TRADES CAREER Tier List (Trade Jobs Ranked)

The trades career tier list

that's what we're gonna be talking about today. And there is a lot to go over in this video

and I don't want it to be like 30 minutes long. So I'm gonna jump right into it

and get right on with the list. I believe that trades are underrated

and I think they're making a huge comeback. And as long as you never forget to immediately

gently tap the like button, I will explain exactly why. So the way I construct these lists

is I look at a bunch of different factors like salary, job growth, job satisfaction

and then a bunch of different X factors. Now these X factors generally include stuff

like how easy it would be to automate a job or outsource a job

or how well the skills that you learn in a certain job could translate to other industries or other careers

And in this video, I'm gonna be ranking all of these different trade careers from S tier, which is extremely good

to F tier, which is bad. I'm not gonna have time to go over all of these different factors

because that would make the video like an hour and a half long. So if you wanna know that

you're gonna have to watch some of my other videos. And please, if you think I'm wrong on any of these

go ahead, comment down below exactly why you think I'm wrong. Maybe you're right about it

Maybe we all can learn something. All right, first one on the list is going to be welder

This is one where the pay honestly isn't all that good if you just get hired for it

A lot of the time it's gonna end up being kind of seasonal or where you just get hired for a job

and then you do it for a few months and you're not really needed anymore. This one of course can be really good

if you're working in certain industries like the natural gas industry. There's also a high ceiling in terms of the level of skill

So there's really basic welding and then there's like above basic welding

and it can get really, really high in terms of your level of skill. All the way to the point where you're like

an underwater welder where you're certified in diving and like all kinds of crazy stuff like that

So this is one of those skills where if you get really good at it and you get a little bit entrepreneurial

you start your own business, maybe you buy your own rig for instance

you can make a really good amount of money. But when it comes to just getting hired for a job

it's decent but not amazing. This one is gonna go into C tier

Next one on the list is going to be a heavy equipment operator

With this one, you're gonna be making around $46,000 a year. It's growing at about 10

and you're gonna need to be licensed plus you're gonna need to have an apprenticeship

And basically you are gonna be driving around heavy machinery. Anything from like big tractors to cranes

Now depending on your specialty, the pay is going to vary quite a bit

So for instance, there are certain types of crane operators that can make

a ridiculous amount of money. However, they're also dealing with a high stress environment

You mess up one little bit with a crane and like lots of people could potentially die

This is a pretty good one though. I'm gonna go ahead and put it in B tier

Next one on the list is going to be a plumber. They make around $53,000 a year

You do need to be licensed and it does require an apprenticeship generally speaking

and it's growing at about 14% which is really, really good. Now as a plumber, you're gonna be installing

and repairing pipes that carry liquids and gases. Not only that, but we are also very, very neat

Now one of the great things about being a plumber is you can pretty much get a job no matter where you go

A lot of the careers on this list can be kind of like a little bit seasonal

where you might have a lot of work during a certain time of the year and not much work over other times of the year

Or they might be jobs where you're gonna have to move around a lot. But the great thing about being a plumber

is you can probably get a job pretty much no matter where you live in the United States

When it comes to being in the trades, I always say that it's a very good idea

for you to start your own business as soon as you possibly can because that's where the real money is

Even if you're just working on your own, if you have your own business, you can make way more money

than if you were working for somebody else. And Plumber is a perfect example of this

So even though it says they make around $53,000 a year, if you own your own business

you can very, very easily make over six figures a year. Plumber is gonna go into A tier

Next one on the list is going to be HVAC technician. That stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning

HVAC techs make around $47,000 a year, and this one's growing at about 13%

These are the people that keep your heater going in the winter and your air conditioning going in the summer

Now, my brother owns an HVAC business, so I know a little bit more than the average person about this

It is somewhat seasonal. You're probably gonna make more money in the winter

than you are during the summer months, but again, that could be different depending on where you live

So for instance, you might make more money in the summer months if you live in Miami

Now, you can see the seasonal nature of the business as a pro or a con

It's kind of a pro just because of the fact that you kind of have a busy season

where you know you're gonna be busy, and then you have kind of a slower season where you can go on vacations and kind of just take it easy

It can create difficulties when it comes to scaling a business. So for instance, if you hire people

in order to accommodate all the work you need to get done during the busy season

a lot of the times those people will not be able to get enough hours during the slow season

So that can make scaling a business a little bit tricky. A lot of the trades are somewhat taxing on your body

and I would say HVAC is a little bit taxing, but it's definitely not one of the worst ones

Overall, I'm gonna go ahead and put this one into A tier. Number six on the list is going to be dental hygienist

and yes, this one is actually a trade career technically. They make around $74,000 a year

It does require an apprenticeship, a license, and it's growing at around 11%

Now, this one, you are going to be assisting dentists. You're gonna be doing things like cleaning

and educating patients on dental health. So the cons of this one is you're gonna be all up in people's mouths

which, that's gross. This one does take around three years to get into

so it's a little bit longer than some of these other ones, but it's also a lot less physical

than a lot of the other ones on the list. So you probably would be able to be a dental hygienist

for a longer amount of time. I know somebody personally who is a dental hygienist

She works about 40 hours a week and she makes six figures a year. A lot of dental hygienists do not work 40 hours a week

and so they make a little bit less than six figures, but I would say this number, 74,000

is probably on the low side. I will say that most dental hygienists

that are very successful are going to be, and I'm not saying whether this is right or wrong

but it's just a fact, they're going to be young, pretty women who are kind of extroverted

Again, not saying that's right or wrong, but that tends to be the people who are successful as dental hygienists

