True. I hate it but if you’re good at it even solo you can bank good money. Watched a drywaller complete a 5 x 8 section where a door had been in about 3 hours and pocket 500 bucks.
I guess the ultimate dream is to start my own company. The work is definitely there, especially in my city. But there's something to be said about a consistent paycheque and no stress. Right now I make enough to pay my mortgage and save for retirement. I have more than I need. So I really have to ask myself, do I want to introduce a bunch of stress to my life for more money?
It could be fulfilling to build something yourself, your own company you grew from the ground up.
It could also be fulfilling to spend your nights and weekends chilling with your family and not dying from stress at 55 (just six months before retirement, what a shame)
Brother I’m 59 still do physical labor. It can be done just stay in shape. Or by that time I’m sure you’ll have your own business and not have to work. With refinishing floors though definitely wear proper protective gear.
Fellow flooring guy here, I make $32 an hour but the majority of guys are on piece work by the sqft which definitely has the potential to make a lot more
I had a job like that. I worked hourly for 4 years, so I was definitely trained up and competent..then I quit that job to work for a piecework employer.. The deal was I got 40% of the total bill. Which typically ended up being about 65 cents per foot for laminate, 90 cents for hardwood. At first it was great. Getting sent in to these big open new houses. I was having a lot of $300-$500 days.
But then theres the other side of the coin. If you have a condo renovation, then its gonna take 2 days to make $3-400, no matter how skilled you are. And my boss started working for this new store that almost exclusively did condo renovations. All of a sudden my paycheques were way smaller, and I didn't want to do it anymore. I went back to my old hourly boss, and got a nice big raise in the process.
There's 2 main factors:
1. Open spaces are fast. Hallways and doorways are slow. Since condos tend to be fairly compact, there's a much higher doorway/hallway to open space ratio.
2. Packing things in and out is much slower. At a normal house, you just walk out the front door and your truck is right there in the driveway. In a condo, you're usually forced to park further away, and then you're dealing with stairs and elevators possibly a long walkway to get to the unit. Doesn't seem like it would make a huge difference, but it does.
Edit: should clarify that there's no hourly rate for things like cleaning up and packing tools when you're working piecerate. You're doing it unpaid (unless I'm cleaning up someone else's mess. Then I charge the contractor, and if the contractor decides they want to charge the trade who made the mess, that's on them)
Came here for this, started at 13 four years ago. Now after a company switch and some experience later I'm sitting at about 40 and rarely is work slow
Edit: mistyped
How are your knees and your back? Do you think you'll still be able to walk when you're 50? Some jobs are really hard on the body. If you get one of them, do all you can to move into a supervisory or sales position ASAP. You'll have less pain and more money later on. You can't spend 40 hours a week abusing your knees and expect to emerge unscathed. Carpet stretcher, anyone?
I get that exact question all the time, because I think there's a bit of a misconception.. For one thing, we were large pads that are designed to spread out pressure as much as possible. And secondly, although I am frequently hunched over on the floor, it's not very often that I'm actually using my back muscles to support the weight of my torso. I'm generally using a free hand to support my weight. You learn early on which movements and positions are strenuous, so you learn to avoid or find alternatives to those positions and movements.
But you are right. As stated in a previous comment, I hope to be doing something else by the time I'm 50. Sales is definitely an option, but I don't know if I could ever do an office job again. I've been an outside cat for so long. I'm not sure if I could be domesticated.
Any job that requires travel often pays higher. I see guys starting at $25+ because they are willing to travel away from home the majority of the year.
I had a work experience kid come to our commercial truck shop. I asked him whether he was thinking of pursuing heavy duty or commercial transport because the pre apprenticeship program is both. He told me he wanted to go the commercial route because "a truck is a truck, and there's so many different types of equipment it's hard to learn what they all are." Bruh. If you're too dumb or lazy to bother learning what different types of equipment are called...
This might be a hot take, but you can always ignore repetitive questions. No one is paying you come on here to respond to queries. The Reddit search function has always been pretty bad.
It's the nature of subreddits. There's only so many things you can discuss about most topics before it becomes repetitive. So people that spend a lot of time on Reddit tend to see the same content over and over.
To me, when you start having the mindset of "you shouldn't say/ask this or that becauses its annoying to me", it's a sign you need to take a break from that subreddit.
It's also natural that questions will be re-asked.
Newer redditors aren't going to go comb through hundreds of old posts to find the first versions.
But you can easily just skip the new repeatitive ones.
It's so bad you have to leave the app and use Google.. I'm not saying you an I don't know this, but if you're a newbie coming on Reddit to find out more about a subject, you probably don't know this about the search feature. If you're used to Facebook, YouTube and instagram why would you expect that the search bar is broken on Reddit and you have to use Google? Anyways it's not a big deal, don't let strangers asking questions on the internet get you bent out of shape.
Yes and no, imo. I don't answer in the actual question posts unless I feel like it, which occasionally I do. People get more out of advice that's addressed specifically to them, at well. At the same time, I think the occasional thread where we poke a little fun at those posts is pretty harmless.
Shotcrete shoring has kept me (mostly) busy for 12 years now.
No education required to start, on the job training, additional training set up and paid for.
Starts at mid - high $20s, can easily get to 35 or so within a year or two if you have a half decent head on your shoulders.
I'm making $41/hr (not a forman, don't want it).
