Jimmy I agree we need more.

All of us who are or were in the trades have to get message out to the youth. I am trying to get the message across to my great nieces boyfriend who is just out of high school. He was shocked when he heard I was making to the north side of $27 per hour while he is in fast food at minimum wage. He may be convinced now. Let’s all keep working at it, great video Jimmy.

agree 100 percent remember when they said " the squeeky wheel gets the grease|" with the high cost of manual labor to grease them, it is now cheaper to replace the wheel. Personaly I prefer to take the wheel apart and fix it ( none of that today they replace it due to the high labour cost )

You and Mike Rowe are absolutely right. I own a tree service with a crane and a machine shop. Tree workers, machinist, crane operators, and welders are needed for our businesses. It's getting harder and harder to find younger people with some training and experience. I went to college myself for a while. My generation had been told since we were kids, 'if you don't want to flip burgers for your whole life, you have to go to college.' This is of course simply not true. I got fed with up with dealing with the college. I would end up only being able to get a class or two when I was trying to go full time. I had good grades and 44 hours towards my mechanical engineering degree. I went to tech school for automotive and diesel mechanics. From there, I got into factory BMW school. I turned wrenches for 7 years before going my own way. It gave me the money and background to be able to start my own businesses. The demand is out there but it's not going to fall in your lap. We absolutely need to change the message that in order to do anything, kids have to go to college. Tech school is certainly a viable alternative.

Totally agree. Mike Rowe is the man he knows what’s going on, colleges nowadays all you leave with is a brainwashed mindset, some debt and definitely dumber on the common sense side, in my opinion. I’m only about 10 minuets away from Yale University so I see it. There is a shortness of people wanting to get there hands dirty and someone actually wanting to work for a paycheck and not just expecting one for doing the bare minimum. I went to a vocational high school and was able to grow a successful business right out of HS. I come home dirty, callused hands, and couldn’t be happier of what I get accomplished, but the toughest part is not the work but you guessed it- finding more good help to get it done.

After Ron Pratt went out with his Rotator to local high school to demonstrator of of career day presentation , dropped something in his tip jar for the time he spent in front of the students , that`s what we need to show these kids what`s out their.

Hey Jimmy, went to school for electrical a few years after high school. Started out at $8.00/hr. 27 years later I own my own business and was able to move that decimal point one spot to the right! Love what I do! Also I worked full time while going to school to pay for it.

Great video Jimmy! I'm living proof of the vocational-technical HS training and then back to school for an engineering degree. I have made a phenomenal living as a general contractor, both in the residential and commercial arena. In high school, I was told that the trades weren't going to support me in life. Nothing could be further from the truth! I earned a great living, invested in property for my future and retired young. All thanks to the trades and some forward-thinking. Several of my classmates today don't even own a home because they are so strapped with student loans, bad life choices, and terrible credit. But they hold a college degree that they paid dearly for and it's not an asset to their quality of life. This country was built by craftsmen, the population needs to wake up to the fact these folks are required for continuing their standard of living. Great points raised by you, carpenters, truck drivers, electricians, plumbers, all necessary to build and maintain the life people take for granted. If you live in a dwelling, have indoor plumbing, electricity, central heating, food in your refrigerator, and internet and cable TV, you better thank a tradesman! Work safe Jimmy, you're a great spokesman for us "working slobs" that get it done every day! Doug@ the "ranch"

I went to a two-year trades college for Architectural drafting and spent more than 40 years working for an Architect. One of the things that always amazed me was the number of people working construction (usually as laborers) that had a 4-year college degree in something that did not pay well or there were too many people with degrees for the number of jobs available. Colleges are notorious for cranking out graduates in fields that are overloaded with qualified people. I push people towards trades schools all the time. There are some very good schools where you can obtain a two year Associate degree in pretty much any field imaginable that require tradespeople. People need to also take a hard look at trade schools as there are many opportunities other than construction and mechanics.

