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perspective that parents, teachers, counselors, and students have
of the trades as a post-graduation path.
Someday, perhaps, the dialogue will have changed to such a
degree that all the major misconceptions about the skilled trades
will be things of the past. In the meantime, here are 10 of the most
common myths about the skilled trades as well as explanations for
why it’s time to start putting those myths to bed.
Myth 1
The trades are for people who aren’t smart
enough for college
One of the reasons that many high school students don’t consider
the trades is that there is something of a stigma attached to
these career paths. Specifically, there is a commonly held belief
that trades like electrical, carpentry, and plumbing are fallbacks or
“second choice” careers for people who didn’t get good grades in
high school or couldn’t get into college.
This myth is grounded largely in the hands-on nature of the skilled
trades. There is an assumption that people who “work with their
hands” aren’t “working with their brains” in the same way that, say,
a lawyer would be. In truth, though, many of the jobs in the skilled
trades require a high level of understanding of key mathematical
and scientific concepts. The difference in the trades, often, is
that working with your hands can actually make some of these
concepts easier to understand. For instance, even if you didn’t
enjoy learning math in the classroom, you might find that you have
a knack for it when it comes to actually putting those concepts to
practical use, such as when building a house or installing a patio.
Bottom line, many of the people working in the trades are extremely
gifted in academic areas, particularly STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math). So, even if you’re at the top of your class,