Well now I am questioning the trades entirely. Not because I'm struggling to get into an electrical place - I know that is a hurdle I can make it over with effort.
I don't think I told my whole story at the start of this journal. Growing up I didn't get much experience working with my hands. I did a ton of reading, outdoor activities and learning, and I know I had a wonderful childhood. No one in my immediate family does much trades-related work though, so I was never exposed to it much. My mom teaches, and my dad works at a plastics factory. My dad and I would very occasionally take on projects such as fixing a fence or changing the tires on one of the cars.
I took tech class in middle school and didn't mind it. I liked the smell of working with wood. I always excelled more in the classroom though, and I still do.
In high school I didn't take any trades related courses. There we had a construction class as well as some auto shop stuff. I was too busy taking music courses though because I love music. I don't regret taking the courses, because music is still something I do every day on the keyboard.
In a roundabout way, I'm saying that growing up I never really had the opportunity to work with my hands. This is not a complaint, but more of a statement. So for a long time that part of me went completely unexplored.
I went to university and got my bachelor's degree in psychology. For quite a while I thought I might end up doing occupational therapy or speech language pathology, or maybe even some form of counselling. This was because 1) I enjoy working with people and helping them, even if it is draining after a while as I'm fairly introverted. I need to be able to find meaning in my work too...this is something I have just recently discovered.
I started looking at trades stuff when I heard about the shortages of workers, and thinking to myself that if I could get paid to move all day I'd love it (I was correct about that). I was also a little put off by most of the social jobs I was interested in needing at least a Master's degree to get going in, and often the programs were highly competitive to make it into. When I heard what it took to be a good apprentice was showing up on time and staying off my phone, it was flabbergasting to me but quite refreshing after trying to maintain a good average, part time work, and volunteering simultaneously to be a good candidate for master's programs.
Whenever I talked to my parents about potential careers, they both emphasized that I would make a fantastic teacher. They're definitely right. I have a lot more patience than the average person, I have my own insatiable desire to learn that I could pass on to my students, and anytime I've had to teach something to someone I always did a good job and really enjoyed it. I am not just tooting my own horn I promise, I know this because people tell me. I thought it was like that for everyone until I talked to my oldest brother about his brief experiences teaching in university. He was good at it, but he really didn't enjoy it at all. He much preferred thinking and researching to trying to teach.
For some reason I always resisted the idea of becoming a teacher. Part of it would be seeing my mom work just about every weeknight until 7 or 8pm on lesson plans and report cards when the season came. When I worked at the grocery store, I liked that I left my work at work. It's the same in the welding shop now. When the 4pm buzzer goes, everyone is out of there and no more work is done until 7:30 the next morning. It's great for peace of mind.
What I've been finding though is that I really miss helping people directly and have a deep sense of meaning in my work. Back when I thought I was going into occupational therapy, I was volunteering twice weekly at the hospital. I volunteered for the hospital elder life program, which basically had me keeping older folks staying in the hospital sharp mentally and physically.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11129764/ We'd sometimes do exercises to keep muscle atrophy at bay, sometimes we'd play cards, and sometimes we'd just chat. Often times these were people waiting for a spot in a retirement home that was still months away, so they were spending extended periods in the hospital. Sometimes family would come visit and I would leave them all be, but quite a few of the patients had no visitors for various reasons. It was emotionally heavy work at times, but immensely rewarding.
I also worked for a local organization that provides programming for adults with developmental disabilities back when I was a teenager. The folks loved me there, and I loved the work.
I know I could become a fantastic electrician. I could become one of the best welder-fitters at the shop too. My dad has said a few times that I can do just about anything I put my mind to. I know that's an exaggeration because no, I don't think I'd be able to understand my brother's level of math no matter how much effort I put in - he just completed his PhD in pure math or something like that. Now he might become a cyber security analyst (cool!!). But minus the extremes, he is right. My greatest strength is that I'm like a sponge for knowledge. I've learned to enjoy being the dumbest person in the room, because that's when I learn a ton of good stuff pretty quick. It's a wonderful strength to have, but it's also been a struggle because there's no one thing that sticks out to me and screams, "I'm your passion!!". I find a LOT of stuff really interesting. I remember talking to a girl in university who knew she wanted to be a teacher ever since she was a kid. I remember being so jealous of her in that moment, with her certainty about what she wanted to do with her life.
I've been doing trades stuff directly for two years now. I took the electrical pre-apprenticeship program in 2020, then the welding program last year. Now I'm welding full time. I LOVE working and getting my exercise at the same time. As I've said, I've stopped my at home workouts but I am stronger than ever. I love entering the flow state when I'm doing precise work or really focusing on a weld. What is missing though, is that direct contact with people that I love so much. I find machines and metals and mechanical stuff interesting, but what I'm learning is that I don't want to work with them all day every day. I'd much rather the messiness of human interaction.
Teaching in Canada is not like in the US. My mom is very experienced (10+ years teaching) and she earns +$100,000 per year. So not like the US where you see other teachers working two jobs. Another reason I turned away from social careers was the cap in earnings even with experience. Teaching isn't really like the other professions in that regard.
I don't think I'd ever abandon trades stuff entirely, I like it too much. I could easily keep it as a hobby though. Getting the repair cafe started too would be a great outlet fot that.
The final reason for the potential switch is knowing the demand is there. Where I am, if I am capable of teaching and also speaking French, a job is a guarantee. There are lots of teaching college grads each year, but it has been several years now my mom's french school has had several openings going unfilled. They are not senior positions either, just spots for teachers who can speak french.
Soo yeah. A potentially big switch. I will do another post about money this month. I think short version I saved about 50% of my income. More on that later though.