By Thornton Crowe
Little story. A few years ago, I needed an electrician to fix a faulty outside electrical socket after a hard rain. After much calling around (even to my neighbor who is an electrician,) I found getting this simple 10 minute task would have to wait for three weeks to get done. Finally, I found Mr. Bradshaw. He came over and fixed the socket, (bringing parts with so no down time)! Calling around was the biggest investment of my time that day -- over two hours of answering machines and Suzy automation. Sadly, Mr. Bradshaw passed away in 2013. Now what?
If you're a homeowner, you know finding people skilled in plumbing and electricity is very hard - especially on the Eastern Shore -- and quite expensive. While Bradshaw was very reasonable, the plumber I use charges me a king's ransom every time he comes to my house, regardless the issue.
As the title says, "should Johnny really go to college?"
All this talk about free college education is absolutely absurd. While this will no doubtfully get me chastised, I must state: Not all people are meant for a collegiate experience. Oh, sure, we'd all love to think our little Bobs and Sues are college bound and smarter than Einstein, but let's get real here. Not all people possess the mentality for academia.
Unfortunately, now, we have TOO many people in college, wasting space (like the black girls that did the lynching 'artwork' at Blackwell a month or so back.) Yet trade skills are dwindling. Not many people get out of high school and hold dreams of being a plumber or electrician - yet, we NEED them more than we need paper/pencil pushing brainiacs behind a desk in some fancy, schmaltzy office. In reality, the last thing we really need on the Eastern Shore is one MORE lawyer when we have an over-abundance of them now!
As you can see from my handy graph for your visual cortex, many don't finish college (showing a lack of commitment to a task for some employers) and so why discourage them from attending a trade school - even while in high school? Nothing says more about accomplishment than a new house with excellent wiring and plumbing or a car rebuilt by a skilled mechanic! And let us not forget, while you take it for granted more times than not, your life would be very bland with a city full of white houses. Professional house painters make it possible for you to have a beautiful home - as with landscapers. Highly skilled bricklayers are an asset to any community!
While we hear Bernie's crowd feeling the free college, we have to wonder what that means. A few months back, I challenged this pseudo intellectualism about Socialism but many were more concerned about whether or not I'd ever lived in London rather than the point I was illustrating.
So here's the fact: In England, one must TEST and pass successfully in order to get into free college. Furthermore, the profession you choose may not be the profession the government needs; therefore, you can go to college but you'll have to be what the government thinks is a good fit for you! If you want to be a doctor, but you test as an accountant, you can pursue medicine on your own dime. If you want to crunch beans, you'll get educated for free. Actually, if we go by way of England, our trade market would increase because people testing in the trades would increase! College would be barred for those people testing high in the skilled trade areas.
See my point?
To be honest with you, if I were in my twenties again, I'd study a trade rather than going to college. One can always pursue academics at another time of their life after they've made their bank; but very few can go crawling about under a house at sixty-something without much physical pain!
How say you...
I'm in my 60's now, and looking back at high school, I can honestly say that I was never college material. Even after a college- bound curriculum at a Catholic high school, I was a C average only with the help of summer school TWICE. Even though Mom and Dad had set aside a savings to get me started into college, I could only qualify for some lesser colleges than my older siblings who were more willing to go and stay in college. Heck, my oldest brother went to the U of I and is still there today!
ReplyDeleteSo, to appease Mom and Dad, I signed up at the local Community College and took welding while working at the gas station pumping gas, and changing oil and learning from the mechanic there all I could about engines. Welding class was really cool, and I was good at it, but it came with English Literature, History, and other miserable classes to be endured while sitting on a hard desk chair in a high school with ashtrays on a campus where nobody lived. Excruciatingly painful, and I quit after the first semester.
The next year, I went back and tried again, this time in Automotive. At the end of the semester I had my locked up Olds 455 engine purring like a sewing machine and again, A+, but failed the rest again with the English, History, and Calculus requirements. What the hell is a Cosine and Cotangent, anyway and what am I supposed to do with them? How many of them are in an Olds 455 engine? Probably a few, but nobody could answer the questions, so again, I dropped out.
