know someone to get hired on.
I loved the camaraderie, being on the move, and building something physical. But it wasn’t a nice relaxing stable existence, either.
2muchcoffeeman · · focus · HN ↗
This is quite obviously true whenever you hire trades people. I had a guy just cut into a pipe behind some dry wall. I’m uncertain how after looking at hole and the pipe.
I remain convinced that anyone enterprising could build a very lucrative trades business simply because so many trades people are bad.
Ekaros · · focus · HN ↗
Maybe we just live in world where every time when there is advantage gained from quality it is later destroyed to make slightly more for bit of time...
thedougd · · focus · HN ↗
So you end up with a ton of unreliable reviewers online.
These days I take recommendations from people who are picky and when I can see the results myself.
2muchcoffeeman · · focus · HN ↗