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Skilled Service Trades
Many, many jobs fall into the catchall
category of skilled service trades, ranging
from health care to telecommunications to
graphic arts. Here is a brief rundown of just a
few of the popular jobs in this category of the
skilled trades.
Healthcare workers
Certain healthcare jobs are sometimes labeled as skilled trades,
including nurses, nurse aides, orderlies, medical or dental assis-
tants, veterinary technicians, massage therapists, sterile tech-
nicians, and more. These jobs can involve working with patients,
medical equipment and tools, and more. And while they aren’t
known for making the same high wages as doctors, surgeons,
veterinarians, or the other professionals we typically think of when
we think “health care,” these careers can provide big opportunities.
For instance, BLS is projecting a need for some 177,000 new regis-
tered nurses by 2032, and that career path offers a median salary
of more than $86,000 per year.
Culinary professionals
Cooking and baking are valued skills, so it only makes sense to
classify the culinary arts as a skilled trade. Education for the
culinary arts also usually follows a skilled trade arc: a mix of
on-the-job training, apprenticeships, and post-secondary programs
at trade schools or technical colleges. Head chefs and head cooks
at restaurants, hotels, and other establishments can expect to earn
around the median salary for their job, which is more than $59,000
a year.