Comment by hijinks | Hacker News Reader

Comment by hijinks | Hacker News Reader

I'm gen X so sort of right in the middle. I consider my generation on of the last of the american dream is attainable for the average worker.

I was able to buy a home in my early 20s and climb the wealth ladder. I busted my ass working a 40hr a week job and doing side hustles to make it happen.

If you are looking for a home now outside a major city and don't want a 2hr commute things are so slim even if you work your butt off why do it then?

Its not that they don't want to work its why work? Its not a work issue but its a wage issue. Wages haven't kept up with inflation and cost of college.

Kids have been pushed by their parents to take office jobs when they could be making 2 times what they are currently working if they went into a trade.

My dad owned a sand/gravel company and sold it because he couldn't find young people that wanted to drive a truck or run a frontend loader. He was offering $25/hr in a low cost of living area and no one wanted to do it because they've heard since they were 8 years old how bad working with your hands are and they should get an office job

> no one wanted to do it because they've heard since they were 8 years old how bad working with your hands are and they should get an office job

In my area, youth soccer referees are being offered $50/hr and the age requirement has been lowered to 13 for U8 matches. They still have trouble getting enough people. Every soccer club in the area sends out multiple emails to parents asking them to get their teenagers to go through the USA Soccer online training program. But you can see that 90% of the kids that end up doing so are from low-income families for which college was probably not an option anyway.

I'm still big into competitive soccer and the Denver area is the same. Most leagues are even waiving the requirement to be certified. All you need is playing experience. My kids games are reffed by 12 year olds.

That's not a full time job, you know that.... right?

Reminds me about a guy I knew who was going on about his amazing contract rate and I was like "wow that's approaching a million a year" - only to be sheepishly told that it was for for a whole 4 days...

Did you have any interest to take on the business from your dad? Would you encourage your children to go into the business if you had?

That's the thing, my grandfather started it and my dad and uncle took it over. My uncle passed years ago due to cancer. So it was just my dad.

My whole life growing up he told me he was making me do all the dirty work for his friends who were in the trades and to drive loader for him so I would go to college and get an office job. He didn't want me to take it over.

My grandfather on the other hand wanted to give me 75k out of highschool in 1997 to start a general contracting company. I'm 43 now and some days sitting in my office, I wish i took my grandfathers advice and did that.

I loved working on computers in the 90s. I was lucky as my mom was a programmer in the late 70s so I always had a computer around the house. That said if one of my kids didn't seem like school was for them I would 100% tell them a good career path is in the trades.

I have a neighbor thats a general contractor and he takes his family on first class flights and staying at night hotels. All because he buys everything on his amex card and takes vacations on points. He lives better then I do and we are about the same age. So ya its a good career option in my opinion.

Yeah, I don't know where I come down myself. I'm pretty tired of the tech thing for a few reasons, although the current job isn't bad.

But for all I hear about people doing well as contractors, I haven't really seen it for myself.

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