bearister said:
Why go to college when you could be a plumber?
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/10/plumber-skilled-trade-college?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Being a plumber has some advantages, but some drawbacks as well.
If money is the object, then fine, it will get you into the middle class.
There are basically two kinds of plumber: one is to go around repairing or replacing old plumbing, and the other is to install plumbing in new buildings under construction. In the first case, you spend your life working in old buildings, sometimes wallowing in human waste, sometimes working in precarious situations. There are so many ways to get injured, cutting yourself, injuring a muscle, your back, or falling, not to mention injuries caused by power tools. In the second case, just look at the statistics on workers injured on constructions sites. It is not pretty.
I remember back when I was at Cal, reading an article in Time or somewhere about a study on which professions had the longest life expectancy, and at that time, the leader was college professors who lived the longest. The reason given was the stress level was the lowest of all professions. Since then, stress levels for profs has increased, especially those who are driven to publish more research than ever before, many in order to keep their salaries at the level that working in private industry would pay.
For the first plumber, the plumbing repair guy, work is usually steady, because plumbing is always decaying and breaking down. For the second plumber, the one who works in installing plumbing in new buildings, life is usually unpredictable for many. After he finishes work on a building's new plumbing, if the contractor he works for does not have a new project, he is often laid off, and has to look for a new job. Steady work is usually only available when there is a boom in construction.
I have a cousin who worked as a gardener in Golden Gate Park for the City of SF. He had a friend who was a plumber in private industry, plumbing new buildings, who some years was out of work 3-6 months. My cousin suggested he apply for a job with the City. He did, passed the tests, and was hired. The first day on the job, his boss took him around and introduced him to everyone, showed him his desk, his locker, where to get his tools, and a key to a truck. He then told him, "Now tomorrow, when you come to work, you will find 3 pieces of paper on your desk. Each piece of paper will be for a job for you to go out and do."
When the plumber arrived the next day for work, he looked at the 3 pieces of paper on his desk. One was to fix a shower head in a high school, the second was to fix a toilet leak in an office building, and the third was to fix a water fountain in the Park. So the plumber got some tools, put them in the truck and left. The jobs were all very simple, and he arrived back at the plumbing department about 1PM. The boss was shocked, and a little upset. "What are you doing back here? Didn't you see the three slips of paper?" It is only 1PM". The plumber said he had finished all three jobs had lunch, and came back to the office. The boss was annoyed. He said, " Look, those 3 slips of paper are for 3 jobs. THAT IS FOR 3 DAYS! I don't want you coming back here early again."
So now this plumber comes to work, picks up the 3 slips of paper, takes one, and goes back home, has breakfast, goes out and does the job, maybe watches TV or goes out to play golf, and goes in for work the next day and picks up another slip of paper. So if you are going to be a plumber, a government job might be the cushy one, among the choice of plumbing jobs. Might even get you the life span of a college professor.
SFCityBear