Well said Jimmy. It's the same here in New Zealand. The mistake of society thinking the blue collar workers aren't educated. Yet we are the ones that keep everything running and moving. I agree with you whole heatedly my friend! We're a dying breed. Our country's average truck drivers age it 55 years old. Who replaces these men and woman when they retire?

Great video Jimmy I just went through that with trying to find a crane mechanic.. They are so busy they did charge a premium to get one out to the job site.. Shortage of trained mechanics..

A thousand likes for your message today Jimmy!!! The skilled trades is so incredibly underfunded and understaffed. My daughter goes to the local college in St Joe and it sickens me to see that money can be found for the new football stadium that was donated by a local business man, and the college is constantly squealing about lack of funds, but can find the funds to spend on things not academically needed (E-SPORTS???). The unlimited supply of money that can be had through our tax dollars, loans, and grants are staggering! Since the college knows it, and because everyone from school counselors to parents still have the "gotta go to college to make something of yourself" mentality the college tuition goes up every year and everyone just shells out money from the bottomless pit of money that can be had from government backed loans. In the mean time the financial institutions that make these loans know that you cannot bankrupt on them continue to make them without regard for what you are using the money for! I went through the heavy equipment program at now Linn State tech school twenty five years ago this April. There was no Cat program then. I came out with less than $8000 dollars debt, and started at Caterpillar at $7.50 an hour. Last year I grossed over $80,000 doing a job that I look forward to. You don't see fancy brick buildings there, nor do you see any team sports, or football stadiums and the like. I am getting the chance to sponsor a local young man to attend the Cat program this year. He goes to school for 12 weeks, rotates home and interns with us for 8 weeks, makes 14-15 bucks an hour and rotates back. You work it right and save your money and you have pocket money for when you are in school. He will come out with a bachelors degree and will start at around $18.00 an hour. He is going down there for only ONE THING, to get his EDUCATION!! What also amazes me is that there is very little grant money or scholarship money due again for the college attitude that is ingrained into the kids is also in the donors out there. Because of the severe technician shortage it fell to Caterpillar and it's dealerships to support and grow it's own program. I am lucky to have gotten a chance to begin working with my hands in the seventh grade shop class. Woodworking, small engine mechanics, electricity, and machinery classes are now gone from schools. I took electronics at Hillyard Vo Tech in high school and auto mechanics at night after graduation. All of these classes have taught me skills that allow me to do my job today. As you said, these courses need to be funded so much more than another sport in a college. I'm going to get off of my soap box now. This is a rant that I talk about so much to guidance counselors in hopes that one day they will start listening. The door rate at my shop is up almost $150 an hour and as it is until the attitudes towards the trades changes the door rate will continue to climb. You mention high schools but don't forget the 8th graders as that is where we need to get them to start considering the trades and planning their high school time in order to take advantage of trade school while in 11-12 grade. Thanks Jimmy and as I have said before, if you get a chance to connect with a high school for a trade fair of sorts let me know, I'd like to participate with you.

I agree totally, we cant find good operators or laborers here to save our lives.

Great message well put

Great video Jimmy! Skilled labor isn't cheap. Cheap labor isn't skilled...

Good Video Jimmy you have hit the nail on the head, Farmers are headed in the same thing

its same in canada but luckly most high schools and colleges offer class's to help with trades i want to be heavy equipment operator but need to wait 2 years for full driver license so going to college for mechanics till then but what im trying to say stuffs there but its still low my wood shop teacher in high school put on mike talking about this to show us in ok to go for it

Well put Jimmy we have the same problem in NZ and truck drivers get paid more than an engineer for that reason.

Sir Jimmie !!! RIGHT on with Mike Rowe as when I went to school,, there weren't that many trade schools around then !!! Our HS Teachers saw the need for the Trade schools back then as all of the students were from Rural areas & Not city dewellers !!! THANKS for sharing !!!! ""KEEP IT SAFE ""

I'm really enjoying your videos. You have incredible talent as an operator and an explainer - a rare combination in my experience. I had a Bucyrus Erie 22-B crawler crane years ago so watching what you do with your crane simply amazes me. Regarding the tradesman issue, I agree. For book-reading types they could check-out "Shopcraft as Soulcraft" by Matthew Crawford. A college guy turned mechanic. Thanks. I'll keep watching.

