Need a good paying job that can turn into a career?
A former homebuilder is encouraging people to consider the skilled trades.
Greene County District One Commissioner Rusty McLachlan says you can get paid to learn a career.
“There’s the assumption that if you go to college and you get a four-year degree that you’re going to be a step ahead of everyone financially and that maybe the ceiling is much higher. However, what we’re starting to find in construction now is the starting pay is actually higher and the ceiling is almost limitless.”
McLachlan gives the example of two brothers.
He says one became a teacher, while the other went into welding and got a high-paying job right away.
“He never completed the program. And it’s not because he didn’t want to. It’s because he got hired away before he could. And he is at about $80,000 a year now while his brother has student loans and debts and is a new teacher. And that’s not a knock on the teaching profession at all.”
He says you can make a lot of money if you consider the skilled trades.
“It’s not uncommon to make 70, 80, $90,000 in construction if you know what you’re doing. So with that, I think it incentivizes people to get in. Because starting pay for someone who has no idea what they’re doing is 17 to 20 bucks an hour now. And they can learn on the job.”
The Springfield Chamber of Commerce says older workers in the skilled trades are retiring, leaving lots of openings for younger workers.
Most jobs in the skilled trades don’t require a four-year degree.
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