Enrollment at trade schools is expected to grow

I've been trying to convince my brother-in-law (who works at a convenience store) to consider trade school for years now, in no small part because I think a lot of the jobs you go to trade school for are safe from automation.

For reasons kind of unclear to me, it seems like trade schools have been kind of stigmatized, as somehow "lesser" than university. I don't completely understand why that is; the world needs welders and AC technicians and Practical Nurses much more than we need more software engineers working at a Silicon Valley startup.

> the world needs welders and AC technicians and Practical Nurses much more than we need more software engineers working at a Silicon Valley startup.

The world needs software engineers too. Silicon Valley isn't the world. Not to mention, you know... it's not just programmers that come out of universities.

Anyway, trades are "looked down" on like that because they're a lot of very hard, very physical work. I would certainly encourage my children to go to university if it's going to lead to a much more comfortable life.

For the record, I have a bachelors and a masters in computer science and while I didn't finish I did attend a PhD program. I'm not trying to dog on universities as a concept.

That said, I think universities aren't a good fit for a lot of people. A lot of people (and I include my brother-in-law in this group) would not be happy with a desk job, and while I think he's pretty smart I don't know that he would do well having to attend four years of a university. I think trade schools are excellent for these kinds of people.

I don't have children, but I would like to think that if I did I would try and help them get a career they would be happy with, and "comfortable" doesn't necessarily imply that.

I prefer to have a desk job, I like writing software, it's why I spend too much time on HN, but I think a lot of people would benefit from a trade school, and I don't think they should be stigmatized.

I would second this largely, I’m the son of a plumber / handyman / GC. I’ve spent my childhood on service calls and job sites since the age of 5, spent my teenage summers schlepping tools and driving lightning rods, you name it, I’ve done it. I wouldn’t trade my near 20 year software career for the trades, I don’t think.

However, the biggest thing I think the HN crowd might appreciate that they have and we lack is an easy path to freedom through self employment - if you want self-employment as a programmer you need the fortune of a novel idea, improvement, or something new in some sense. You might need to also chase the VC dragon.

You want to start a plumbing business? Work hard 5-10 years, get out on your own with a van and tools and you have a turn key business idea. Provide good service at a proper rate. End of story.