Great video. Mike Rowes ad was playing on your video.

Frankly I think most of the college kids aren't bright enough to be in the trades. Ones I meet can't even read a crane chart, and don't even understand what a chart is all about and why it's needed even if you try to explain it to them. They don't seem to be able to understand basic electrical calculations, and their eyes glaze over if you try to teach them the trig involved in different transformer configurations like WYE and Delta. God forbid you bring up something like power-factor. They are so bad they can't even figure out the square footage of a room or the cubic footage of a container. Their college degrees are nothing but a purchased degree that they wear like a badge and think it means they are intelligent, skilled, and entitled to some great job where they can look down on everyone who actually produces something

My grandparents literally shunned me for BOTH switching religion AND being an Equipment Operator. It is so sad.

I attended college for computer Networking, communications and Security. Microsoft Certified, been a computer technician, worked on computers software and hardware, home and business wired/wireless networks, and still tinker around with computers to this day. I will say though, after working for a Fortune 500 company for a few years, and another major franchise my happiness and wages don’t compare to working inside a construction zone with a Class A CDL, a cpl endorsements, certified H2O Liquidator/Blaster License. Won’t mention too much that I learned of myself that I really don’t like the office-micromanaging type settings to work at day after day. I like the outside, different jobs, different locations. But let’s add the $$ spent on my education and licenses quickly. College- 3yrs at say $5,000 a yr avg= $15,000 which is not bad. Now CDL-A Course- $3,500 License Application/Renewal with endorsements-$150-$250 bi-annual with DOT Fed Med physical and Endorsement renewal. H2O Blaster License company paid. My wages for my college PC/Microsoft Cert education made me average half of what my CDL makes me annually. I get my happiness working outdoors and make more money! PS: Make the wife and kids happier as well!

make the trades more accepting and more will come, nobody wants to do trades peoples jobs because the ones in senior positions are jerks, especially towards the kids who don't exactly line up with "guy on a construction" site appearance but are otherwise simply brilliant. I can wire an entire house by myself showerhead tap to bathroom outlet, i'm lame at carpentry (too many power tools for me & long hair) but great at plumbing and HVAC and it's all trades that are surprisingly important in cannabis cultivation when you're pulling the levers yourself...but virtually every single male automatically decides i don't know shit, i can't do shit because i'm female and one of the major deciding factors for me getting out of the the traditional trades and into agriculture and cultivation. But mike is right and you're right too and it's a lot deeper than nonacceptance, I actually used to get made fun by my other friends when i was younger because everyone else went off to go work retail or like cosmestics or somewhere in an office and those "professional" type jobs while I was toiling away outside getting bumps and sunburns coming home looking like raggedy anne. But we all quickly found out who was coming home with fistfulls of cash and who wasn't.. and i guess that stays true to this day because most of them are still working those dead a*( soulless corporate jobs leaving comments on my photos about how they wish they could come out and farm with me. Also, only six figures? you call me when you wanna go pro. ^_~*

Just like to add , here in Ontario , Canada , we have a day set aside ,that every 9 th grader spends a day with one of their parent at work .

Jimmy, I agree 100%. I am old enough to have had access to public schools that offered vocational training. Throwing out some thoughts. The United States of America actually landed on the moon. If you don't think that happened, go ahead and check out now I guess. We reached the moon with a combination of welders, plumbers, pipe fitters, electricians, mechanics, nurses, medical technicians, tailors, riggers, crane operators, hospitality workers, plumbers, iron workers, photographers, journalists, lab technicians etc., etc. There were rocket scientists too. Engineering at every level as well. Doctors, mechanical engineers, civil engineers, orbital mechanics, chemists, etc., etc.. Believe it or not, there were exceptional levels of management too. It is a lesson in project management that has yet to be surpassed. I am in telecom. I make six figures too and I do not have a degree. I was in the USAF so that counts from an educational perspective. I guess my point is this, we need everyone at every level to be well educated, regardless. Vocational training is fantastic but so is every level of education. I am purposely leaving bucks out of this. Education should be available and affordable to everyone. I really think college should be affordable to those who can benefit most from it. I support public education locally when I vote always. I support my local community colleges too. Things vary from state to state so much. *****asking to keep political labels out of this*****