Then I went on to machine shops and learned Tool & Die work, making dies that stamped out metal parts and plastic molding dies for plastic parts. Really fun and challenging work, and now the world has Dickey-John planter monitors and moisture meters with my parts in them! Now I have pride in what I did! That's worth so much more than money, but T&D makers today are well- paid! I should have stayed in it, but went into the building trades instead so I could be outside instead of cooped up indoors all day. It just seemed to fit better!.
So, 42 years of that later, I have good friends living in houses that I built for them and happy customers ringing my phone all day. I am truly blessed because I DID NOT go the college route!
Believe me when I say college is only for maybe 20% - 25% of our population. Those who work in offices all day and climb that Corporate ladder or be lawyers and doctors, more power to you. I'll build you a nice house to live in!
11:11AM, you are simply BRILLIANT! Thank you for sharing your story. It is most inspiring. My only hope is that others will take the inspiration of your experience and apply it to themselves or their children. Not everyone has to be a brain surgeon. We need trade people in our community, without them, out communities would cease to function.
ReplyDeleteOnce again thank you for sharing. You are a truly inspiring and great person!
And thank you for doing that!
ReplyDeleteI agree, we need people in the trades and the trades can provide good jobs for people not suited for college. Back in 1964, a dropout, came back to school when the first vocational school in his county opened. He learned welding and went on to have a successful career in that field. True story.
ReplyDeleteEverybody enjoys a bargain but we don’t need more people in the trades so they can drive the price down and old people can save a dollar as you suggested in your story. These people need fair pay for their work.
There was no reason to bring the lynching artwork black girls into your story as examples of people who don’t belong in college. We don’t know anything about these kids or what motivated them. When I went to college in the 60’s a local boy stole items off the downtown plaza. Local people helped him and didn’t give up on him. He went on to become a lawyer, a Maryland legislator, and a local judge. He has the respect of many Shore people. True story.
Few people are going to college to become lawyers or corporate raiders. Many want to qualify for work in medical, computers, teaching, and necessary fields of study I am not familiar with.
I support capable people in the trades. My real concern are people who are not so capable who once dug ditches with a pick and shovel, later worked assembly lines and loaded and unloaded trucks by hand. Where will we find work with livable wages for those people?
I am happy I went to college with a fitting career to follow, but I too would consider a trade or a military career today if I was young. I agree it is painful to crawl under the house in our sixties. Who would have thought it could hurt so much?
11:59PM, the reason I mentioned the two girls at SU was to accentuate how some are in college that perhaps are not meant to be there. If those girls were really in college to learn to do a white collar profession, then as you well know, this type of behavior would not be welcomed in any professional atmosphere. This kind of belligerence is unwarranted nor needed and perhaps those girls are misplaced in an academic environment.
ReplyDeleteSecond, the fact that more competition keeps prices REASONABLE is by no means a cut on trade workers. In fact, it is good for both the community AND the workers because it not only insure reasonable pricing, it also provides more work in a community. Don't twist my words around -- I am smart as a fox when it comes to that maneuvering.
Thanks for your retort.
Because Salary.Com does not list salary for Plumbers in Salisbury, Waldorf is the closest. The Median $47,281 With a low end of $32,971 and high end of $64,241
ReplyDeleteHow much does a Plumber I in Waldorf, MD make? The median annual Plumber I salary in Waldorf, MD is $47,281, as of May 31, 2016, with a range usually between $39,791-$56,158 not including bonus and benefit information and other factors that impact base pay. However, the salary for someone with the title Plumber I may vary depending on a number of factors including industry, company size, location, years of experience and level of education. Our team of Certified Compensation Professionals has analyzed survey data collected from thousands of HR departments at companies of all sizes and industries to present this range of annual salaries for people with the job title Plumber I in Waldorf, MD.
