I completely agree with everything said in the article and by those here. My dad was a very talented finish carpenter and craftsman, and could build anything. He was also a very knowledgeable mechanic, and generally just a very capable human being.

I went to college for a business degree and have been in the corporate world my whole professional career (~25 years). My paychecks (and lifestyle) dwarf anything my dad could have imagined, but yes, I am extremely unfulfilled in my work and disenfranchised from the whole corporate culture.

We (and I) like to romanticize about the small boutique "craftsmen" like Norm Abrams from This Old House or the guys at "Singer" who build fantastic boutique sportscars. But the reality is, that those guys represent a tiny fraction of the "hands-on" career guys out there. I have seen many of the "mechanics" and "carpenters" on this board either threaten, or actually throw in the towel out of sheer frustration. They either struggle to make ends meet, or lose the love of their craft because of the attitudes of their customers (completely understandable!!).

I guess my point is that I certainly grew up with the influence of a talented man who could do anything with his hands, and I have and use those same talents with my home and hobbies. And I have an incredible appreciation and value for those skills (both my own and my dad's). But for me, the thought of being able to make a decent living utilizing these skills seems as far-fetched as a kid dreaming about being a professional athlete. Maybe this is just lack of confidence and conviction, but my paychecks seem easy in comparison.

All that said...I generally still dream about such a career on a daily basis, and admire all those (successful and otherwise) who have dared to try it!!

JA

Wow!.............................................r eally hit home for me. Jandrews really summed it well with the above statement........" We (and I) like to romanticize about the small boutique "craftsmen" like Norm Abrams from This Old House or the guys at "Singer" who build fantastic boutique sportscars. But the reality is, that those guys represent a tiny fraction of the "hands-on" career guys out there"

That is really the truth. I am now approaching 54yrs of age and grew up in a somewhat rural area the in Northern Va. around the typical farm setting. As a kid I dicovered I had a real knack for diagnosing problems with farm equipment that was constantly breaking down. My family had little money and even less resources to replace aging machinery. I learned by watching a few really skilled older guys diagnose and fix things.

I applied this to mini bikes, later dirt bikes and then autos. I was making more cash on the side as a teenager all through high school fixing everyones car than most older people working a regular full time 9-5 gig did.

I did go to college later and received a AS in Business management but found I had a distaste for managing people. The core of my satisfaction was resolving a difficult mechanical problem and make good money while doing it. I saw a select few older guys in the automotive profession that were successful in my eyes; they all owned nice homes, enjoyed a high demand and high paying career, they all did side work ensuring a steady cash-flo, they all had some type of race or classic car(s).

So that is the direction I gravitated and mostly was spot on for me too except for the last 7-8 years or so. Now I have all this knowledge and ability that for the most part is virtually worthless. Worthless because in the auto business no one pays you to show up. It's full comission only......................................which is fine as long as there is signicifcantly more work than there are people to do it. Which was pretty much the case until the last few years.

I retrained into my former career of IT. Now after much hard work, I was able to break back into the field with a large County Govt. I do not know about the current status of other blue collar professions but the skilled technician money train has loooong left the automotive building