Different Paths

The wheels of fortune have turned so many times, I'm starting to get dizzy. When I was a kid, not everyone went to college. Plenty of folks opted to work for their Pa down at the shop, or learn haircutting at the technical school, apprentice as an electrician or keep plugging away at the grocery store where they started part-time in middle school. Decades have passed, formal education has become more accessible, particularly with the advent of the internet and remote learning. A college degree has become the new high school diploma. It is generally expected, and most people go into debt to get it, sometimes heavily. But who's stopping to think about whether it's the best solution? 

Two of our children have college degrees, two of them don't. And frankly, it doesn't seem to matter one bit. The two that don't have them are probably making more money than the others (I'm not asking) and they sally forth with their self-esteems quite intact, thank you. It just didn't suit what they wanted to do with their lives and they've had enough hustle in them to go and get what they wanted. I am no fan of 30-somethings slogging around in the basement while Mommy takes care of everything. Any child who is still at home and not in school has to be earning their keep and paying rent. Get crackin,' Einstein...

Get two things, if you can: a trade, and an education. A trade can be gotten while you are getting an education. My daughter was my assistant for years and years while I painted houses. Summers and breaks, she was an apprentice to what I was doing. Our boys worked one day a week with my brother in construction trades, instead of hunkering over schoolwork. That means they only had four days of "school" but they can all swing a hammer if their other jobs dry up now (and one of them is a firefighter and he does just that on his off days). In the summers, they worked full-time at it. 

We have so much information at our fingertips, it is easy to learn new skills, take classes cheaply and expand our horizons. My hope is that the tide will begin to turn and that young people will begin to see that there are fantastic opportunities in the trades apart from college in the near future. I dare say that a vast majority of the entrepreneurs that I know personally are making far more money and are happier with their careers, who have found their calling in the various trades. They have flexibility and pride of place in their work. Here's to Mike Rowe and all the dirty jobs!