Overall, I'm gonna go ahead and put this one into A tier

Next one on the list is going to be an elevator installer or repairer

They make around $79,000 a year. It does require an apprenticeship as well as licensure

and it's growing at around 10%, which is great. So they are obviously going to be installing

and repairing elevators, but also things like escalators, basically anything that moves people up or down

So with this one, you're probably going to be on call quite a bit. I remember one time when I lived in Las Vegas

I got stuck in an elevator, and an elevator repair guy had to come and rescue me

This was pretty late at night, so the poor guy probably got interrupted from watching late night news or whatever he was watching

And he came and he got the person I was stuck with in the elevator out of the elevator

and it was happily ever after. But overall, this can be a really good one. It's gonna go ahead and go into A tier

And I will also mention that this is one of the less physically taxing ones on the entire list

Next one on the list is going to be an electrician. They make around $55,000 a year

It does require apprenticeship as well as licensure, and it's growing at around 10%

So some of the cons of this one is that you are going to be dealing with electricity all the time

That can be extremely dangerous. However, there are a ton of pros to this one

Being an electrician is definitely gonna be one of the less physically taxing trade careers

That means that if you want to, you could probably be an electrician into your 60s and 70s

This is a great one. I'm gonna go ahead and put it into A tier

Next one on the list is going to be a geological and petroleum technician

They make around $53,000 a year, no apprenticeship, no licensure needed, and it's growing at around 7%

Now they're gonna be working in the natural gas industry, and I've talked about this before

Generally speaking, people who work in this industry get paid really, really well

They're gonna be supporting scientists and engineers and extracting natural resources. Now some of the cons to this one

is that you'll likely have to move to an area where some of these companies exist

So you might not be living in your ideal situation, unfortunately. However, you're gonna be getting paid really, really well

and there's gonna be a lot of opportunity. This one is going to go into S tier

Next one on the list is going to be a sonographer. They make around $67,000 a year

and it's a 14% growth. They also don't have to do an apprenticeship

or a licensure, which is probably a pro just because of the fact that that can take a long time

They're gonna be operating special imaging equipment, so they're gonna be doing things like ultrasounds

There's honestly not that many cons with this career. It's not gonna be as physically taxing

as a lot of the other trade careers, and yes, this is technically a trade career

I know in my other video, people commented, that's not a trade career. No, this one is technically a trade career

So with this one, you're gonna have a lot of the upside of a trade career where you don't have to go to college

or anything like that. You can just pretty much go straight into your profession without a lot of the downsides

that you commonly find in trade careers, such as having a lot of physical issues

This one is definitely going into S tier. Next one on the list is going to be a radiation therapist

They make around $82,000 a year. It does require licensure, but no apprenticeship

and it's growing at about 9%. Now, as a radiation therapist, you would be treating cancer

as well as other diseases with radiation therapy. This can be a really tough one emotionally

so you do have to be somebody who's pretty tough emotionally because you're gonna be around people

who are sick all day long. However, it can be extremely rewarding because you're gonna be helping people who are sick

and in a time of need. Overall, this one is going to go into S tier

Next one on the list is going to be a logger. They make around $40,000 a year

and the projected growth is negative 12%. This one is extremely tough on you physically

It's also extremely dangerous. It's one of the most dangerous careers you can possibly get into

It also doesn't pay nearly as well as a lot of the other ones on this list. This one is gonna definitely go into F tier

Next one on the list is going to be dock worker. They're gonna get paid around $28,000 a year

The projected growth is around 7%. Now, they're also known as longshoremen

That's kind of another word for them, and it's actually a really common job. There's over 2 million longshoremen in the United States

You're gonna be unloading huge cargo ships. It's a very strenuous, back-breaking type of job

It's also very dangerous. It leads to a lot of injuries and deaths

This is another one that, in my opinion, unfortunately, it's gonna have to go

into a pretty low tier. I mean, $28,000 a year, are you kidding me

They need to get paid more than that. That's ridiculous. This one goes into F tier

Next one on the list is going to be a roofer. They make around $39,000 a year

They're growing at about 11%. Now, roofers are going to install, repair

and replace roofs. A lot of the time, they're gonna be up on the roof, out in the sun

It can be a pretty difficult job. You're gonna be sweating buckets. If it starts raining outside

you're gonna have to pack it up and call it a day. It's also relatively dangerous

I mean, if you fall off of the roof, you're probably gonna get seriously injured

Still, it's a little bit better than the other two. It has a decent growth rate

So I'm gonna go ahead and put this one into D tier. Next one on the list is going to be a construction laborer

So they're gonna make around $35,000 a year. It's growing at 12%

and there's over one million jobs available. Now, this is an extremely physically demanding job

There's probably going to be a lot of injuries, and on top of the injury rate

it also has a lot of deaths, unfortunately. Now, this one kinda goes in that same category

where they're gonna get paid decently well, but honestly, probably not as good as they should

I'm gonna go ahead and put this one into D tier. Next one on the list is going to be an automobile mechanic

They make around $40,000 a year. They're growing at about 6.1%, and there's around 648,000 jobs available

here in the US. Now, I would say out of all the different types of trades, you could argue this is somewhere in the middle

when it comes to how physically demanding it is. Probably not gonna be as many deaths

and not as many serious injuries as some of the other ones that I mentioned on this list

Now, this is a very popular job. A lot of people really love working on cars

There can be a lot of opportunity here, especially if you own your own business

This one is just gonna squeak into C tier. I would say welder is probably a little bit better

than mechanic in terms of the opportunities, but overall, I'm gonna go ahead and put it in C tier

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