How THIS Entrepreneur Prospered By Mastering A Skill That's In Demand | #416 | The Way I Heard It

Don’t lose hope Mike. It will come around full circle. I’m a 34 year old who’s been in construction since 16. I have an 8 year old son who is raised on the value of a dollar and respect for trades. I had a desk jockey father who pushed me into the trades when he saw me struggle with the failure of the educational system and I thank the men like him, and yourself. Grew up on dirty jobs, so thank you.

i became an electrician 26 years ago because i knew it would be a job that would always be needed. Ive been able to support a family of 5 all by myself. Not many young kids are coming in to replace us.

After 10 years at a computer in Hollywood I found the most polite, good and honest people were the cleaners, and some of the higher ups. Outside of that, the stark contrast between trades people and Hollywood was clear. You get a-holes in any field, but for some reason the most honest and friendly people always showed up in the Trades. I quit Hollywood and now I just paint art, work for myself, invest, try to keep up this YT channel and restore furniture. Much healthier, happier life!

Born and raised Oklahoma 40 miles from Eufaula in Muskogee and grew up with ROCK, paper, scissors lol

You have to find something you like doing that can support you and the odds are you'll stick with it and enjoy doing it

Yeah . . . my dad was a welder, machinist, and shop foreman for 40+ years. He retired, but still works out of his garage, and has more than enough work to keep him insanely busy, making handrails and fixing stuff for people. He taught all of my brothers how to weld; he believes passionately that everyone should have some kind of hands-on skill that they can fall back on, even if they do decide to go white-collar. He was on the original board for our local trade school and basically set up their welding program - which I only learned about a couple of years ago. We need more people in skilled trades. Machines do some things well, but AI can't build its own motherboard or the building that protects its delicate circuitry. And humans derive meaning from meaningful work, such as building a beautiful home, making or restoring someone's favorite chair, or fixing things that have broken. Me, I plant gardens.

Mike, I'm retired Master Mechanic. 3 of my friends have there own business. All have the same problem, hire someone, always have issues with coming to work everyday, and after a while, they quit, just about the time they get enough experience to not hover over them. We all graduated from Ranken Technical, one of the best in St Louis area. I actually graduated from Automotive Maint Tech, and Diesel Maint Tech. But even when I was Super for a large construction company, i had similar issues, after 2 - 3 yrs they'd quit and either go out on there own or to a larger company for more money or better hours.

Far too many high school vocational programs remain dumping grounds for problem students and get very inadequate funding. You don't run a successful vocational program for the price of a textbook and your best instructors are not going to have a BA in Education. A good vocational program needs the support of the Board of Education and local companies offering employment and apprenticeships and an understanding by all that the trades are just as valid and rewarding as an academic path.

When I think about the cultural message from the 80's and the rise of the Yuppie image, the heroes of the movies were in the corporate world. The trades were depicted as lower than. The stories that depicted the trades positively were rare. The tone in the culture can shift. Movies, documentary stories, PR, and more people carrying on the conversation is needed.

Mike is right I've listened to him for many, many years, both on TV and now podcasts. At this time, I feel our youth has been called lazy and don't have much to offer, but it's the time now to realize they do. They seem to be told they aren't worthy of anything much, but haven't been taught too much either by the mainstream. Not entirely their fault as there is no real "investment" in them to motivate or explain. As Mike rowe has offered many options for youth, it just kind of seems like things are coming together at this time in life. I've done college to get my education up to my MBA. It served me well in terms of enlightenment of corporate and societal demands, enough to only reiterate what I personally knew...I didn't want to be there as it's just a game. My core value was to benefit others in some impossible way in that environment. I'm not special in my "trade" of corporate *edit* p$ that seems to be idolized and taught, with zero value, btw. I just wish a different perspective was available. Keep on Mike Rowe!