Blue Collar and Proud of It: The All-In-One Resource for Finding Freedom, Financial Success, and Security Outside the Cubicle (9 page)
Authors: Joe Lamacchia,Bridget Samburg
Tags: #Business
Chapter 3
Show Me My Options!
The A-Z Guide to Becoming a . . .
N
ow that you’re thinking about your own skills and passions, I want to introduce you to what I think are some of the most interesting and challenging jobs out there. This chapter is designed to help you better understand how you can go about getting your blue-collar credentials. We’ll first walk you through what each of these blue-collar jobs or industries entail, while trying to give you the nitty-gritty on what it means to be a carpenter or trucker, for example. We’ll tell you what kind of training you need for these jobs and what the jobmarket is expected to look like between now and 2016. We’ll also give you a sense of howmuchmoney you canmake.This is by nomeans a list of every single job out there, but what you’ll find below is a list of twenty of themore popular, interesting, or, simply put, higher-paying blue-collar careers.
We’ll answer some commonly asked questions about these trades: What is required to get these jobs? Howdo I get trained? Where do I start? How much can I make? We have not listed every job since there are just somany—frompainter, electrician, landscaper, logger, and fabricator to heavy equipment operator, mason, cement layer, miner, and trucker.The list is nearly endless. I encourage you to use the Internet as a research tool. If you’re interested in an industry, poke around online and check out some of the blogs and industry association websites for more. A wealth of information is out there. I hope you will do your own research aswell, especially if you don’t find anything belowthat appeals to you, but we’re definitely going to get you started.
A lot of our information, facts, and figures come fromtheU.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). They have a comprehensive list of job descriptions, training requirements, and even salary scales for every type of job registered by the Bureau of Labor. We relied heavily on the BLS’s Occu-pationalHandbook to help guide you through some of the opportunities that are available. You can access much of this information from
www.bls.gov
and while I haven’t attributed every section to BLS, we use this resource to getmany of the basics andmost of the data.
As you go through this chapter and read about the various opportunities out there, think back to the last chapter and to all of the questions you answered about your own skills and personal preferences. I guarantee some of your traits willmatch up with what is required of the jobs in this chapter.Be on the lookout for things that interest you, appeal to you, or even totally turn you off as you read through this material. After all, narrowing down your list of options can be a good thing, too.
You’ll see from what you’re about to read that most—although not all—of these jobs do require postsecondary training or apprenticeships, and some of the industries that don’t require it will highly recommend it. It’s away to get ahead, to become better prepared, and to join the group of skilled workers who are at an advantage when looking for a job. For many entry-level jobs, such as construction laborers, you really don’t need any additional schooling, but you do need a willingness towork hard and a desire to learn.Youmay find a fewmonths or years down the road that you want to work at a more advanced job. You may want to have a specialty or advance as far as you can in one of the trades. An entry-level job is an excellent way to get a front-row seat so that you can experience the many different options out there. But you can’t stay in that first job forever, so keep that in mind.
I’ve said this before, but to find success and ultimately fulfillment, you need to go out there and be the best you can be. The best isn’t going to mean staying in the same position for your whole life.Challenge yourself, developmore skills, becomemore valuable to your employer, and invest in yourself. If you do, youwill be investing in your future. I encourage you to think about your short-termplan and long-termgoals. Many of these entry-level positions are outstanding places to be in the short term; they provide an opportunity to test the waters, to learn, and to earn money. But don’t get stuck in the same position forever.Do start thinking about where each of these positions can take you in the long run.
The only piece that’smissing fromthis chapter is a list of the postsec-ondary programs, apprenticeships, and schools that will offer the training you need in each of these industries. We haven’t forgotten that. We’ve included all of this information (really a gigantic list) in Chapter 11. Everything is organized alphabetically by industry and then alphabetically again by state. We haven’t included every single industry, and we haven’t included every single program or school or apprenticeship, but again, we wanted to help you get started. You’ll find programs for the twenty-one industries listed below, and you’ll have a great start on thinking about what you need for your own blue-collar credentials.
Success takes time, dedication, and patience. You have to work your way into a field or skill. Becoming a water treatment plant supervisor does not happen overnight.You need to learn the ropes and understand how all of the systems work, and you have to have experiencemanaging an emergency, such as a burst pipeline, before you can be the one in charge. If your dream job is running a large landscaping business, you have to start at the bottom. That’s what I did. For many years it was just me and a car full of equipment. Along theway, I learned and Imade some mistakes, and each year I understood my customers, my trade, and my skills better.
