I have a feeling that trades are paying well because a generation of pushing people away from trades has created a shortage. Now that people are rediscovering this career path and just do trades is becoming (and in some circles has become) the new de facto advice, the generation who all go to trades will have the same issues as the generation who all went to college: stagnating wages, insufficient opportunities, increasing difficulty of getting your foot in the door, etc.

Trades aren't easier to get in and better paid because of their inherent characteristics. The supply and demand in the market has made them so. The new generation of advice is going to change the supply side. I am not sure if the advice is going to be valid for the rest of a young person's career should they choose this path. We have already done this once before with just go to college.

I may live in a bubble in this scenario growing up with parents and their friends that did painting/contracting/electrical/plumbing/flooring/etc. but I don't ever hear them as stigmatized. I think a lot of people have a real solid view of these jobs; Physically demanding with low top end rewards.

Few people go into those jobs or unions and make 200k a year. People def make a livable wage, but it's very demanding work physically. I have a friends that do flooring and roofing and they absolutely pay the bills but they are hurting and only just approaching 30. They have months where they have tons of work, and months where they have no work at all.

So while these jobs beat entry level roles and service jobs paying 15 an hour if you're luck, they don't hold the same value as being a lawyer or a doctor or like many of us here, an engineer. My back hurts because I have bad posture and sit all day, not because I was lifting hundreds of pounds of shit all day. And my salary is higher than my buddy that is high up in his union stopping OSHA violations.

Support trades, they are valuable and important. But I don't think we should praise them as the best path to securing your future. They are jobs just like any other with their own risks and rewards.

Most of us are not actual engineers (registered, and with a seal). We are software developers.

Which makes my point even more. It's even easier to get these jobs when you don't need years and years of school. And the salaries and perks will outpace what you get by getting into trades.

Not trying to devalue trades, they are great ways to get into a skilled job, but we can't pretend that they are silver bullets to achieving a happy, successful life.

The people who work in the trades are pushing their children away from the trades. (An example is the recent HN post on Chinese restaurants closing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21871240) The hours can be long, the manual labor is hard, and the conditions are often harsh.