Spread the word about Trade Careers

Katie Bingham-Smith is a mom, and she is married to a plumber. She has watched her teenage son grow up learning how to work by emulating his dad. The plumbing trade is second nature to him, and he has chosen to pursue it as a career instead of a four-year college degree. Katie will take him on visits to college campuses and make sure that he understands all the options available to him, but he seems to have his mind made up going into his junior year of high school.

If you think that she is disappointed in his preliminary career choice, you would be wrong. Katie has watched her husband support a family of five on his income while typically having more work than he could handle. The work is hard but satisfying and his clients are truly grateful. We all know that when we need a plumber, we really need a plumber…

Katie’s son is not a fan of sitting still. He enjoys doing things with his hands and the prospect of another four years of coursework after high school does not appeal to him. This is a key reason that she believes a career in the trades is a good fit. Having intimate knowledge of what it means to make a living in the arena of skilled labor, Katie finds it difficult to understand that the overwhelming majority of career information given to students require four-year college degrees.

Barring a return to humans living in caves, we will all need to build, maintain or repair the places where we live at some point. That means we will always need builders, handymen and women, and remodelers. College is not for everyone, but everyone needs to be able to secure a job that pays a living wage. Careers in the trades can provide that opportunity for many students without the investment in time or money that is required for a four-year degree. Providing this information to our teen population doesn’t require a major shift in philosophy or a large investment. Just line up trade careers alongside the professional careers as viable options instead of giving them a back seat to a college degree. If you don’t agree with mine and Katie’s philosophy about trade careers, consider waking up one morning with your toilet overflowing and when you finally get in touch with a plumber, you discover that the earliest they can squeeze you in is about three days…