Veterans are some of the most dedicated, disciplined, hardworking members of our society. Yet, many veterans struggle when it comes to assimilating to civilian life. One of their greatest worries is being able to find a well-paying, stable career where their unique and valuable experience, skills, and talents can not only be used, but honored and celebrated.
It’s no wonder so many veterans have found great success when transitioning to a career in the building trades. The skills that military service members and veterans are known and revered for, such as their problem-solving ability, strong work ethic, leadership, self-confidence, and handiness, are the same skills and attributes that make a truly great tradesperson. It’s a natural match. Also, the trades offer great pay, work-life balance, job security and stability, and have some of the highest satisfaction rates.
What’s more, the building trades also have a reverence for veterans that few other industries have. For decades, the building trades have been committed to providing quality career opportunities for veterans and helping them successfully transition back into civilian life. There are many initiatives across and between trade groups that help to ease the transition by providing ways for active military to get started in their new career, even before they’ve officially left the military. Examples of popular programs include:
As a kid, the scariest things in life were the dark and things that lived in the dark: goblins, ghouls, monsters under the bed, and ghosts. As we got older, our fear of ghosts and the dark may have faded but we are still often scared of the new or the unknown.
If you’ve ever considered a major career shift, you know this type of fear well - the fear that comes with not knowing what lies ahead and feeling unprepared. Will it be worth it? What if I fail? What if I’m not qualified or don’t have the training for the job I’d love to have? Is it worth it to start over, when I’ve already invested time and energy in my current career? What If I’m not good at it? And on the other hand, what if you don’t make a change? If you stay in your current career, will that lead to a life of regret? Will you be unhappy and unfulfilled day in and day out? These are big and hard questions. No wonder it feels scary!
But it doesn’t have to be. By entering an apprenticeship to begin a rewarding career in the building trades, most, if not all, of the what-ifs are covered for you:
What if we told you that you could create for a living and make good money while doing it? You’d probably be skeptical, and we wouldn’t blame you. But a creative career that pays well, with amazing benefits no less, is possible through a career in the building trades.
“Artist” isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you think of someone who is working on a construction site. Chances are you think of someone with physical toughness, and not a well-trained and delicate hand like that of an artist or artisan.
But now consider what you think of when you hear about someone who is an artist, artisan, or creative. You think of someone who has a talent for making something out of nothing. Someone who is extremely and specially skilled, likely works with their hands, and creates things that are new and original. They have unique talents, and a honed craft. Many of the building trades, such as carpenters, metalworkers, bricklayers, painters, electrical workers, are all known for the very same things, and require the same creative skills to master their craft.
In the building trades, workers get to create all day long, using their hands to build tangible and beautiful objects and systems. There’s true artistry in every facet of their jobs, and at the end of each day they get to stand back with pride and marvel at their masterpieces. Whether it’s a field of solar panels, an architectural sheet metal roof on a museum, the decorative painting on the side of a building, or the metalwork that holds up a skyscraper, the men and women who work construction are building things that are beautiful and lasting.
The pay and benefits for this work are great, too! Not only do tradesmen and women have careers that are fulfilling and rewarding, they earn good wages, and have access to great benefits like health insurance, paid time off, sick leave, unemployment insurance, job security, a pension, and so much more! And as a bonus, the hours are consistent, providing a great work-life balance that allows time for continuing to create outside of work, too.
If you have a creative mind, love working with your hands, but are struggling to find a career that can feed your passions while paying the bills, we encourage you to explore the building trades. Learn more about the trades and how to get started with an apprenticeship today!
Back to school. For many, that means the start of another year of long hours in classes and lectures, writing papers, doing projects, studying, and working towards a future career. There’s a ton of merit to higher education and working hard towards a long term goal, but for many, slogging through years of coursework just to graduate with debt, no real-world experience, and only a prayer of finding a job isn’t an exciting or viable option.
Thinking about a new career? Looking for work that you can not only be proud of and fulfilled by, but a career that is built on real, lasting skills that is secure and can’t be outsourced or automated? Look no further than a career in the building trades!
We spend nearly 30 percent of our lives working, yet over 50% of U.S. workers aren’t satisfied with their jobs. When you spend so much of your precious time and life at work, finding a career that’s fulfilling and rewarding should be of the utmost importance.
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Have you ever heard the expression “You can’t have your cake and eat it too?” We’re guessing you have, but if you haven’t, it essentially means that you can’t have more than is reasonable, or that you can’t have the best of two worlds. When it comes to most things in life, there are clear tradeoffs, and career paths are perceived the same way: work longer hours, get a higher salary; pay a ton for a college degree, earn more money later; do the grunt work, hope you’ll get a chance to climb up the ladder later.
It’s true that when you picture a construction site, you probably don’t picture a sea full of women. But just because it’s a traditionally male-dominated industry, doesn’t mean that there aren’t more and more women joining the skilled trades workforce, and for good reason!
Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month, began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It’s celebrated all over the world, but here in the United States, Black History Month highlights the struggles and celebrates the contributions of African Americans from all walks of life.
Did you know that some of the prominent African Americans in our country were key members of the labor movement? Take A. Philip Randolph, born in 1889, who was head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and Vice-President of the AFL-CIO's Executive Council. He represented the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in a dispute against the Pullman Company. He was instrumental in convincing President Roosevelt to sign an executive order, in June 1941, which called for an end to discrimination in defense plant jobs. Mr. Randolph chose the labor movement because, “"(t)he labor movement traditionally has been the only haven for the dispossessed, the despised, the neglected, the downtrodden and the poor." As Vice-President of the AFL-CIO’s Executive Council, he worked tirelessly to end discrimination from within the ranks of the union.
More recently, take Madison Burnett. Mr. Burnett is Training Director at the Electrical JATC (Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee) of Southern Nevada. After graduating from Delgado College in New Orleans, Mr. Burnett applied and was accepted into the electrical apprenticeship in 1984 and thus began his journey in the trade. Following his completion of the program in 1994, Madison worked as a journeyman wireman, a foreman, an instructor, and Assistant Training Director before taking his current position as Training Director in 2004.
Mr. Burnett’s dedication to the electrical industry has afforded him the opportunity to serve on the Nevada State Apprenticeship Council, Governor’s Workforce Development Board for the State of Nevada, International Code Council, Southern Nevada Apprenticeship Programs Association and the Advisory Committee with the electrical training Alliance.
As Black History Month comes to a close, we salute the African-American men and women who have strived, suffered, achieved and won. We’re proud that many of them call the labor movement home, and we are ever grateful for their contributions.
What is it like to be a trades worker? First things first, in the construction trades, we work hard to make things that are real. When someone asks us what we do, we say, “I’m a sheet metal worker,” or “I’m an electrical worker.” We never have to say, “I’m an associate marketing coordinator reporting to the assistant vice president of sales.” We make bridges, stadiums, houses, roads, machines, things that are real, things that last.