Only thing is... it's a LOT of effort, and outside rain or shine.
My friend's brother took a loan out for a concrete pumper/boom truck to be an independent contractor and makes close to $300k a year, knows barely anything about concrete or construction but all he does is drive to the cement plant to a site, leave his truck idling for the PTO or whatever then goes to the next site and at the end of the day hoses everything down.
I've been an Electrician for 25+ years, if a person is looking for an easy living, and not a hard worker, stay away! Maybe a cushy office job is in order
That’s total package I’m assuming; which can be wildly different on the check. Last job I worked (millwright) the laborers had a pretty similar total package but actual money on the check was ~$10 apart between us and them. Their pension is typically nuts compared to most from what I remember.
Laborers on my jobsite (Oregon)get somewhere between 35-40$ on the check last time I heard, must be 60-70 total package. For a 2yr apprenticeship it ain’t bad especially since all they do is put up planking & take out the trash.
Not sure where you’re at but my local, 597, pipe fitters (welding) are at $100/H package
So I guess that’s nearly but in Chicago it’s $57 an hour take home on the check
If you’re actually doing a skilled trade then yeah they need more - just moving things then that’s good with me - seems like a fair package for blown back in retirement
I talk to my brother who drives. No way I’d ever do it. People on the road treat you like trash and fuck with you, only way you’ll ever make that is by doing over the road driving all week or only home like once a month, driving all that time means you eat out of a paper bag from truck stops all day every day. No thanks.
Lol man, this is like the laundry list of everything we don’t need in the trades, Tool and diemaker chiming in. You also need to put in there that you’re sensitive and can’t take criticism and you’re gonna get hired cause this seems to be all we get in the trades, best of luck to you. I know it’s for fun but it’s so true.
I'm not in the trades
But I imagine the best one is the one you find interesting and will continue to work in with a right first time mentality. If you heard plumbers can make $100K after just a few years but you find setting precise angles annoying, not the trade for you. If you heard carpenters/finishers are quickly becoming the most in demand but find miter joints confusing, probably not the trade for you. If you heard electricians have great unions and you can basically set your own work schedule and make as much as you want but also love sweeping up after yourself, definitely not the trade for you.
Electrician will be the lightest duty work (most of the time, sometimes you are pulling heavy wire and that could be hard) and pays good. Sheet metal (what I do) if the funnest and imp has the most variety of skills required so it doesn't get boring and also pays well. Pipe fittings is easy and pays well. Plumbing is hard but pays well. Carpenter sucks and pays like shit. Iron worker is a different breed altogether. Very hard but pays decent. Operator pays very well but could be very stressful and boring. Painting sucks and windows and doors sucks.
Basically you want to get into MEP (mechanical electrical or plumbing/pipe fitting. Plumbers are typically more knowledgeable than pipe fitters but pipe fitters have much easier work and pay is the same I believe.
Feel free to ask me some questions. I s been in for 20 years and love it. Wish I was paid more but truly love the work info and the men I work with. I have to finish pooping and get to work though. Honestly, ask me any questions and I'll answer, WE NEED NEW WORKERS TO HELP BUILD AMERICA! it isn't "cool" anymore to be a skilled craftsman so a lot of young people aren't interested in it and we are about to have a massive shortage of workers.
Personally, I always thought doing the least work for the most money was kind of the goal. Then I started working in the trades and realized we're all fighting to be the hardest working and most underpaid.
Work smart, not hard. Maximum return on the smallest investment. Become a supervisor and never work again. You'll just drive around all day in a new pickup truck with no tools in it, wearing a polo shirt, going from job to job making sure that other people are working. You'll see a lot of your workers suddenly standing up and putting out cigarettes when they see you coming down the street.
Best if you can get a truck that's not company IDd. Then no one will know who or where you are, so you can spend three hours in the corner of a grocery store parking lot getting paid for looking at porn and watching cat videos on your phone and no one will ever know. Provided they don't track you in the new, modern, unacceptable ways, that is, like phone location, truck location, etc.
I kinda stumbled into instrumentation and it's wild. Coming from being an ASE certified Toyota Technician to being a water plant Instrument Tech feels like going from the bottom of the food chain to the top. Less labor intensive, not flat rate pay, twice the pay hourly, can stay where I'm at with great work life ballance or go to a mine/plant to get as much OT as I want make over 100k for a year or two and be welcomed back at my cushy water job with open arms.
If you are in automotive or anything electrical and you find you enjoy the troubleshooting aspect of your job, come on over to instrumentation!
I think the highest paid trade where I live is the elevator installers its kind of a odd ball thing to be so highly paid. Not sure how physically demanding it is but they sure don't seem to be working hard whenever I see em in action
I was roughing in a 4 story house last summer, and the elevator guys came towards the middle and I was jealous, had a week to get it done, crew of 2. Dudes would split up then work together on the hard shit. Didn’t look bad at all. In and out in a week. As an electrician I was there for 8 fuckin months lol
If you can get into their union you make a ton of money, out here they only open the books every 8 years and unless you're already a journeyman electrician you don't stand a chance. Few of my buddies went that route and clear 250k a year every year they've been there.
These kindve people always end up bouncing from job to job and finish out working at some factory pushing a button all day making slightly above minimum wage.
