TRADES
TODAY
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
IN SKILLED TRADES
CRAIG MANNING
JKR Ventures | Traverse City, Michigan
© 2025 Craig Manning
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Published by
JKR Ventures | Traverse City, Michigan
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Manning, Craig.
Trades today : career opportunities in skilled trades / Craig Manning. –
Traverse City, MI : JKR Ventures, LLC, 2024.
p. ; cm.
ISBN13: 978-0-9860850-8-6
1. Trade schools. 2.Vocational education. 3. Career education.
LC1043.M36 2024
370.113--dc23
Project coordination by
Jenkins Group, Inc. | www.jenkinsgroupinc.com
Design by Yvonne Fetig Roehler
Printed in the United States of America
29 28 27 26 25 • 5 4 3 2 1
To all of the hard-working men and women in
the skilled trades who keep the engine of the
American economy thriving. Thank you!
DEDICATION
TRADES
TODAY
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
IN SKILLED TRADES
CONTENTS
INTRO
01
02
03
04
05
CONCLUSION
What Are the Skilled
Trades and Why Do
They Matter?
PAGE 1
Start Your Journey in the
Skilled Trades Today!
page 107
College: What You
Should Know and
What to Consider
page 41
Rewriting the
Narrative around
the Trades
page 51
Careers in the Trades
page 69
Defining the
Skilled Trades
PAGE 5
The 10 Biggest Myths
about the Skilled
Trades
page 23
VI
Did you know that the median annual salary for
an electrician or a plumber in the United States
is more than $61,000 a year? How about that
both careers can be accessed via non-tradi-
tional training pathways—such as trade school,
apprenticeships, or on-the-job training—rather
than through a four-year college degree
program?
These two career paths fall into the broader
category of “the skilled trades,” an often
misunderstood (and sometimes even stigma-
tized) umbrella of occupations. They are also
representative of what the skilled trades might
have to offer for high school students currently
considering their post-graduation plans. Many
skilled trades careers provide for generous
salaries and considerable opportunity for
growth and advancement—often with fewer
post-secondary schooling requirements than
other jobs.
INTRODUCTION
WHAT ARE THE
SKILLED TRADES
AND WHY DO THEY
MATTER?
Skilled trades professionals are also
in high demand: some sources indi-
cate that more than 2.5 million job
openings were expected in the skilled
trades in 2021 alone, with additional
growth projected for the years to
follow. As demand for these workers
grows, it is likely that pay, benefits,
and other job perks will follow.
For all these reasons and more,
there has never been a better time to
seriously consider a career path in the
skilled trades. While recent studies
have shown that as few as six percent
of high school students think about
the skilled trades as a post-graduation
path, the advantages of pursuing
a job in the trades only continue to
expand as college degrees become
more expensive and salaries for many
college grads continue to stay static.
In this guide, we will take a closer look
at the skilled trades, including the
career paths and industries that fall
into this category, the common skilled
trades “myths” that have frequently
stopped students from pursuing
trades careers in the past, and the
training paths, salaries, and job projec-
tions that different segments of the
trades may hold.
At its most simplified, a “skilled trade” is an
occupation that requires a specialized skill
or ability. Though the skilled trades are often
equated with physically demanding manual
labor, or with “blue collar” work, they are
actually broader in definition than many people
realize. In this chapter, we will explore the many
jobs and industries that form the framework
of the skilled trades as a broad workforce
classification.
There is some disagreement in the industry
about how many “categories” of skilled trades
there are. For our purposes, we will divide the
skilled trades into six categories: construction
trades, manufacturing and industrial trades,
transportation trades, energy trades, agricul-
ture, and skilled service trades.
Construction
Trades
It’s under the umbrella of construction trades
that many of the jobs most often associated
CHAPTER 1
DEFINING
THE SKILLED
TRADES
with the skilled trades fall. These jobs
include carpenters, electricians, plumbers,
pipefitters, bricklayers and masons, HVAC
technicians, roofers, drywallers, cement and
concrete workers, window installers, and
other professionals who could feasibly be
lumped into the catchall of “builders.” The
people who built your home, your school,
your favorite restaurant, the office where
your parents work? They were all part of the
skilled trades—and of the construction trades
specifically.
