Trading a Trade for a Career, Revisited

I read somewhere once that it's advisable to leave what you've written for an hour or so, and reread it before mailing. I should have done that with my previous post.

It reads as if I don't think anyone should consider entering a trade .... that's not what I meant. Obviously, a trade can be a rewarding job and suits many people. However, many metalworking trades similar to the one I was learning were dying, and there were many better options for obtaining a career.

The moral is to choose your trade carefully.

It's ironic now that my old trade, fitting and machining, is one of those that are experiencing labour shortages. After declining for years, there's now a demand that can't be met.

Government and industry wring their hands as they lament the lack of willing apprentices, and suggest all sorts of measures to cure the problem. They never mention the one that would have any effect, ie, raising pay rates to levels that satisfactorily reward the skills needed to do the job.

Get the pay levels right, and you'll get the participants.

SWMBO is a Registered Nurse, and does not work in her profession for exactly the same reasons.

Isn't it interesting how market forces are good for everything, except increasing workers' standard of living?