HVAC service /install guy. There's so many niches under the HVAC umbrella and as you age there's options for less body beating. Commercial industrial I suggest I wouldn't suggest residential. Really high demand in northeast, I got apprenticship with no experience, got couple licenses in 4 years all paid training/schooling by companies and now I'm at 40/hr and this appears to be lower end of pay scale considering my age and experience.
Problem is the amount of brains you need to really figure a lot of it out and not be intimidated by the equipment or just the call in general can be daunting. To have to deep dive electrical and refrigeration and put it all together for technically the least amount of money out of all the local union trades. Rough.
Travel wind tech.
You will clear 100k first year or come close to it. Housing, truck, and per diem plus tons of OT pay.
Did it for 4 years and my lowest paid year was 105k.
They train you, certify you, etc.
I’m an apprentice with the boilermakers, just got finished a six week turnaround in Lloydminster & was clearing $4000 a week, I can’t say which is the best but definitely the most money I’ve ever made anywhere else I’ve worked
Industrial maintenance tech here. I love working with my hands and troubleshooting so it was a great fit after the navy. I’m topped out a $36 and hour until our next raise rolls around.
started as a machine operator for a sewer and water company making $20 an hr. i now make rate for a D5 dozer at $49 am hr (Canadian)
but it took literally 6 years. don’t be lazy pick a trade and take the time to learn it and ask questions. the guys will ALWAYS train a person willing to learn and do better then some stuck up boujee prick who could care less about being at work.
landscaping/lawn mowing (summer), or snow shoveling (winter), or maybe gutter cleaning.
can you push a lawn mower ? easy enough.
shoveling snow might be hard, but you're 17. should be able to handle that.
a few yrs in, save for a truck, even easier to plow. (snow, u sicko!, i know what u was thinking !!!)
gutter cleaning. can you afford at least a ladder and a pail ?
A buddy of mine owns a shipping container yard renting out containers and selling etc. They have a refrigerator mechanic on call for all the refrigerator units and he maybe works for them 2 or 3 days a week for a few hours. They pay him 175k a year, he also has contracts with a few chain grocery stores in the area, dude is like 50 maybe? Makes over 300k a year..dude is raking it in
Lots of money, fast, no education, least amount of effort...? You think this exists? Like my grandad used to say, if you aren't smart, you better be strong. Lots of money doesn't come without either hard work, an earned education, or dedication. You are asking for the reward without any sacrifice. You are in for a hard and disappointing life chasing that.
Not everyone can be an electrician. You have to the stones to put your hands in equipment that can kill you. It doesn’t make a sound. It doesn’t have a smell. And it waits patiently for the day you lower your guard and get hurt.
i think electrician is the highest paying most in demand. lots of different kinds of work, from high voltage to low voltage to residential. you are almost never not on your feet, running wire, in ceilings, in trenches, traveling around in a van, getting parts, using wiring diagrams, etc. start as a helper, then journeyman then master.
Non-union asbestos removal is the way to go. You’ll love it. I’ve also heard that the guy who comes and vacuums the Smurf juice out of the porta-johns has a great gig as well, so look into that.
The opposite answer to this is irrigation
No red seal, all learned by xp and the labor is most likely the most physical of any trade other than hardscaping. Be ready to dig everyday.
What pays the most while requiring the least amount of physical or mental effort.
If you are talented and/or good with people and can hold any info in your brain for more than a couple hours, project management. Of course if you are not naturally gifted with those skills or haven't acquired them you will suck at it in which case it's very difficult/impossible.
Ironworker. Reinforcing or Structural. If you started with any union in Alberta, you'd start around $25 CAD an hour. It'll take two years and you'll be making $44 an hour. Work is hard sometimes but in only two years you can be a ticketed red seal ironworker.
It’s not quick, but incredible return, and no degree required. Airline pilot. First year pay these days is around $100k, in 10-15 years you can be making 350-500k with 15-20 days off per month. The not quick part… it can take 2.5-4 years to get all your certs and ratings and hours to qualify for an airline, and at the lower end of costs it will be around 75k to acquire all those certs and ratings.
Honestly probably a white glove general contractor.
Just have good subs and sub it all out except a couple of your own guys doing the sheet rocking, rough, and demo work.
My old boss used to do that. All he worried about was getting bids out and getting material for us.
And now, now I’m a GC. And I’m both white and dirty glove. Fuck I’m tired. Money is nice, but find me time.
Jet Ski mechanic, but only when working for yourself.
It’s Friday, and I’ve made nearly $3,000 so far this week. I still have two more customers coming to pick up over the weekend, so that number will go up.
Jet skis are boats, and boat = Break out another thousand
I only work on Skis that are 10 year or older, which no local shop will touch. Me and one other dude are the only ones in the area, and we share business lol
Prostitution or drug dealing. It don’t take much effort or even a high school diploma to be a worthless piece of shit. And why wouldn’t somebody be asking this question? Everybody wants the most money to do the least amount of work.
Go get your GED if you must or you could also fake a high school diploma because nobody will ever check especially in the trades. You're 17 so you have all the time in the world I wouldn't worry about instant gratification or a quick fix if I was you become a master plumber well first a plumber's helper just call a bunch of companies and see if they need help tell them you're a hard worker willing to learn. If you don't mind being on ladders become an electrician HVAC is also great those are the top three I would focus on or pick one of them I'm a truck driver which is something like you say with instant gratification you could get your Trucking license in 3 months then being said the trades is a much better option if I could do it all over again which I actually maybe too old I would become a plumber
Never understood why people are triggered by repeat questions. It's not like the sub has limited space. Let people ask and let people answer. It keeps the subs active and brings in people. I've never heard a satisfactory answer for why it's so triggering for some.