http://www1.salary.com/MD/Waldorf/Plumber-I-salary.html
For an electrician:
Electrician I: Median: $46,665
Low: $ 35,905
High: $59,110
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/Electrician-I-Salary-Details-Salisbury-MD.aspx?&hdcbxbonuse=on&isshowpiechart=false&isshowjobchart=false&isshowsalarydetailcharts=true&isshownextsteps=true&isshowcompanyfct=true&isshowaboutyou=true
11:11 said it best.I was not college material either.What pressured me was when my neighbors kids all went to College Park.Unlike me they also did great in high school.I'm 63 now and have few regrets,and I haven't done bad for myself.No debt other than a mortgage payment of $600 per month.
ReplyDeleteBricklayer:
ReplyDeleteMedian $50,625
Low: $42,175
High: $72,732
http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/Bricklayer-Salary-Details-Salisbury-MD.aspx
I used to be a "tradesperson" and I finally gave up on working around Salisbury and moved to Sussex county where there is work to be found. People like you that think tradespeople charge a "kings ransom" should sit down and talk with a business owner and let them explain why it costs so much to run a business in Maryland. Payroll regulations and required reporting/accounting, unemployment insurance, social security/medicare/medicaid taxes, health insurance, liability insurance...I could go on and on. It has driven the home improvement trades underground where there are so many people working for cash or just doing work themselves that when a regular tradesperson gives you a price it seems like a fortune compared to what you can really get things done for. People complain about illegals taking jobs but there are a bunch of jobs being done illegally too. You got what you voted for Salisbury.
ReplyDelete12:58PM thanks for your rebuttal. Tragically, my plumber did charge a king's ransom constantly. So sorry if that offends you and sorry that you moved away. But I do agree with you, illegals are raping our economy with cheap labor because they can hardly complain without fear of being exposed.
ReplyDeleteAgreed people did get what they voted for - but I can assure you, I was not one of those voters!
Part 1:
ReplyDelete12:58 is absolutely correct.
The honorable business people out there who are licensed and file for permits, (doing work by the book) have incredible expenses.
I have had many people ask me, do you know someone who can hang my ceiling fan. They purchase the fan for a hundred dollars and then expect it to get installed for twenty bucks. When the electrician quotes them $200.00, people freak out. A contractor has licensing fees, permit fees, workers comp, insurance (which isn't cheap) and more importantly TIME. Companies want jobs they can keep their staff on for a decent period of time, security.
Just look at Ocean City's most recent fee, HVAC permits. With the salt air, HVAC systems do not last very long at the beach. Because OC continued to pay out enormous salaries they quickly found themselves in the red and scrambles to create any fee they possibly could, including floating dock fees.
Government keeps growing under liberal leadership and the cost of staying in business takes the brunt of such overhead expenses. In the end the homeowner who complains about the cost of hanging a ceiling fan and voted for these liberals hits their wallets hard. So what happens in the end? Home improvements drop, upkeep of even government schools drop and the answer for this generation is, well, let's just build a new school. When you go to buy a property, rarely is it up to modern standards because it cost so much to put a new roof on or even hang a ceiling fan.
In the end, unfortunately, it will be very hard to find a solid home at an affordable price. Hence, the incredible volume of affordable housing units here on the Shore and especially places like Salisbury. It's very hard to find a landlord these days that actually do upkeep on their properties. Rent still goes way above the state average locally and pride of home ownership is somewhat of a crap shoot because neighborhoods experience new and high crime. Purchasing something today in a decent neighborhood might not be what it was 20 years ago and just ask anyone who owned a home in the Camden area and sold it in recent years.
Man, our country is really heading down hill and Americans have become far too complacent with the THOUSANDS of new laws, regulations and fees each and every year. Everyone seems to be living in the moment and no one seems to be looking at the long term big picture, or should I say outcome.