Skilled trades professionals in the construc-
tion trades work on projects to build new
structures, renovate or remodel old ones,
repair or service existing buildings, and more.
Typically, workers in the construction trades
specialize in a specific type of construction,
such as residential (typically single-family
homes), commercial, or industrial.
Jobs in this segment of the skilled trades
are usually very hands-on and may include
significant heavy lifting or other elements of
manual labor. However, construction trades-
people are also expected to bring a variety of
high-level skills and knowledge to the table,
ranging from specific building techniques to safety protocols to
cost estimating to general mathematics.
Because of the diversity of skills that are required in different
construction jobs, there are degree programs at many tradi-
tional colleges and universities focused on the construction
trades—specifically on construction management. Not every job
in construction requires a high-level degree, though. In fact, many
construction tradespeople get their start in the industry by working
as apprentices or simply learning key skills on the job.
While some employers in the construction industry will certainly
be looking for specific degrees and credentials, many others are
looking more for key attributes—a certain level of bodily strength, a
strong teamwork mentality, values such as punctuality, safety, and
reliability—that form the basis for employees who can be trusted
with the potentially dangerous work situations in which construc-
tion professionals are sometimes required to work. A common
mentality in the industry is that, if a candidate has these aforemen-
tioned qualities, some of the more specific “hard skills” required for
construction work can then be taught on the job.
Manufacturing
and Industrial
Trades
The manufacturing and industrial
segment of the skilled trades
includes professionals such as
welders, fabricators, tool and die
makers, machinists, industrial
mechanics, mechatronics profes-
sionals, and more. Tradespeople in
this part of the field are the key cogs
that keep manufacturing plants and
other aspects of the industrial world
up and running at all times.
It’s the people who work in this
part of the skilled trades who are
responsible for building so many of
the products, systems, or parts that
we use every day. From the assembly
line that builds the cars on the road
to the machines that manufacture
nails and screws in bulk, so much
of what we have or want is thanks
to the skills and smarts of manu-
facturing and industrial trades
professionals.
Many of the experts in this field work
on the machines or robots that build
the things we use. They design, build,
program, and maintain the automa-
tion systems that build our vehicles,
our cell phones, or the aircraft parts
that make aviation possible, and
the flat-packed parts and tools
that we build into our furniture.
These jobs aren’t going away.
Welders, for instance, play an
incredibly crucial role in fixing
cracks, holes, and other damage
in pipelines, power plants, bridges,
airplanes, ships, automobiles, and
much more; their skills will remain
important as long as we have
those types of structures that
need attention and care.
Furthermore, even as automation
continues to reshape industry and
render certain jobs obsolete, it’s
the manufacturing and industrial
tradespeople whose jobs might
be the most secure of all. Indeed,
it’s the machinists, industrial
mechanics, tool and die makers,
and mechatronics experts who
will be tasked with designing,
maintaining, and perhaps even
operating the robotic systems,
CNC (computer numerical control)
systems, assembly lines, comput-
er-driven machinery, and other
automated systems that will allow
future innovation and stream-
lining to reshape a whole host of
industries. These innovations, as
is often the case, rely on the work
ethic and skills of the people in
the trades.
10
Transportation Trades
The transportation trades incorporate a wide variety of jobs that
exist in and around the transportation industry. Most of these
jobs, similar to the construction trades, involve working with your
hands. Some of the most notable positions in this category might
include mechanics, automotive or motorcycle service technicians
(including auto body and paint repairers), or technicians who
service heavy equipment (such as construction machinery or
agricultural equipment).
11
Think of transportation tradespeople as the folks
who keep every vehicle you can think of up and
running and safe. They are the mechanics who
service our cars and fix issues under the hood, or
the auto body experts who can make a car look
brand new even after it’s been in a collision. They
are the technicians who attend to big tractor-trailer
fleets to ensure that those big semi-trucks are as
safe as possible on the road. They are the ones
who service bulldozers, excavators, tractors and
other agricultural equipment, backhoes, forklifts,
and other equipment that are vital to productive
construction sites, warehouses, factories, or farms.