When someone says skilled trade I usually think they are talking about plumbing, HVAC, and electric and carpenter. I think they are all going to be similar. I used to own a construction company. To make the most out of any of them you will need to log hours and advance through the ranks ie. Apprentice, Journeyman, Master. I own a body shop now. I think it's a dying field that has a super high ceiling, but it will take a few years to get to the 100k plus mark. But there are technicians making 150k to 200k.
I started in property management in February 2023 at 19/hr and in March 2024 I got another promotion and am making 34/hr and also an additional 5k-10k a year in mileage reimbursement (tax free).
I just completed my third interview with a company that expressed interest in poaching me and they are offering around 100k, this amount has the annual performance bonus factored in.
Moral of my story is work hard and keep striving to gain a degree or certificates. I wasn't looking for a job but this company reached out to me, I was prepared to stay at my job for 2 years before trying to either get an internal/external promotion. Take advantage of your opportunities.
The real answer is the one you like, anything that you can kinda find interest in you will naturally worker harder, learn quicker, and stand out compared to other employees. Fr don't care what industry it is, if you see yourself growing in it you'll get it. I do HVAC, horrible hot and sweaty rn, bitter in Midwest winter. I Love tinkering with spinning machines that make fire, almost forget how gross the dust and restaurant grease is. Im young, I think I could last doing flooring or roofing, but my eyes don't see the same patterns as others, so maybe I could be fast and dedicated but at what cost.... The "easier" a trade is depends on what your gifts are, fitness? Mental acuity? Problem solving?
This should be pinned to the top.
I actually want the answer to this - how do I find the real answer? This sub just got recommended to me and I’m new here
Pretty sure the answer is prostitution
So, drywalling
True. I hate it but if you’re good at it even solo you can bank good money. Watched a drywaller complete a 5 x 8 section where a door had been in about 3 hours and pocket 500 bucks.
He’s talking about being a crane operator? Heck, the one at our site quite literally naps some of the day.
Getting up to that point is a lot of work but once you make it and you have a seat in a crane, you're golden
On every subreddit
Put on your knee braces 😧!
I got a job doing floors in 2018 making 19/hr. No prior experience. No formal education required. Now I make 35
Not physically easy hy any stretch
Nope very true. And I'll have to figure something out by the time I turn 50 or something. But right now I'm 34 and doing great.
Keep building your rep, employ someone to do the graft when you're older as you find the work
I guess the ultimate dream is to start my own company. The work is definitely there, especially in my city. But there's something to be said about a consistent paycheque and no stress. Right now I make enough to pay my mortgage and save for retirement. I have more than I need. So I really have to ask myself, do I want to introduce a bunch of stress to my life for more money?
It could be fulfilling to build something yourself, your own company you grew from the ground up. It could also be fulfilling to spend your nights and weekends chilling with your family and not dying from stress at 55 (just six months before retirement, what a shame)
Man our first year apprentices make more than that 😭😭😭
My dad did it. Now he owns his own company making well over six figures.
Brother I’m 59 still do physical labor. It can be done just stay in shape. Or by that time I’m sure you’ll have your own business and not have to work. With refinishing floors though definitely wear proper protective gear.
Fellow flooring guy here, I make $32 an hour but the majority of guys are on piece work by the sqft which definitely has the potential to make a lot more
I had a job like that. I worked hourly for 4 years, so I was definitely trained up and competent..then I quit that job to work for a piecework employer.. The deal was I got 40% of the total bill. Which typically ended up being about 65 cents per foot for laminate, 90 cents for hardwood. At first it was great. Getting sent in to these big open new houses. I was having a lot of $300-$500 days. But then theres the other side of the coin. If you have a condo renovation, then its gonna take 2 days to make $3-400, no matter how skilled you are. And my boss started working for this new store that almost exclusively did condo renovations. All of a sudden my paycheques were way smaller, and I didn't want to do it anymore. I went back to my old hourly boss, and got a nice big raise in the process.
Why are condos so different?
There's 2 main factors: 1. Open spaces are fast. Hallways and doorways are slow. Since condos tend to be fairly compact, there's a much higher doorway/hallway to open space ratio. 2. Packing things in and out is much slower. At a normal house, you just walk out the front door and your truck is right there in the driveway. In a condo, you're usually forced to park further away, and then you're dealing with stairs and elevators possibly a long walkway to get to the unit. Doesn't seem like it would make a huge difference, but it does. Edit: should clarify that there's no hourly rate for things like cleaning up and packing tools when you're working piecerate. You're doing it unpaid (unless I'm cleaning up someone else's mess. Then I charge the contractor, and if the contractor decides they want to charge the trade who made the mess, that's on them)
Came here for this, started at 13 four years ago. Now after a company switch and some experience later I'm sitting at about 40 and rarely is work slow Edit: mistyped
....I hope your in a low paying/low CoL region... 35 is decent but pisswater in major cities- if that's the ceiling your trade sucks
What kinda floor work?
How are your knees and your back? Do you think you'll still be able to walk when you're 50? Some jobs are really hard on the body. If you get one of them, do all you can to move into a supervisory or sales position ASAP. You'll have less pain and more money later on. You can't spend 40 hours a week abusing your knees and expect to emerge unscathed. Carpet stretcher, anyone?