Yes America needs trades people but does not need people who are not mechanically inclined. I have seen some of the worst trades people because they had no mechanical ability. Know you abilities and seek jobs where you fit in, I know everybody sitting at a desk with a degree making 50K+ thinks they should be in the trades making 75K+ but without mechanical ability should stay behind the desk. I think every county should have a vocational school training program because most everybody can learn some sort of trade but not necessarily in the construction industry. Colleges are necessary to train engineers, Doctors, lawyers, scientists but those jobs are not for everybody.

got a question for you: what endless loop sling is the best (i know this depends what im using them for and conditions) im using mine for mainly stuff like dragging logs and pulling vehicles out they get beat up and arent exposed to chemicals i know hard to answer but id rather ask a pro that find out the hard way im using the wrong one lol and possibly a video of how to inspect rigging? if you haven't done one that is!

would love to see you and your fellow youtubers hook up with mike rowe an put together a series of videos showing trade work is cool, fun, and, exciting. Letsdig18 has young people comment on every video about how they want to do that when they get out of high school. a lot of trades people never went to school for it just learned on the job, that works well also

They been saying this for a decade now. CAT is looking for people. Good you speak out!

600 school hours and 8,000 work hours (no OT) just to be eligible to take the MA journeyman electrician's exam. That's at least a bachelors degree worth of class time, without all the bullshit 👊

Very well put. I'm close to retirement. We need to get these kinds interested in trades so they can continue to take care of the trades. Someone has to build the USA. Good job Jimmy. Keep up the good work. Take care brother.

The money spent on education is a pittance compared to the money thrown away on the military. There aren't enough people interested in the trades. The local technical school can't find enough people who want to go into it. With the cost of living these days, the trades don't pay enough. The labor rate at auto shops is over $100/hr and they pay mechanics less than $15/hr and require them to have nearly $10,000 in tools. The schools cut out many vocational programs because students don't take those classes. The interest isn't there. They don't want to do those jobs. Try to find a kid to mow a lawn today. Why work in the heat, cold and dirt and ruin your body for minimum wages. When I was ready to retire and they were looking to hire someone to take my place. They were offering a lower starting pay than I started at in 1980 and they wondered why they couldn't find anybody. A mechanic I worked with was looking for a better paying job and was going to apply for a mechanic position at a local manufacturing facility. He saw that they were paying $6/hr more for forklift operators than mechanics so he applied for and got that job. Now he sits in an air conditioned forklift all day moving product. If the forklift breaks down, he gets in another one. Several truck mechanics I know took jobs driving truck because the pay was about the same as mechanics but they got to sit in an air conditioned truck all day and there is no heavy lifting. They hook up to a trailer, take it to a location, drop it, hook up to another trailer and bring it back. The world will have to go through the shortage before most realize the importance of those positions and begin to pay more and treat them better before people will want to take those jobs. Then there will be a period of people learning those jobs. Training doesn't always work. There are people born with different skills. From my own experience, there are people like me who were born to be mechanics and there are people who will never be, no matter how much training they go through. There are people born to be artists and people like me who can barely draw stick figures.

