Can we stop telling people to "just go into the trades" like it's some stress free escape from a bad job situation
Every time someone posts about hating their office job the comments fill up with "have you considered the trades" like it's a cheat code nobody has thought of. Spent time in that world and the reality is harsh conditions every single day, weather that doesn't care about your comfort, nowhere decent to eat or wash your hands, and supervisors who still operate like it's 1987 expecting you fifteen minutes early while finding creative ways to short your hours.
The physical toll alone is something people genuinely underestimate until they're living it. Your body takes real damage doing that work consistently over years. Joints, hearing, lungs, eyes. The safety gear helps but it doesn't fix everything and by the time you're forty you'll know exactly which shortcuts your body paid for.
The money argument also falls apart under pressure. The good pay either requires union commitment, running your own business, or both and the business route means the job follows you home every single night. If you actually want to go into the trades, electrician is probably the most defensible choice. But let's stop packaging it as an easy alternative for people who just want out of something difficult. What's a career path that gets romanticized way more than the reality actually deserves?