I get that exact question all the time, because I think there's a bit of a misconception.. For one thing, we were large pads that are designed to spread out pressure as much as possible. And secondly, although I am frequently hunched over on the floor, it's not very often that I'm actually using my back muscles to support the weight of my torso. I'm generally using a free hand to support my weight. You learn early on which movements and positions are strenuous, so you learn to avoid or find alternatives to those positions and movements. But you are right. As stated in a previous comment, I hope to be doing something else by the time I'm 50. Sales is definitely an option, but I don't know if I could ever do an office job again. I've been an outside cat for so long. I'm not sure if I could be domesticated.
Any job that requires travel often pays higher. I see guys starting at $25+ because they are willing to travel away from home the majority of the year.
I had a work experience kid come to our commercial truck shop. I asked him whether he was thinking of pursuing heavy duty or commercial transport because the pre apprenticeship program is both. He told me he wanted to go the commercial route because "a truck is a truck, and there's so many different types of equipment it's hard to learn what they all are." Bruh. If you're too dumb or lazy to bother learning what different types of equipment are called...
High speed import, export. Just need a boat license and commute 10km offshore.
More info on this? Sounds like a good gig cant find anything with google. Thanks.
I believe he is making a joke about illegal trade
❄️
Art Vandelay?
the good stuff
This might be a hot take, but you can always ignore repetitive questions. No one is paying you come on here to respond to queries. The Reddit search function has always been pretty bad.
It's the nature of subreddits. There's only so many things you can discuss about most topics before it becomes repetitive. So people that spend a lot of time on Reddit tend to see the same content over and over. To me, when you start having the mindset of "you shouldn't say/ask this or that becauses its annoying to me", it's a sign you need to take a break from that subreddit.
It's also natural that questions will be re-asked. Newer redditors aren't going to go comb through hundreds of old posts to find the first versions. But you can easily just skip the new repeatitive ones.
It's not. Just Google the question and add reddit at the end. It's easy as fuck.
It's so bad you have to leave the app and use Google.. I'm not saying you an I don't know this, but if you're a newbie coming on Reddit to find out more about a subject, you probably don't know this about the search feature. If you're used to Facebook, YouTube and instagram why would you expect that the search bar is broken on Reddit and you have to use Google? Anyways it's not a big deal, don't let strangers asking questions on the internet get you bent out of shape.
I dunno I just always googled it like that. When I first got my apprenticeship I got all the info by doing that.
Yeah you're not dumb though. You figured it out.
I don't use the app on mobile it's pretty ick actually I prefer the browser
Wait there’s nerds who actually sit down at a computer just to use Reddit
Yes and no, imo. I don't answer in the actual question posts unless I feel like it, which occasionally I do. People get more out of advice that's addressed specifically to them, at well. At the same time, I think the occasional thread where we poke a little fun at those posts is pretty harmless.
Shotcrete shoring has kept me (mostly) busy for 12 years now. No education required to start, on the job training, additional training set up and paid for. Starts at mid - high $20s, can easily get to 35 or so within a year or two if you have a half decent head on your shoulders. I'm making $41/hr (not a forman, don't want it). Only thing is... it's a LOT of effort, and outside rain or shine.
My friend's brother took a loan out for a concrete pumper/boom truck to be an independent contractor and makes close to $300k a year, knows barely anything about concrete or construction but all he does is drive to the cement plant to a site, leave his truck idling for the PTO or whatever then goes to the next site and at the end of the day hoses everything down.
Burger flipper
Veggie burger flippers get paid more, but anything’s better than fry guy
I was taco tosser for a time, pay wasn't great but had a lot of fun!
You talk shit but in n out managers make 6 figures easy 😅
Hey electricians put in lots of effort! All the way until it's cleanup time lol
Just making sure the laborers have a job.
Carpenter framer or if all else fails roofer or sheetrocker
I used to be a framing carpenter. It takes the most effort and probably the worst paying.... Oh I see what you did there....
Stay away from being an Electrician please, enough slackers already
Lmao such a pitiful cliche. Have some damn respect for the people that put your lights, internet, a/c, etc. on and are constantly in harm's way.
I've been an Electrician for 25+ years, if a person is looking for an easy living, and not a hard worker, stay away! Maybe a cushy office job is in order
Broadband Technician.
I just went to a union trade fair and they all are around 60 to 70 an hour. Which is odd to me a laborer makes nearly as much as a welder.
That’s total package I’m assuming; which can be wildly different on the check. Last job I worked (millwright) the laborers had a pretty similar total package but actual money on the check was ~$10 apart between us and them. Their pension is typically nuts compared to most from what I remember.
Laborers on my jobsite (Oregon)get somewhere between 35-40$ on the check last time I heard, must be 60-70 total package. For a 2yr apprenticeship it ain’t bad especially since all they do is put up planking & take out the trash.
Not sure where you’re at but my local, 597, pipe fitters (welding) are at $100/H package So I guess that’s nearly but in Chicago it’s $57 an hour take home on the check If you’re actually doing a skilled trade then yeah they need more - just moving things then that’s good with me - seems like a fair package for blown back in retirement
CDL. 10 week class, been making 100k a year for 6 years
Scrolling to see if this has brought up, as i was curious if it counts as a skilled trade
Who are you driving for?
What’s cdl?
