Same-ish here. I have a brother in the trades (of seven siblings) and at least two cousins. But out of 23 nieces and nephews, zero AFAIK.
But also, this is 100% the circles I’m in — I get that.
Moto X champion is a high-prestige position and I still don’t want my kids to do it. That’s not stigma. That’s called being aware of the risks.
When you’re off due to injury (like one of my friends who worked on T1 at SFO who hurt his back on the next job) it’s not great. And it takes a toll on you. That’s not stigma. That’s real. There’s no stigma. There’s just awareness of risk.
The dream is that your kids make a steady income at something they can enjoy or at least tolerate while not risking their physical health.
Yep. The thing is, white collar (desk) jobs are bad for your health; physical and mental. I love my job but it comes at a price, too.
If you’re looking for steady work plumbing is where it’s at. Are we at 5000 years of continuous demand, and where skills are transferable across decades (maybe centuries)?
Ironworking and carpentry are actually hard on one’s body. You only need one fuck-up. And that’s nothing like being a roughneck.
These are not the RSI kind of injuries. These are the They Sent Me Home For a Year injuries.
I don't know a single person who has encouraged their kids to skip college and go into the trades. (Even when the kid has very little academic inclination, the parents pay for four years of private college.)
It's great that you have ironworker friends, but from what I see, "working with your hands" is not what most educated white-collar people want for their kids.