Programming or Trades? - "Learn to code!" VS "Learn to weld!"

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Do both, pick one as a profession and one as a hobby. You'll always need to fix something around your home or do some project which is trades related and you will find uses for coding if you're just doing small things on your computer or network. You can always switch which one is which.
 
Ignore the naysayers about getting programming jobs. Go on on interviews right now. Get ripped apart and write down everything they mention that you've never heard of. Then go learn about it and do a sample project that demonstrates that concept. Put it in a github. Rinse and repeat.
The biggest advantage of a career in software is that you don't need any special equipment or environment to get practical experience. By working on side projects or open source on evenings and weekends you can stack up experience quickly and leapfrog over your peers. Depending on the open source project you might even get more valuable experience at home than at work.
 
If you're going to drive a machine yes if you're gonna be an electrician somewhat if you can do HVAC maybe.
I can build an entire house with only my two hands a nail gun and a few other things I'm not suffering but I'd be making more money if I finish my college degree in engineering rather than going into the trades.
The trades are a scam the only people making money are the people selling overpriced custom houses to boomers and having the one white guy and the merry band of Mexicans build the thing.
in terms of rewarding a trade is better, digital busywork is empty and meaningless and the corporate culture around it is cancer, its why so many fall to hedonism , become neurotic and troon out, the toll is paid in mental health. Tradespeople are annoyingly smug but is understandable to a point, there's a confidence that comes with doing that kind of work and impacting the real world.
Yeah but the other people have way more money I would rather have more money than constantly having a few aches in my back everyday then again I'm a manager now so I mainly just sit in my truck and scream at the Mexicans and broken Spanish
 
The requirements for programming are off-the-charts and you are gatekeept by a bunch of tech illiterate HRcels who don't know a real cv from a keyword soup cv.

Sure for people who have been working in the industry for 20 years it's a breeze but for everyone else it's a bust. People don't train anymore and expect you to know their technologies, infrastructure and, more often than not, outdated and irrelevant shit, before you know what the job is about.

You will get declined because the recruiter did not like you enough or because you weren't charismatic enough (recruiters have no idea how to deal with engineers and pick out all the DEI/bullshiters).
 
The computer programming field is obsolete.

I have been programming for a couple decades and AI can do in 2 seconds what would take me 8 hours.

When the robots hit the street, they can do anything that you can do and they can do it 24 hours a day and don't need a paycheck.

It's never too late to go back to school and learn to clean toilets.
 
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The requirements for programming are off-the-charts and you are gatekeept by a bunch of tech illiterate HRcels who don't know a real cv from a keyword soup cv.

Sure for people who have been working in the industry for 20 years it's a breeze but for everyone else it's a bust. People don't train anymore and expect you to know their technologies, infrastructure and, more often than not, outdated and irrelevant shit, before you know what the job is about.

You will get declined because the recruiter did not like you enough or because you weren't charismatic enough (recruiters have no idea how to deal with engineers and pick out all the DEI/bullshiters).
This is my experience also. I did really well in college (granted I did not attend a prestigious school), but I have a stack of awards lying around my parents' house someplace. The job search has been the complete opposite. It is really a mindfuck, the rejections I have been getting are leading me to begin doubting my skills. Even entry-level positions from no-name companies are expecting DS&A mastery and experience with the specific tech stack they are using. I expected companies would hire people who demonstrated strong fundamentals, then receive training in their particular technologies. But it appears they are just looking for the unicorn that checks all of the boxes to avoid spending that time training. I guess you can always go to graduate school, then become a professor leading the next gen of cs students to the slaughter.
 
This is my experience also. I did really well in college (granted I did not attend a prestigious school), but I have a stack of awards lying around my parents' house someplace. The job search has been the complete opposite. It is really a mindfuck, the rejections I have been getting are leading me to begin doubting my skills. Even entry-level positions from no-name companies are expecting DS&A mastery and experience with the specific tech stack they are using. I expected companies would hire people who demonstrated strong fundamentals, then receive training in their particular technologies. But it appears they are just looking for the unicorn that checks all of the boxes to avoid spending that time training. I guess you can always go to graduate school, then become a professor leading the next gen of cs students to the slaughter.
I blame the upcoming competency crisis (at least in Europe)bon this trend that's been going on for the past 3 decades.

Sure it doesn't make financial sense to hire a "trainee" at 2000€ when you can pay a senior 5000€ to do the work 10x faster... Except all the seniors now are retiring and don't give a shit anymore.