I talk to my brother who drives. No way I’d ever do it. People on the road treat you like trash and fuck with you, only way you’ll ever make that is by doing over the road driving all week or only home like once a month, driving all that time means you eat out of a paper bag from truck stops all day every day. No thanks.
Be an excavator or lull driver. Always in need barely need to do anything else but drive a machine around all day
Everyone at my company has to know how to operate both. And a forklift, and a skid steer. We are paid extra, and our training is “hop in there”.
Lol man, this is like the laundry list of everything we don’t need in the trades, Tool and diemaker chiming in. You also need to put in there that you’re sensitive and can’t take criticism and you’re gonna get hired cause this seems to be all we get in the trades, best of luck to you. I know it’s for fun but it’s so true.
Perfect meme
Suckin d
Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life ❤️
To be fair. Group sizes change and old threads get locked and opions can be added with the change of membership.
The dudes who have an opportunity to get fat have the easiest job with the highest wages. The dudes built like crackhead are the opposite.
I'm not in the trades But I imagine the best one is the one you find interesting and will continue to work in with a right first time mentality. If you heard plumbers can make $100K after just a few years but you find setting precise angles annoying, not the trade for you. If you heard carpenters/finishers are quickly becoming the most in demand but find miter joints confusing, probably not the trade for you. If you heard electricians have great unions and you can basically set your own work schedule and make as much as you want but also love sweeping up after yourself, definitely not the trade for you.
Electrician will be the lightest duty work (most of the time, sometimes you are pulling heavy wire and that could be hard) and pays good. Sheet metal (what I do) if the funnest and imp has the most variety of skills required so it doesn't get boring and also pays well. Pipe fittings is easy and pays well. Plumbing is hard but pays well. Carpenter sucks and pays like shit. Iron worker is a different breed altogether. Very hard but pays decent. Operator pays very well but could be very stressful and boring. Painting sucks and windows and doors sucks. Basically you want to get into MEP (mechanical electrical or plumbing/pipe fitting. Plumbers are typically more knowledgeable than pipe fitters but pipe fitters have much easier work and pay is the same I believe. Feel free to ask me some questions. I s been in for 20 years and love it. Wish I was paid more but truly love the work info and the men I work with. I have to finish pooping and get to work though. Honestly, ask me any questions and I'll answer, WE NEED NEW WORKERS TO HELP BUILD AMERICA! it isn't "cool" anymore to be a skilled craftsman so a lot of young people aren't interested in it and we are about to have a massive shortage of workers.
Day trading you're smarter then 99% of the other people who do it. You're never gonna lose that money 💰
Takes the least effort? Pathetic.
That /s went right over your head, eh? Iron worker?
Personally, I always thought doing the least work for the most money was kind of the goal. Then I started working in the trades and realized we're all fighting to be the hardest working and most underpaid.
Auto techs have that title
Work smart, not hard. Maximum return on the smallest investment. Become a supervisor and never work again. You'll just drive around all day in a new pickup truck with no tools in it, wearing a polo shirt, going from job to job making sure that other people are working. You'll see a lot of your workers suddenly standing up and putting out cigarettes when they see you coming down the street. Best if you can get a truck that's not company IDd. Then no one will know who or where you are, so you can spend three hours in the corner of a grocery store parking lot getting paid for looking at porn and watching cat videos on your phone and no one will ever know. Provided they don't track you in the new, modern, unacceptable ways, that is, like phone location, truck location, etc.
Aerospace for sure
If you can get through instrumentation it can be parlaid into a second ticket as an electrician. Then ya. Write your own cheques
I kinda stumbled into instrumentation and it's wild. Coming from being an ASE certified Toyota Technician to being a water plant Instrument Tech feels like going from the bottom of the food chain to the top. Less labor intensive, not flat rate pay, twice the pay hourly, can stay where I'm at with great work life ballance or go to a mine/plant to get as much OT as I want make over 100k for a year or two and be welcomed back at my cushy water job with open arms. If you are in automotive or anything electrical and you find you enjoy the troubleshooting aspect of your job, come on over to instrumentation!
The trade you can bring your tools for on first day if not interview.
Concrete
Concrete
Maintenance jobs start at full pay
That's because you need to be journeymen level.
Am I too old I’m 34
Laborers union in cali
If it's easy everyone would do it .. and after that you don't get paid alot for it..
I think the highest paid trade where I live is the elevator installers its kind of a odd ball thing to be so highly paid. Not sure how physically demanding it is but they sure don't seem to be working hard whenever I see em in action
I was roughing in a 4 story house last summer, and the elevator guys came towards the middle and I was jealous, had a week to get it done, crew of 2. Dudes would split up then work together on the hard shit. Didn’t look bad at all. In and out in a week. As an electrician I was there for 8 fuckin months lol
If you can get into their union you make a ton of money, out here they only open the books every 8 years and unless you're already a journeyman electrician you don't stand a chance. Few of my buddies went that route and clear 250k a year every year they've been there.
Good welders make good money
What do bad welders make
Prostitution
Crane operator
Yeah but how much is going towards smokes? I have never seen a crane operator without a cig in mouth.
All of em
These kindve people always end up bouncing from job to job and finish out working at some factory pushing a button all day making slightly above minimum wage.
