I do a fair bit of primary and secondary school STEM mentoring in my free time. People like me are frequently brought into schools as part of efforts to encourage them to pursue STEM careers (and higher education), however I would coyly tell students that: they absolutely do not need to specialize right after high school, trade schools and the trades are an option, and community college (in the USA) is an option, albeit with some risks [0].

However during one of these sessions parents happened to be in the room, and one approached me afterward to say the following. He said that while it was true that some trades eventually pay very well (he was always in the trades), you pay the price with your body--long hours on your feet, a higher risk of occupational hazards, back problems from bending over frequently. He saw a desk job as the goal to aspire to and that is what he wished for his children. Of course, desk jobs come with their own occupational hazards [1], but that point stuck with me and I no longer blindly encourage young people to go into the trades without at least thinking about the big picture, whatever that may be.

Also I don't know how much I buy the 'straight path to a six-figure job' bit FTA. It's can also be a long slog to get to the owner-operator stage, and not everyone is cut out for all of the responsibilities that come with it.

[0]: I say that one risk of community colleges is that they very much feel like "high school v2" and it's easy to wander into them and waste time instead of thinking seriously where you do (or don't want to work). When I started working a "job", I quickly learned what I _didn't_ want to do, and it was motivating for me to take the idea of a career seriously.

[1]: RSI and poor ergonomics and the like, something I also tell students: "When you start noticing problems in your wrists, it will be too late and you won't be able to ignore ergonomics ever from that point onward".