I never went to college and I'm doing ok Don't be afraid too use your hands and back

Well I know that guy Mike Rowe you were talking about I know he supposedly went to school I've gone to the College of Hard Knocks and I've worked hard to get where I've got and there's people who are given everything so I think we need to get rid of them and everybody work hard for what they got not be given it cuz I know you worked hard I worked hard millions of people have worked hard but we're not special

How many degree people waiting tables? I spent 27 years as a building tech and damn proud of it!

we need a balance of everything. both blue and white collars work together to get jobs

Thank you that was a well thought out rant. I live in a area where if you grew up on a farm you were highly sought after for your work ethic, and ethics in general. I can train a person like that to achieve great things in their lives. Unfortunately the wankitering marketing/ media has put a stigmatized spin on the trades for at least the last two decades. My generation x has failed in the parenting department as well. I have a hard time finding an employee that can get out of bed and pass a pee test. Sorry for my rant. Great video as always! Keep it going for the next generation 👍

Have to disagree with you on the truck driver shortage, there is a absolute driver retention problem and compensation problem along with training new drivers, they are not trained they are taught to pass the cdl test then the large carriers are putting them with a "trainer" for 3 weeks before they are turned loose on their own, most trainers aren't that experienced, themselves, try to pass on experience, and knowledge when I see a new driver having a difficult time,

Great topic and a lot of great comments, Vo-Tech you be mandatory for high school students it may open some eyes.

Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, need a place to live, in work in. That's where the Trades come to the rescue in building the infrastructure for them. Don't let the soap box get cold on this.

My teacher told me I’ll never make money staring out a window Look at me now 😉 I love driving down the rd pointing everything out to our son we built that

This is something Andrew Yang pushed and one of the reasons I like him so much. The trades are dying for young blood and a man or a woman can make a respectable living and a career working in the trades. It's just sad we see working in trades as a poor man's route where nothing could be further from the truth. We need to stop pushing to our kids that college is the only way to succeed in life, and embrace people wanting to go into the trades. This is also a job that will not be replaced by automation or technology any time soon.

I love mike Rowe I watch him every time it is on

I work in local drayage and the container yards can't train the new hires fast enough if they can find a clean drug free hire. Three story tall 8 wheeled Kanmar gantry? cranes. Or big Taylor can movers. My daughter and her boyfriend Graduate hs this yr. Top of their class it would be a good summer job if they could get on. They're not interested. Sad.

Fantastic video. Thanks. Loans - I sometimes wonder why college loans differ from other loans. It seems like if you want to borrow significant amounts of money, the lender wants to know how you will pay it back. But with college loans this does not seem to be the case. I would think it would almost be like a business plan you need to present to the bank for a loan - here's my detailed plan to make $200,000, and with my plan I can pay you back. What's the plan with the college loan for a degree? Borrow the money, with no clear plan of paying it back? You would think the lender would look at what the person is going to college for, and come to a conclusion that it's a great idea, or it's a completely ridiculous plan that will never lead to meaningful employment, or an income capable of paying the loan back. The most successful people I know are all in skilled trades, and every one of them share your thoughts you presented in this video.

📙💯

Oh yea, I paid 10 grand to get my crane license, and am making 24 dollars, right out of the gate, as a 20 year old with hardly any crane and rigging experience

IMO it's border line too late. There's very few people left who really know the old trades and how to do them with brain and pencil and hammer instead of a computer or cellphone and heavy equipment. The ones that are left are in retirement homes or worse. I got my first direct taste of the "loss of knowledge" plague back in the late 80's when I worked a year with the county drain commission. They were having more and more trouble repairing trouble spots because the only 'documentation' for those old installations was in the heads of people who'd passed on. That was nearly 2 generations ago. Most of the most recent 2 generations have no concept of a world without computers and heavy equipment, much less how to do anything without them. The bulk of the knowledge of those people of generations past is entirely lost. As an example. How many remember the big church fire in europe last fall I believe ? A structure that took CENTURIES to build, mostly destroyed in an afternoon. Many said it's no big deal, get donations and we can rebuild it, we have the technology. The problem is that WE DONT have the technology. Todays technology, and the minds of the best stonemasons available, CANNOT REPRODUCE the exact cuttings and carvings and block fittings that those people centuries ago did with their hands and brains. We can come close, but we cannot duplicate. And this is not just my opinion, there were news stories and other reports and tv segments about it in the months after the disaster saying and demonstrating what I say above.

It's a long way to the top

Is it really that bad over there