Part II
ReplyDeleteSorry for rambling on but to me I see the long range future and it really doesn't look good. However, we could just keep bringing in those illegals, drive the price down on CRAFTSMANSHIP because we now live in a throw away society, change all the laws so we have to replace ALL of our HVAC units because new laws won't allow us to REPAIR the OLD ones, force us to throw away incandescent lamps and force us to buy far more expensive compact fluorescents and or LED lams just because they say so. Funny, there's no hazard to rid of an incandescent lamp but the new fluorescents must be thrown out as hazardous waste, (mercury). That will cost you in the end too.
The list can go on and on. I don't know about all of you but I live my life worrying about the future of my children and grandchildren. This is one of the main reasons I continue to push Salisbury News every single day. I may not change everything but one look at the FREE COLLEGE post with well over 200 comments should tell you the public tends to agree with me. Will it change the outcome, absolutely. More thought will be placed into this proposal. More attention has been placed on this being a TAXPAYER expense and quite frankly I think the public has had enough of this, oh look, we found some extra money, let's blow it on free college instead of giving RELIEF back to the taxpayer by lowering their taxes.
Let me say this as well. When Wicomico County got rid of the impact fee for home builders, all of a sudden construction of new homes went through the roof. Very few permits had been filed for YEARS during the recession and once they rid of that impact fee they had hundreds filed immediately. This proves that government needs to get out of the way and enjoy tax growth by making it affordable to do business. That goes for HVAC systems, light bulbs and the whole nine yards.
Politicians can keep blowing smoke up your butts telling you Salisbury is growing, there's more jobs then ever before, IF you are a believer that the future is bright here for future generations, well, you're an idiot then. Pride of home ownership and a commitment to STAY PUT for the next 30 years is GONE! Salisbury and Wicomico County will become a transient, crime and drug infested community with a falling apart infrastructure that includes home upkeep, pot holes in roads everywhere, pipes bursting, dams and bridges failing, you name it. I won't even get into why the Shore will never see decent businesses relocating here but many of what I discussed above will tell you smart business people look hard at such communities and realize the Shore is not reinvesting into its future. Instead, well, free college sounds like a good idea, screw the roads and leave it to the next elected official.
Yeah, your votes really do count for something.
But don't forget to become the plumber or master electrician there is trade schools and apprenticeships that have to be served.
ReplyDeleteHere here, Mr. Joe. Exactly why voters need to stop voting for their own financial torture chambers. I know many in the Camden area and it's a nightmare. Costs for fixing and upkeep are through the roof indeed, because most of those homes have wiring and plumbing dating back to the 1940s (when the area really started building up into a community.) It's staggering the amount of money people need to pay but the fact is, if you want craftsmanship and quality materials used in your home, you have to pay for them.
ReplyDeleteThe exorbitant pricing does reflect all the regulatory infringements of local and federal governments. They are pricing us to death.
The only way to change this is stop voting for the same meme. It's really that simple.
Apprenticeships should be enforced. On the job training is an invaluable asset and must-have with anything that could flood or electrocute you.
ReplyDeleteThis is 11:59 to Thornton at 12:17
ReplyDeleteAs I said Thornton we do not know the circumstances of the situation with those girls.You, yourself are making assumptions. Sure it was a dumb idea. But it may have been nothing more than than two girls trying to torment a black friend they thought was coming in next. Yes, that is speculation. We have no idea what was said before this event or after this event or by who except the people on here who went on for weeks about what they thought it meant often without bothering to reference back to the few known facts. I thought maybe the local boy experience when I was in college would be food for thought.
I thought I understood pretty well that you thought your plumber charges too much and that more plumbers would make them all hungry enough to do the work for less.
In fact I remember this from the recent great recession when many trades
people didn't have work. They would sometime work for very little compared to what the job cost before. It seems to me prices are going back up now.
Thornton, what do you mean "Don't twist my words around -- I am smart as a fox when it comes to that maneuvering. Thanks for your retort."
Are you just being thinned skinned or are you never wrong?
Thornton, Because the cost of upkeep is so high, much of the work being done is done so without permits, licenses and inspections. You might say a lot of work is not done up to code. When a home inspector comes in to see what each condition is they will fail this work. Real Estate Agents get pissed off at these Inspectors and pressure many of them to pass over such mentioned work IF they want to continue getting hired for the next listing. It's a good ol' boy system here.
