Comments by "Bo McGillacutty" (@Mrbfgray) on "Skilled workers are feeling anxious about their jobs, economist says" video.

Learn to weld or be a diesel mechanic, endless 6 figure opportunities in the trades for those not so foolish as to be controlled by senseless status.
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@Hshjshshjsj72727 OK. But you get where I'm coming from. I have engineering degree but been a welding contractor for over 40yrs. Known hundreds of engineers, some independent diesel mechanics I know are smarter, more disciplined, more impressive than most of those engineers. I just like to beat the drum on how much opportunity there is in the "trades". You are correct that jobs with physical component are harder to replace with AI than most. Takes tech AND dexterity, wide range of tools, strength, etc.
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@Hshjshshjsj72727 Would you be proud to tell ppl you have blue collar job? It's been stigmatized for decades now in our failed schools and in general.
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@LastDays77 Not easy but if you perpetually have more demand than you can accommodate--you are too cheap. Price yourself up to reduce hrs down to 40hrs or whatever.
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@Hshjshshjsj72727 Turns out that jobs with manual component will be among last to be replaced by AI, acute vision, dexterity plus tech analytics... Status is a BIG part of it, decades of indoctrinated to disrespect such, plus more than half are too physically flabby and lazy, most don't know HOW to work, sadly. Would you be proud to tell someone you're blue-collar? I mention it to youth and their eyes glaze over. (I've been a welding contractor for over 40yrs)
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@jasonkoplen2554 I started heavy in heavy industry at 17 and was on my own by 21. 6 figures is readily available. Charging $150/hr is base level for high skills on your own. That's NOT profit but revenue. Yeah it must be a trade in demand and be smart about how and who you serve. For me that means avoiding retail, residential sort of work w rare exceptions for friends, neighbors and top tier customers. Serve business and industry, they know the value of integrity efficiency quality and enduring. Many directions on may go with it tho.
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@jasonkoplen2554 "Jacked up trucks, boats..." that tells a lot, toys before prudence, they weren't prepared for even a small downturn but instead probably in debt as tho nothing would ever go South. Around that time I was also heavily dependent on housing market, mostly indirectly. The crash changed a lot but I never slowed down, just accelerated my phasing into agriculture related and industrial customers. Not so easy for a carpenter or homebuilder however, I was lucky to be more broadly useful as well as prudently debt free.
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@LastDays77 Yeah but there's never a perfect time and the biggest risk is to be too risk adverse. You can't control the macro but you can prepare.
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@LastDays77 Tangent: every yr I raise my rates a minimum of the official inflation rate. That was 10% yr before last, always makes me uneasy and #1 customer mentioned it with a smile but didn't complain. I said: "That's not a raise it's staying EVEN." And it is. Failing to increase at inflation rate every yr is cutting your rate, if you have the demand and/or have increased your productivity--typically we do as we get better all the time--increase even more. It can be one of the hardest things to do for established customers, to increase rates, but must be done. Doing it consistently for new yr maintains predictability as best possible, not some random increase mid yr.
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@longbeach225 Know the feeling. Tend to favor Costa Rica but, yeah. Don't try to do that while working in Ecuador for a decade, or ever. See what house a $2/hr Ecuador wage can buy. We are taking best currency from high cost high reward USA, it goes a lot farther almost everywhere else. Privileged aren't we?
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@longbeach225 Don't forget that if USA implodes, no where on Earth is safe. Property rights?...probably not for long.
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