Now it's literally impossible to find someone with 5y in archaic tech, with most students having 0 knowledge in Windows XP and drivers from 20y ago. They'd need 3y to learn the tech, another 5y to learn the systems, etc...

On top of that, pretty much everyone that knows this shit and has been working in the field has their own business/life figured out, and would rather do what they were doing instead of being henpecked by corporate HR offices for half the pay. They're the ones that are gonna fill the niche when the big corpos collapse so why the fuck would they?

Bringing talent from asia is a no-go, pretty much any half-decent engineer is being hoarded by Taiwan/China/Japan, so all you get is Pajeets hith a "Cambridge" degree who can't even run a "hello world".

Most companies are gonna run on skeleton crews from now on, because there's no way a 5y network engineer can put the same work as the 60y boomer that is retiring. Boomers are retiring more and more, and there's less and less people who meet their requirements, and this is all genXer's business philosophy of "short term profits over anything else", who's long term effects are starting to catch up; who knew killing all your competition means you're not gonna have a talent pool, not training anyone will lead to your staff retires and there's nobody to replace, and outsourcing your factories to asia means that are will flourish and your area will suffer.

And it's only gonna get worse from here /rant
 
Go into trades. That's the last thing Ai will replace.
Programming was already payeeted to pennies. You are worthless to the employer in 2-3 years as much as it will take to train you. AI grows exponentially. Local programming dude is doing the work of 5 previous people now with chatGPT. You can't compete
 
Go into trades. That's the last thing Ai will replace.
Programming was already payeeted to pennies. You are worthless to the employer in 2-3 years as much as it will take to train you. AI grows exponentially. Local programming dude is doing the work of 5 previous people now with chatGPT. You can't compete
I don't really like the idea of always trying to find the next fastest horse. Eventually you are going to choose wrong and get burnt. I think the most healthy option is to choose a career field you are interested in and hold on for dear life. It's okay to change your career after growing unsatisfied, but I don't think it is wise to follow the opportunity. With how fast things move these days, by the time you acquire the necessary qualifications, the market can turn against you. I'm speaking from experience here. I started my CS program when the market was good, then things took a turn for the worst. I tried following the opportunity, and got burnt. At least I sort of like computers.
 
I don't really like the idea of always trying to find the next fastest horse. Eventually you are going to choose wrong and get burnt. I think the most healthy option is to choose a career field you are interested in and hold on for dear life. It's okay to change your career after growing unsatisfied, but I don't think it is wise to follow the opportunity. With how fast things move these days, by the time you acquire the necessary qualifications, the market can turn against you. I'm speaking from experience here. I started my CS program when the market was good, then things took a turn for the worst. I tried following the opportunity, and got burnt. At least I sort of like computers.
Don't worry, I went for IT and are still working trades now. It is simply much better if you like personal freedom and not sitting in office all day every day.
 
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Trades.

My background is mechanical / manufacture engineering that I parlayed into software development writing control systems for oil/water/gas transfer mechanisms.

I've made my money. Had I not set up my own companies I would be lower level senior management , but not top level executive at a large multi-national.

From what I see, software development is a commodity skill that is farmed out to Jeets and AI systems for pennies on the dollar while skilled trade labour is harder to find.

By all means, learn to code as a hobby if that interests you, but if you want to earn, learn to weld. Or plumb. Or build furniture.....
 
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Do what you can.
Ends must be met in the short term.
No job is forever, circumstances change, and so does the weather.
It's nice to work outdoors in summer.
 
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I have done so many wildly different things for work. I really enjoyed electrical and think its one of your better choices out of the ones you mentioned.
Keep looking though, there are lesser known trades, with great pay, that are interesting ,and you may have never considered. Like Crane operators, Fire Alarms, Sprinkler Fitter, Elevator mechanic/tech, instrument techs, metal spinners, tower hands, mechanical insulator, arborist (trees).

As for electrical its suggested a lot bc its in demand and everywhere. You can easily have multiple solid career paths, all with ever increasing pay AND lower physical demands (which matters by 40) and there are different types of electrical, as well as variety in the types of jobs you take in that specialty.

For example, I started as a low voltage/ fire alarm tech, and did other control systems like access gates (10/10 highly recommend fire alarms!). This could mean installing systems in new commercial construction, doing retrofits/updates, pre/post inspection visits etc.