ReplyDeleteReal Estate Agents also tend to refrain from discussing REAL CRIME and this is why community leaders are constantly pissed off that Salisbury News exposes crime. The next thing we know, leaders are countering what we publish, (even though they are press releases from law enforcement) and state crime is down.
We've reported rapes in schools, fights, drugs, gangs, ALL of which are a major No, No!!!! How dare Salisbury News expose such things! The rest of the media enjoys us putting it out there first so they can come back to these community leaders and say, well, it was on Salisbury News, what were we supposed to do!
I can tell you that one of my Son's is in the framing industry and is one of the top sought out contractors in the state. He does work in Montgomery County, Annapolis, Kent Island and the Easton area. He does not have a college education and makes hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. In fact, both of my kids make six figures a year and neither went to college.
There is no shame being in the trade industry. In fact, one of the very best areas you could ever dream of being in those professions is right here on the shore. The older the homes, the more they are desired. When you do happen to find a good craftsman in each field, recommend them to your friends and keep a list. They are very hard to come by here on the shore. Oh, they show up to bid the job but when it comes to keeping them around until they're finished, that's a whole different story.
The best tip I can give people when hiring someone, get a bid on the job and do not fall for the by the hour crap. The next thing you know they're making several trips to Lowe's or Home Depot to pick up materials, tools, you name it, all at your by the hour expense. Many of them want to TALK the whole time they're there, all at your expense if you pay by the hour.
The best tip I can give to an up and coming trades person, if you get the reputation of showing up on time, working hard every day until each job is complete, you will NEVER have a problem finding work. If a customer has a problem, FIX IT. Mistakes happen. It's the contractor who returns and fixes imperfections that will get referrals like there's no tomorrow.
Another thought on the 'college material' idea..
ReplyDeleteIt may not be the best thing for somebody to go to college even if they are brilliant.
Why not?
Because they might be HAPPIER doing something like a trade or building their own business.
I wonder how many people these days even think much about what they want to do in life, and how many just march off to college because they think that's what they are supposed to do.
And I can tell you this.. from what I see going on in the universities today, and the people coming out of them, it sure is a waste of money in many cases.
".. if you get the reputation of showing up on time, working hard every day until each job is complete, you will NEVER have a problem finding work. If a customer has a problem, FIX IT.."
ReplyDeleteExactly right.
And if you want to save even more time and effort, get in the habit of making sure you do it right the first time so you don't get call-backs. Go the extra mile. Focus on your work and be sure it's the best you can do every time. Double-check yourself and be committed to EXCELLENCE.
NEVER settle for mediocrity.
That's what 'legends' are made of.
4:39PM Nicely put... and yes, that is how legends are made, no doubt. Thanks for your retort.
ReplyDeleteWhile I appreciate that not all folks are cut out for College or University and for them learning a good trade will serve them well in life. Please don't diminish the value of higher education for those that aspire to it. Just like we need skilled tradesmen, we also need skilled scientists, engineers, medical professionals, pharmacists, mathematicians, geologists, accountants etc to keep us at the forefront of technology and competitive in a global economy. Even skilled tradesmen are working with and installing technology designed, built, produced and marketed by folks with college degrees. Don't let anyone tell your children that a trade is good enough if they have the aptitude and drive to excel at higher learning. There are always exceptions but in general, college grads get better job opportunities and pay to go along with it.
ReplyDeleteI cannot say enough good about the vocational training school in Wicomico County. My child took a course there that opened all kinds of doors and later went on to a 4 year college. The training received there will set you up in business or prepare you for more education. The instructors were great!!! There was a stigma about votech classes that we just laughed about all the way to the bank.
ReplyDeleteI had a small business and things were made difficult because people are really paranoid out there. The have gotten mistreated so long that they expect the poor service and have forgotten how to treat you with respect. Once you get the "word of mouth" jobs it gets easier and much better.