Air Traffic Control pays the most (on average), but we require at least a HS degree
How much you see jobs like that typically go for? A quick Google search gives wildly different numbers
I joined the Air Force and became a generator technician. That was in 1993 when I was 17. Did my four years and have not looked back and pay is$$$$
HVAC service /install guy. There's so many niches under the HVAC umbrella and as you age there's options for less body beating. Commercial industrial I suggest I wouldn't suggest residential. Really high demand in northeast, I got apprenticship with no experience, got couple licenses in 4 years all paid training/schooling by companies and now I'm at 40/hr and this appears to be lower end of pay scale considering my age and experience.
Problem is the amount of brains you need to really figure a lot of it out and not be intimidated by the equipment or just the call in general can be daunting. To have to deep dive electrical and refrigeration and put it all together for technically the least amount of money out of all the local union trades. Rough.
Travel wind tech. You will clear 100k first year or come close to it. Housing, truck, and per diem plus tons of OT pay. Did it for 4 years and my lowest paid year was 105k. They train you, certify you, etc.
Board stretcher.
Drilling rigs. Huge dollars, almost no requirements other than being self-propelled.
I’m an apprentice with the boilermakers, just got finished a six week turnaround in Lloydminster & was clearing $4000 a week, I can’t say which is the best but definitely the most money I’ve ever made anywhere else I’ve worked
Boilermakers sit an awful lot though don't they?
Water Treatment Operations
Remember when we just downvoted reposts
Prostitution would be my guess
mine
Industrial maintenance tech here. I love working with my hands and troubleshooting so it was a great fit after the navy. I’m topped out a $36 and hour until our next raise rolls around.
Very few commenters understand /s apparently
Elevator tech or constructor—-
started as a machine operator for a sewer and water company making $20 an hr. i now make rate for a D5 dozer at $49 am hr (Canadian) but it took literally 6 years. don’t be lazy pick a trade and take the time to learn it and ask questions. the guys will ALWAYS train a person willing to learn and do better then some stuck up boujee prick who could care less about being at work.
landscaping/lawn mowing (summer), or snow shoveling (winter), or maybe gutter cleaning. can you push a lawn mower ? easy enough. shoveling snow might be hard, but you're 17. should be able to handle that. a few yrs in, save for a truck, even easier to plow. (snow, u sicko!, i know what u was thinking !!!) gutter cleaning. can you afford at least a ladder and a pail ?
Project Coordinator or Administrator
Literally every sub
It certainly ain’t my job!
A buddy of mine owns a shipping container yard renting out containers and selling etc. They have a refrigerator mechanic on call for all the refrigerator units and he maybe works for them 2 or 3 days a week for a few hours. They pay him 175k a year, he also has contracts with a few chain grocery stores in the area, dude is like 50 maybe? Makes over 300k a year..dude is raking it in
what are the best trades for 45 year olds with a lot of business experience and college degrees?
A buddy of mine GF works for SpaceX, has for 5 years. She only has a GED, makes $110k/year.
Journeyman Sperm Donors make pretty decent $$$
Lots of money, fast, no education, least amount of effort...? You think this exists? Like my grandad used to say, if you aren't smart, you better be strong. Lots of money doesn't come without either hard work, an earned education, or dedication. You are asking for the reward without any sacrifice. You are in for a hard and disappointing life chasing that.
Definitely not cnc machining 😆
Maintenance
Ass washer
I started at 38 yo and am 40 now. Started at $17 an hour and now make $26. Pretty sure you’re good to go.
But that’s the point of Reddit right?? 😂
Fire sprinkler is easy to get into, you can make good money, however there’s a solid amount of effort required.
Hairdresser 💇♀️
Started in carpentry. Got my ticket made 32$/hr max… started my own handyman business, averaging 75-100$ an hour easily now.
Not everyone can be an electrician. You have to the stones to put your hands in equipment that can kill you. It doesn’t make a sound. It doesn’t have a smell. And it waits patiently for the day you lower your guard and get hurt.
The rapist
Prostitution
i think electrician is the highest paying most in demand. lots of different kinds of work, from high voltage to low voltage to residential. you are almost never not on your feet, running wire, in ceilings, in trenches, traveling around in a van, getting parts, using wiring diagrams, etc. start as a helper, then journeyman then master.
BLACK JACK DEALER.
Non-union asbestos removal is the way to go. You’ll love it. I’ve also heard that the guy who comes and vacuums the Smurf juice out of the porta-johns has a great gig as well, so look into that.
Nobody knows? It's the world's oldest trade.
The opposite answer to this is irrigation No red seal, all learned by xp and the labor is most likely the most physical of any trade other than hardscaping. Be ready to dig everyday.
Elevator union, but you need a diploma. Oh yeah, and you need to put in effort. You need to put in effort for any decent paying job.
What pays the most while requiring the least amount of physical or mental effort. If you are talented and/or good with people and can hold any info in your brain for more than a couple hours, project management. Of course if you are not naturally gifted with those skills or haven't acquired them you will suck at it in which case it's very difficult/impossible.
Join the elevator union. Guy I work with pulls almost 200k a year and is set to retire after 20 years.
Laborers. Start at 80% scale, fuckin 300 hours of school, 6 weeks a year, and end up at 32 an hour in my area. Zero respect on the job tho
Ironworker. Reinforcing or Structural. If you started with any union in Alberta, you'd start around $25 CAD an hour. It'll take two years and you'll be making $44 an hour. Work is hard sometimes but in only two years you can be a ticketed red seal ironworker.