In this chapter, you will also meet some other individuals who have successful careers in these trades. Some fell into their jobs by accident, others planned their path fromearly on, and all are passionate aboutwhat they do. They are hardworking as well as dedicated to helping others, like you, find their way. Many of themfelt stupid in school or had a hard time telling their families that theywanted to go blue collar. All of them, though, have exciting, fulfilling careers, and none of themregret the decision to follow their passion. Be sure to read about these folks along the way.
Remember, this book is not about howto be the average you; it’s about how to be the best you. It is about being the best you can possibly be. I would challenge you to look at the median salaries as a starting point, not an ending point. We can all do a little to get by, but it takes someone special to do a lot, to go over the top, to be the best at what they are doing. If you’re taking the time to figure out what you want to do, what makes you tick, what gets you excited, and what you’re willing to get out of bed for in themorning, thenmake sure you’re prepared to give it 150 percent. I hope you’re starting to feel inspired to climb to the top of an industry, a company, or a skill level.
Success in the Real World
You Can’t Join a Baseball Team
Craig Copeland enjoys his job, but he says the sporadic hours prevent himfromjoining a baseball team. Asalary close to $100, 000 makes it well worth the sacrifice. Copeland has worked as a bed truck operator, moving drilling rigs, and is nowa dispatch operator forDCEnergy Services inCrossfield, Alberta.He used to go to and from drilling sites around Alberta that required equipment deliveries or removal. “This is not a 9-to-5 job, ” says Copeland, explaining that an entire operation could be held up while waiting for one of his trucks to arrive.
Precision is everything in this job, says Copeland, who explains that the sometimes-eighty-thousand-pound equipmentmust be loadedwithin an inch of specification to ensure proper and safe hauling. “You feel good when you get it right.” Copeland always enjoyed driving the huge rigs and appreciated the challenge in driving across rugged terrain. He says he wouldn’t have enjoyed the long-haul trucking and endless open roads.He’s always liked that his job didn’t involve sitting in front of a computer all day, though it can involve physical labor.
Copeland says that recent workforce shortages have driven down the expertise of operators, something that he finds disappointing. He says people are promoted fairly quickly in this industry now, which is good for people getting into it, but Copeland would like to see more training. Copeland was trained by his employer and says that’s the way people typically learn the industry.
Some days I wish I could try all of the jobs we talk about in this chapter. And with the way things are changing in the American workforce, I am envious of all of you who are thinking about one of these careers. This country needs enthusiastic, hardworking, trained people, and it is an exciting time to be going into the blue-collar world of work.
AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIAN
Gone are the days of the grease monkeys who were able to tinker under the hood of a car without any training or certification. As technology has advanced, so, too, have the cars and theirmanymoving parts. Being able to master these changes as well as stay on top of the hybrids, electric cars, and alternative-fuel sources for cars (ever heard of running a car on cooking oil? ) will help you in the long run. Who knows where all of these changes will lead the industry ultimately, but one thing is for sure: things are changing rapidly, and technicians must be prepared to keep up. The more training you have in alternative cars, the better your chances for success in the future.
Not only aremany carmanufacturers complete sticklers for how well their mechanics are trained, some prefer to train their employees themselves. Most of themajor carmanufacturers, such as BMW, Ford, and Toyota, have outstanding training programs that provide specific manufacturing certification and paid positions after program completion.
The Work
As you may know, cars now roll out of the factory with their own computers onboard, which means more parts to break, but really, different parts that need servicing. In other words, this is not your grandfather’s automobile. From the dashboard to the computerized antilock brake systems, there are dozens of electrical and technical components. They positively confuseme. But for a technician they open a whole new world of automotive repair.Diagnostics, computers, and troubleshooting are all key to this industry.
Technicians inspect, maintain, and repair automobiles. The increased sophistication of automobiles requires workers who can use computerized shop equipment and electronic components and still maneuver around a car’s engine with basic hand tools. Automotive service technicians must be able to adapt to the constantly changing technology, and they must be detail oriented and precise in their calculations and diagnostic skills. Small parts and tiny errors can createmassive problems.Technicians use a variety of tools from pneumatic wrenches to flame-cutting equipment, necessary to remove exhaust systems. High-tech tools are needed to fix the computer equipment that operates everything fromthe engine to the brakes and transmission.
Having physical science andmath classes under your belt is considered a good thing. If you are interested in the green aspect of the automotive industry, hybrid cars add a whole other dimension to the work. Being able to service a variety of cars such as diesel, hybrids, and even electric ones will be seen as a benefit. In the next decade, technicians will need to be familiar with alternative-fuel vehicles; their job security will improve as their skills become more advanced.
Work Setting
Generally, service technicians work indoors in repair shops; however, some shops can be drafty and noisy. Some technicians work outside or at least in bays that open to the outdoors. Although many problems can be fixed with simple computerized adjustments, technicians still frequently work with dirty, greasy parts, and in awkward positions.
Training and Certification