Although you make some valid points in your article may I suggest doing some research with the actual people in the trades in an unbiased article as a followup article. Actually taking the time and effort to ask the questions and get to the point as to why it is so difficult to find capable young people to fill positions that are available in the trades. These young men and women are under paid most of the time and end up jumping from one job to the next. Part of the reason they are under paid is that the "contractor" or company they work for is also under paid and the wage they are paying is keeping them in limbo. You mention in your article that you have a plumber that charges you what you consider to be a high fee when truth is it is most likely far from enough for him to survive on. As a contractor myself the problem we run into is quoting hanging a paddle fan install at $200 and the homeowner thinking that is a high fee gets his handyman neighbor to hang it for $50. This is happening all around here, trouble is this guy has NO insurance No license NO permit No inspection and No over head so certainly he can do it cheaper, but what happens when he burns your house down? The cost of doing business in Maryland is much more expensive than you think and the actual wages are much lower than you you report in your article. Young people just starting off in the trades find it very difficult to scrape by and in many cases working more than one job just to barely get by on.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to learn a trade then go to Vo-tech/CTE in High School. Parkside at WCBOE has a great program where people can learn to be brick masons, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, HVAC, Auto Body, Auto Mechanics, Electronics, Computers, etc. That is a free education if you want one. You don't Need Bob Culver to give you a free scholarships that will ultimately hurt the tax payer in the long run.
ReplyDeleteCollege is a huge liberal moneymaker
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI agree, we need people in the trades and the trades can provide good jobs for people not suited for college. Back in 1964, a dropout, came back to school when the first vocational school in his county opened. He learned welding and went on to have a successful career in that field. True story.
Everybody enjoys a bargain but we don’t need more people in the trades so they can drive the price down and old people can save a dollar as you suggested in your story. These people need fair pay for their work.
There was no reason to bring the lynching artwork black girls into your story as examples of people who don’t belong in college. We don’t know anything about these kids or what motivated them. When I went to college in the 60’s a local boy stole items off the downtown plaza. Local people helped him and didn’t give up on him. He went on to become a lawyer, a Maryland legislator, and a local judge. He has the respect of many Shore people. True story.
Few people are going to college to become lawyers or corporate raiders. Many want to qualify for work in medical, computers, teaching, and necessary fields of study I am not familiar with.
I support capable people in the trades. My real concern are people who are not so capable who once dug ditches with a pick and shovel, later worked assembly lines and loaded and unloaded trucks by hand. Where will we find work with livable wages for those people?
I am happy I went to college with a fitting career to follow, but I too would consider a trade or a military career today if I was young. I agree it is painful to crawl under the house in our sixties. Who would have thought it could hurt so much?
June 5, 2016 at 11:59 AM
"There was no reason to bring the lynching artwork black girls into your story as examples of people who don’t belong in college."
Let me guess you are going to drop the race card... Well guess what, it was his story and I thought it was a perfect example. Now go smoke a White Owl.
6:05, These young people you speak of sometimes don't know which end of the hammer to use, and ask for a screw gun instead. Once they learn that they are working for a goal other than Friday's check, we employers will consider paying them enough to stay with the company, but until then, I'll let them skip to the next Lilly pad whenever they want or I may just put them there. If they show they have completed courses toward the trade, then I know they are serious, but they often skip around to different employers to find the right "fit", and that works both ways as well.
ReplyDeleteRegulating all that is a foolish Liberal's plan.
Most black students can't even get a good score on the SAT's, so they changed the passing numbers, to get more into college.
ReplyDeleteNow go smoke a White Owl. 7:47 am to 11:59 am
ReplyDeleteI don't smoke. You shouldn't either.
6:05 knows whats going on...you really should consider a follow up article on this subject. Just look for a minute and you will see all the trucks riding around with no signs on them. The Democrats in Maryland have been great at passing laws with no way to enforce them.
ReplyDeleteBetter teach Johnny to shoot and live off the land.
ReplyDelete