I also did residential and light commercial- mostly updating service panels, retrofits, service calls, some new construction etc).
and residential solar (which is its own specialty now)
There are more demanding electrical jobs like: utility work of all kinds, linemen, linemen in helicopters, oil field work, machines.

I ended up doing estimating, system design, then technical sales, etc. Office and site work, less physical, using same knowledge base. If you can get there, Master Electricians have even more options, and can charge a lot.
This is what I mean by there are lots of options and things you can do with the base skill set.

It can be physically demanding but this is variable and highly dependent on what you do, where you're at, and what skill level you have achieved. Unless your in the office, at minimum you will be on your feet all day, climbing, carrying stuff, pulling wire, in attics, crawl spaces, roofs. Its less physical than most other trades but still keeps you moving.

Good luck!!!
 
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Would you recommend going to college for engineering over trades then? Or is it just as good if you want to be a business owner / self employed anyways
For a technical subject like engineering my gut feeling at this time would be to do the University route.
That is not to say that a Trade route will not get you to the same round about level, it just may take you longer.

Let me put it this way. When you see a bicycle frame that has 2 struts welded together in a wave pattern, the university educated understands why it is a wave. The Trade actually did it.

With engineering the cross between theoretical and practical is very close. I know the theory, I've studied it, but I always err on the side of caution when I'm speaking to a welder or a metal worker. They work day to day with the materials. Sure, I can design a gas pipeline that runs hundreds of miles, but I can't weld a leak shut without sparking a major explosion.

As for setting up a business, I was in the right place at the right time. It was not planned.

Read Random Gen 3 post. I keep forgetting about electricians. Mainly because I was crap at electrical theory, but if you are a good Spark you will earn an unlimited shitload of money and never be short of work.
 
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I can't speak on trades, but tech is inevitable. And from the classroom perspective I can say - they are desperately trying to nigger up the coding space, if you know what I mean. We could use more Whites in coding, if for no other reason than to get training on how to protect yourself and your kin from modern age online threats. Learning about machine learning algorithms (the current "AI" gimmick bubble) is also key in understanding how the Yahvist State wages war on us all. From niggers/interracial couples in every ad, to tailored youtube recommendations and censorship, to Google contracting directly for the Department of Defense - the once free Internet is now a vector to MK Ultra your ass. Learn tech, join the engineering space.
Build shit.jpg
 
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I can't speak on trades, but tech is inevitable. And from the classroom perspective I can say - they are desperately trying to nigger up the coding space, if you know what I mean. We could use more Whites in coding, if for no other reason than to get training on how to protect yourself and your kin from modern age online threats. Learning about machine learning algorithms (the current "AI" gimmick bubble) is also key in understanding how the Yahvist State wages war on us all. From niggers/interracial couples in every ad, to tailored youtube recommendations and censorship, to Google contracting directly for the Department of Defense - the once free Internet is now a vector to MK Ultra your ass. Learn tech, join the engineering space.
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I remember I applied to a student research position and was denied explicitly on account of my sex/race. I met the very diverse individual that was selected for the position, by coincidence. I was left absolutely speechless. I would paint the picture for you, but I'm sure you could imagine the sight. I'm pretty sure I spotted them drooling on themselves during a lecture, but I could be misremembering things. Talk about a low blow. Such is life.
 
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Based on your responses it sounds like you may prefer becoming some kind of Engineer? Although you would have to be careful to pick a path that would allow your direct participation in fabricating the design - as opposed to just drafting things and visiting job sites. So probably: custom job product manufacture.

Most of the engineers I know are painfully white-collar and divorced from reality, (I don't know if that's a job requirement or not), but there are some engineers who are admirable. This latter set seem to have the kind of job security that makes the glowniggers approach cap-in-hand, ready to rim their anuses.
 
With trades, what's the percentage of workers who develop some sort of long term injury from repetitive use or a work place accident?

I've heard of people who when they get into their late 30's or 40's that they start looking to transition out of manual labor into a desk type position as they're body is failing them.

I do see guys who are in their 40s and 50's who are roofers who are on top of a two story house in the Summer loading up piles of tiles one shoulder and walking down a sharp incline with dust and bits of insulation flying around. Hopefully they're making a good wage.
 
it depends. do you think you're smart? if you fancy yourself a turbo genius retard faggit and want to work competing against indians who get paid in curry and axe body spray, then yes. go into programming.
If you want to be physically disabled and feel like you've been anally raped before waking up every morning, you should work trades.
if you want to be physically fit, and not have to work against ai and third world redeemers, you could just be homeless, or be rich.
 
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