In addition to these technicians and repairers,
though, the transportation trades can also include
the people who operate many of these vehicles.
While you aren’t part of the skilled trades just for
driving your car to school, or even for taking on a
delivery driver role for a local restaurant, there are
many people out on the roads who are working
jobs that can fairly be classified as skilled trades
careers.
Truck drivers and bus drivers, for instance, are
charged with operating big, heavy, hard-to-drive
vehicles and must hold specific high-level drivers’
licenses to do so—notable “skills” that render their jobs as clear
skilled trades positions. The same is true for the people who
operate the heavy machinery on a farm or construction site.
This category might also be thought to house the marine trades—
though some people separate those into their own category
entirely. For our purposes, we will consider the marine trades as
part of the transportation trades, given that these jobs—which
range from boatbuilding to boat maintenance to marine construc-
tion to maritime/seafaring roles—have clear corollaries in other
segments of the transportation trades.
12
Energy Trades
The energy trades, collectively, are what we can thank for the
power that flows into our homes, schools, and businesses. The
people in this segment of the skilled trades operate our power
plants, maintain our utility lines, hook up our buildings to electricity,
and design and maintain the electrical work that keeps the lights
on. They are also right at the forefront of the renewable energy
revolution, which means they will continue to play an important
(and well-compensated) role in our society going forward.
Specific jobs in the energy trades include
electrical line workers, utility technicians,
power plant operators, renewable energy
service technicians (for solar panels, wind
turbines, and hydro-electric installations,
among other innovations), and more.
Though electricians are often lumped into the
construction trades, they can also be catego-
rized here, as their work can go well beyond
construction. Indeed, electricians aren’t just
hired to wire new houses or fix the electrical
work at commercial buildings but are also
entrusted with the wiring of airplanes, ships,
cars, data and cable lines, and more. Electri-
cians who do this type of work fit more snugly
into the energy trades than they do into the
construction field.
Electricians can even work as part of the
performing arts. Pay attention to the credits
for your favorite movie or TV show and you’ll
surely see someone credited as the produc-
tion’s “gaffer.” Gaffer is an entertainment
industry term for the head electrician or
lighting technician on a film or TV production.
13
This person is responsible for the lighting design of a
cinematic project, which in turn makes it possible to
see all the details playing out on screen of our favorite
filmed entertainments. People with electrical skills can
also often find work in theater (as part of the stagecraft
teams on Broadway and elsewhere) and in the live music
industry. Some people categorize these types of enter-
tainment-centric jobs as being separate from the energy
trades, but they revolve around similar skillsets as other
electrical jobs and therefore certainly bear mentioning.
14
Agriculture
Careers in agriculture are not always thought of as being part
of the skilled trades, but many of the jobs that exist in this
extremely important industry are highly technical roles that bear
much kinship with the other categories we have discussed so
far.
Agriculture, of course, is the broad term that describes the
practice of cultivating plants and livestock to provide food,
clothing, and other vital products. We see, enjoy, and survive off
the spoils of agriculture every day. From the food on your table
to the sweater you wear when it gets cold, so much of what we
need to survive is thanks to farmers and agriculture operations.
Skilled trades jobs in agriculture include farmers, animal
husbandry experts, nursery and greenhouse professionals,
landscape architects, ag equipment operators, precision agricul-
tural specialists, and more. In addition, many of the jobs we have
discussed as part of other skilled trades categories can overlap
into agriculture, from welders (who might play roles in building
or servicing farming machinery, dairy equipment, grain storage
silos, and more) to electricians (who might assist farmers in
designing, implementing, and servicing equipment that allows
for greater efficiency and automation of crop care, cultivation,
and harvesting).
Agriculture is an inviting pathway for skilled trades students for
a lot of reasons. The first and foremost is that this career path
is largely future-proof. While ag has evolved over the years (and
will continue to evolve in the future), there will never come a
time when our society does not require the services that farms
provide. There will always be a need for people who understand
the science of soil, plants, and animals.
Agriculture is also evolving, with new precision technologies,
sustainable farming techniques, innovations in indoor farming,
and other trends paving the way toward a future where the food