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Making Your Career Work: Mythbusters
DEAD-END JOBS WITH LOW PAY? BUSTING
MYTHS ABOUT CAREERS IN THE TRADES
TBY ELAINE POFELDT
here are many myths about jobs in the trades, and they’ve been a big discouraging factor
for young people in
the county who want to pursue careers in professions that
require a certification or apprenticeship rather than a four-year degree.
Myth: “You have to go to college to be successful.”
“I hear from guidance counselors that even when a child is interested
[in a career in the trades], the parents talk them out of it,” says Sherry Bruck, president of Harquin, a marketing firm that works with the county’s Workforce Development Board. “Whether they are high-income or low-income, the parents have been programmed into believing the four-year degree career path is the only way to go.”
Nonetheless, both students and their parents are starting to take a fresh look at the trades because of factors like the high cost of college, the widespread career dissatisfaction driving the “Great Resignation,” greater appreciation of
the jobs done by essential workers in the pandemic, and energetic efforts by workforce development professionals to challenge the myths.
“A lot of these careers are very sophisticated and have very big opportunities for advancement and growth,” says Bruck.
Myth: “There aren’t any good jobs in the trades.”
Many local employers are pushing for more efforts to create a talent pipeline. Nonprofit Westchester, an organization devoted to advancing the interests
of Westchester’s nonprofit sector,
has found that the county’s nonprofit healthcare organizations — such as some nursing homes, group homes for
people with developmental disabilities, and domestic violence shelters — are struggling to fill open positions.
Jan Fisher, executive director of Nonprofit Westchester, says it will be essential to develop a pipeline of talent for the county’s nonprofit healthcare organizations. “There is tremendous need out there in the trades,” says Fisher.
But she says addressing it will require a shift in thinking about these jobs. “When we work together to value and elevate all jobs and all industries that keep our economy and community strong, we’ll be better for it,” says Fisher.
Myth: “Jobs that don’t require a four-year degree don’t pay well.”
Many people would be surprised to know how much some of the sought-after jobs in the trades can pay. For instance, the average pile driver operator in New York State makes $56.22 per hour, according
to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nuclear power reactor operators earn an average of $55.78. And air traffic controllers bring in $75.32 per hour.
Some local residents are taking note. Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES
What’s Hot. What’s Next. What’s Needed. 2022 SKILLS 41
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