Whether you are starting out or starting over, a trade career could be the most flexible, fastest, financially feasible route to a career that you love and from which you can make a good, no, a great, living.
“Believe it or not, 77 percent of all women in the workforce are segregated into 20 occupations out of the 440 occupations out there,” said Lauren Sugerman, National Policy Director and co-founder of Chicago Women in Trades. In fact, those 20 occupations have a least 80 percent female workers.
So, why try to squeeze into such a tight situation when there is plenty of room elsewhere?
The Manpower 2015 Talent Shortage Survey indicates for the sixth consecutive year, skilled trades were the hardest jobs to fill nationwide and for the fourth consecutive year they were the hardest to fill globally.
But that was the past, right? What about the future?
A McKinsey report from 2014 estimates there will be a shortfall of 85 million trade workers by 2020. http://mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/Education/Education-to-Employment_FINAL.pdf
If you aren’t at all familiar with trade careers, consider this: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, among the top 20 fastest growth projections is wind turbine technicians.
The projected change in employment between 2014 and 2024 is 108 percent, compared to the 7 percent average growth rate for all occupations. These workers, who install, maintain and repair wind turbines, are projected to earn a median income of $48,000 per year or $23.46 per hour after technical school or community college coursework and on-the-job-training. Certifications are not mandatory, but they will make you even more marketable.
You may not have ever heard of wind turbine technicians, but similar occupations include electricians, electrical installers and repairers, heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics, plumbers and pipefitters. All of which had a median salary between $44,000 and $53,000 in 2014, are projected to have growth of 12-14 percent and will add between 39,600 and 85,900 jobs during those same ten years.
Those numbers are enormous, considering the average growth of all occupations is just 7 percent.
Can it get any better? It sure can!
“Apprenticeships in the trades offer the opportunity to earn while you learn,” said Sugerman. “I call it ‘the other four-year college’ because you don’t come out with a big tuition bill,” she added. “With an apprenticeship, you can earn 50 to 90 percent of what a journey worker would make in unionized skilled trades."
Chicago Women in Trades cites this example in its handbook:
(http://chicagowomenintrades2.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Participants-Guide_2014_lowres.pdf)
The median pay for nursing assistant professionals is about $9-12 per hour (or $24,000 per year), you pay for the training and there are few opportunities for advancement.
A bricklayer, on the other hand, could make about $15 per hour as an apprentice and can increase to $30-40 per hour ($76,000) at the end of four years. The training through an apprenticeship is free and provided on the job, so you earn while you learn. Over a 30-year career, that could mean the difference of $1.4 million.
By now, you are probably trying to figure out which skilled trade job is the right one for you. Sugerman, a former elevator constructor, advises the women she works with that the best trade career for any woman is one that matches your skill sets and interest – where can you see yourself spending eight to 10 hours a day? It should also be a good fit and be one that is available in your area.
“If you get into a trade that you enjoy and that you can handle, you’re going to love it,” said Jackie Townsend, a bricklayer in Chicago. “ The pay increases are great. Right now I am at an 80 percent apprentice. I get a raise every six months (roughly $3-4 per hour). Once I top out at journeyman, I’ll still get a $2 raise every year. You’re always guaranteed a pay increase, and you get great benefits. You also get a pension.”
Of course, everything in trade careers is not peaches and cream, just like it isn’t in any career.
“Women are scrutinized more as are racial minorities,” said Sugerman. “We have a different set of challenges because we are not part of the good-old-boy network. That’s why we will keep working to create policy for equal pay and equal access to apprenticeships and to improve cultural competency to help women working in the trades.
For more information, resources, videos and stories from tradeswomen, visit http://www.chicagowomenintrades2.org. Policy and regulations can be found at http://www.regulations.gov and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship.
