EXPLORING BUILDING TRADE CAREERS

A compact guide offering ideas for middle and high schoolers looking for careers that won’t take years of training or leave them saddled with student debt.

“Every day is a new adventure when you are a plumber.” However unrealistic it may be to promise readers salaries in the high five to six figures without having to earn a college degree, Robison does show the appeal of the building trades by positioning them as creative, non-office-based occupations that allow for a healthy work-life balance, which in turn contributes to greater happiness. He describes in very general terms what these trades are, from welding and masonry to urban design and environmental consulting, and lays out suggested courses of preparation, such as finding part-time or summer jobs while still in high school, developing communication and other soft skills, interning, apprenticing, job shadowing, and volunteering. It all feels a bit theoretical, since he doesn’t interview or profile actual workers, but the bright stock photos show a racially diverse assortment of people employed in various settings, and the lists of print and online sources for further information at the end have a practical bent.

Shining with positivity; offers suggested first steps toward making realistic and fulfilling life choices.