> How is it that we've become so bad at building?
What industry would you prefer your children to go into? Construction or just about anything else?
What industry would you prefer your children to go into? Construction or just about anything else?
That's fine.. I guess, but the world needs construction workers, including in America.
If my son wanted to build nuclear reactors I'd be A-Okay with that.
No idea if I’m correct, but it’s maybe worth offering them the benefit of the doubt here.
But their point remains the same, "let someone else do it" (the quiet part: "it's below us").
It's a very negative and elitist attitude that's prevalent in bubbles where people don't have to work normal jobs.
This is my perception as someone from the working class who doesn't get one of those big FAANG salaries; they don't check that when you sign up here.
Nothing in this thread points to lack of workers, but to over regulation.
On a personal note, I'd prefer many less lawyers, especially the ones who argue against the one energy source that works.
I'd prefer many more trade workers, much less in academics.
I'd prefer people to not view jobs as a social status and appreciate the contributions people give to society.
A plumber can make quite a bit of money, work up to their own business, not have to deal with huge amounts of debt, and actually provides needed services for society.
A basketball player can make quite a bit of money playing basketball if they're exceptional. Looks like the national average for a plumber is about $60K/year. Most people on this forum would scoff at that if someone offered them that. It's actually about as much as my uncle, a heavy diesel mechanic, made before his untimely death. It's about what my father made when he retired.
Why don't we build? Why don't we do anything; because it's more profitable not to I'm sure.
SWE is a bubble and can't really be applied to the rest of the workforce. A SWE would scoff at any other job because of this.
We do have builders, there is overregulation that stops us from building.
It's not the lack of workers.
The thread points at inflation and interest rates and general cost overruns. I don't see the overregulation. As others have said, you can run your non nuclear powerplants until they fall apart. That isn't possible with nuclear power.
No no no no, we are talking about hard labor. I think OP is merely saying that there are jobs that no one wants to do, but they need to be done. So while everyone wish someone becomes the janitor, no one wants their own kid to become one (or whatever job you deem is less "respected").
This is not to say that I don't respect janitors, it is that I WISH i feel respect for them, but for whatever reason (nurture or nature) I simply don't feel respect for them and I constantly fight against this intuition.
In my area of NY suburbs, there's such a shortfall of tradesmen now due to boomer retirement en-masse, you see alot of younger guys showing up as plumbers, electricians, hvac and more that you would never ever have seen just 5 years ago.
I wouldn't care if my own kids did it. As long as they figure out their life plan in advance, who cares.
That said, if the job is so attractive to young people (I'm guessing primarily men), then why do you think that not much has changed in the intervening decade?
Not all trade work is swinging a hammer or lugging huge things around (what we have been sold). Most of it is fit and trim work. Fiddly work where you are making sure that wire is lined up just right to fit in this wall or knowing where to put the pressure hose. Yeah swinging the hammer work and lugging stuff around is how you get started. You 'put in your dues'. It is a form of hazing. Sort of how we give interns the 'build this weird form that no one will ever use' work.
I know the trades guys are doing decent. The ones I see are driving around in brand new f150s (go look at the prices on them). As scarcity for their work is driving up prices. I can put up a job opening for a programmer and have 200+ applicants. Do you think the trades are getting lots of people asking to do this work? No it is seen as 'low class work'.
I'm quite aware of how much a new F-150 costs, perhaps you should look up the length of the average vehicle loan these days.
I bet I do know what would help the trades to be seen as higher class work; paying more lol.