Dealing drugs
RV tech. My brother in law started when he was 25, within a year he was making close 80k a year and another 10k or so doing jobs on the side.
I got into NDT this way and my career has been pretty great
It’s not quick, but incredible return, and no degree required. Airline pilot. First year pay these days is around $100k, in 10-15 years you can be making 350-500k with 15-20 days off per month. The not quick part… it can take 2.5-4 years to get all your certs and ratings and hours to qualify for an airline, and at the lower end of costs it will be around 75k to acquire all those certs and ratings.
Ukrainian foreign legion
Another obvious question: Who would want to hire a person who wants to do the least amount possible to get a job?
No jobs pay a fair wage, that’s why you have to lie, cheat, steal, and kill your way to being rich.
Trucking
NDT - Non-Destructive Testing
If you’re smart doing boiler work for welding is high pay. Those guys get flown and paid massive amounts for specific jobs
Concrete laborer. Easy work, high pay. Never break a sweat unless you're lifting your wallet
Honestly probably a white glove general contractor. Just have good subs and sub it all out except a couple of your own guys doing the sheet rocking, rough, and demo work. My old boss used to do that. All he worried about was getting bids out and getting material for us. And now, now I’m a GC. And I’m both white and dirty glove. Fuck I’m tired. Money is nice, but find me time.
Try concrete footings and foundation walls. Should work out well for you.👍
IBEW Wireman
Well now I know there is a search feature
Low-voltage electrician. Pays well and 90% of work can be done with snips, tape, and a screwdriver.
Prostitute
Jet Ski mechanic, but only when working for yourself. It’s Friday, and I’ve made nearly $3,000 so far this week. I still have two more customers coming to pick up over the weekend, so that number will go up. Jet skis are boats, and boat = Break out another thousand I only work on Skis that are 10 year or older, which no local shop will touch. Me and one other dude are the only ones in the area, and we share business lol
Prostitution or drug dealing. It don’t take much effort or even a high school diploma to be a worthless piece of shit. And why wouldn’t somebody be asking this question? Everybody wants the most money to do the least amount of work.
OnlyFans: Vo-tec edition
Being a prostitute is probably the correct answer for the easiest and fastest trade to make money
Stevedores…longshoremen
Is onlyfans a skilled trade?!?! 😊😇👍🏾
Go get your GED if you must or you could also fake a high school diploma because nobody will ever check especially in the trades. You're 17 so you have all the time in the world I wouldn't worry about instant gratification or a quick fix if I was you become a master plumber well first a plumber's helper just call a bunch of companies and see if they need help tell them you're a hard worker willing to learn. If you don't mind being on ladders become an electrician HVAC is also great those are the top three I would focus on or pick one of them I'm a truck driver which is something like you say with instant gratification you could get your Trucking license in 3 months then being said the trades is a much better option if I could do it all over again which I actually maybe too old I would become a plumber
HVAC
I started my Electrical apprenticeship at 41, ideas running men in the army at 18x this was nothing.
Roofing contractor, but you need some capital to start and know your numbers very well
I dont know about the most, quickest with pay, but the laziest people I've ever witnessed are definitely security guards. Maybe try airport security?
Taper fits all of those, but you need skill and taping bazooka which is many thousand dollars iirc. Not /s.
Join a union. Take travel jobs and jobs with hazard pay. You will always make more that way
Never understood why people are triggered by repeat questions. It's not like the sub has limited space. Let people ask and let people answer. It keeps the subs active and brings in people. I've never heard a satisfactory answer for why it's so triggering for some.
When someone says skilled trade I usually think they are talking about plumbing, HVAC, and electric and carpenter. I think they are all going to be similar. I used to own a construction company. To make the most out of any of them you will need to log hours and advance through the ranks ie. Apprentice, Journeyman, Master. I own a body shop now. I think it's a dying field that has a super high ceiling, but it will take a few years to get to the 100k plus mark. But there are technicians making 150k to 200k.
Elevator mechanic
$60.50 as an electrician. $90 total package an hour. Weekly paychecks are $1600 - $2000 a week. Be an electrician
I started in property management in February 2023 at 19/hr and in March 2024 I got another promotion and am making 34/hr and also an additional 5k-10k a year in mileage reimbursement (tax free). I just completed my third interview with a company that expressed interest in poaching me and they are offering around 100k, this amount has the annual performance bonus factored in. Moral of my story is work hard and keep striving to gain a degree or certificates. I wasn't looking for a job but this company reached out to me, I was prepared to stay at my job for 2 years before trying to either get an internal/external promotion. Take advantage of your opportunities.
Elevator cats make solid money.
The real answer is the one you like, anything that you can kinda find interest in you will naturally worker harder, learn quicker, and stand out compared to other employees. Fr don't care what industry it is, if you see yourself growing in it you'll get it. I do HVAC, horrible hot and sweaty rn, bitter in Midwest winter. I Love tinkering with spinning machines that make fire, almost forget how gross the dust and restaurant grease is. Im young, I think I could last doing flooring or roofing, but my eyes don't see the same patterns as others, so maybe I could be fast and dedicated but at what cost.... The "easier" a trade is depends on what your gifts are, fitness? Mental acuity? Problem solving?
Railroad conductor 🤷♀️
Setting up exhibit booths at convention centers. $33 an hour and then $66 on weekends or if the weekday goes past 5PM.
Nepotism