2 answers
Troy
Student
Dalton, Massachusetts
2
Questions
Updated
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I really value family, health, and money. what jobs or career paths align with these values?
I like construction and mechanic work
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2 answers
Liam Rielly
Data Center Technician
180
Answers
Manassas, Virginia
Updated
Liam’s Answer
Your values are the principle that drives you to do a good job at work. Any job you take should respect your personal and professional values as well as motivate you to advance in your career. I see you have tagged "construction, electrician, mechanical." There shouldn't be any problem with you entering any of those fields but there is a work/life balance that is tricky sometimes. I will say most of the time when I am on the job I see someone there who is proud of their kids, loves their significant other, works 40-45hrs a week, hits the gym on their way home, has a strong community or support system, and makes sure to watch their money tight so they can provide when they are not working. They are usually modest in the way they present themselves and have a partner that is willing to chip in whenever they are lagging in some way.
Most of the people on the job however got there by doing what felt right in the moment and not thinking 5-10 years ahead. They kept working, they stopped planning. You can see it show up in different ways: finances stretched thin despite decent pay, less time with family than they wanted, health that took a back seat. I can make this all about their fault (and believe me I have been that guy, might still be) but it's all about how you value your time and make a path for yourself.
When you become an electrician, you start to make more money than you have before. You are in your early 20s, you have freedom, you have friends, so you do the only thing that a 20yr old with money would do: go out and meet people. This means that somewhere in your mid 20s you end up with the family you ended up with, not the one you planned to have. For electricians and other construction trades, a lot of socializing can happen in and around bars. This means that there are sometimes legal troubles that follow. The person you go home with might not like that. They also might not understand that if you don't get to meet the foreman from another company at the bar, you might not get the next job. I might sound blunt in this description but I am trying to best describe how a lot of people in construction end up in those situations. They are not bad people, they just did not plan to do the best for themselves 5-10 years down the line. They did what was easy but kept working and stopped planning.
Sometimes you are working a lot. That money starts to pay off. If you are working at around $50/hr, overtime pay puts you at $75/hr. That means that if you are working 10 hour days/five days a week, 10 of those hours are at $75/hr. That's a nice boost to your pay (40hr week is $2000, 50hr week is $2750). Is this time worth it to you to not spend time with your family? Is this time worth it to you to not go to the gym? Is this time worth the tradeoffs with working more? This is the work/life balance that you need to look at. You are working in an area where an electrician makes $30/hr and you work straight 40hr weeks. You look at a job listing and five hours away there is a job paying $55/hr with overtime up to 60hrs a week. Five hours away has you not home 22 hours that day, so you decide to get a place to stay during the week while you are away from home. Is it worth it to you to leave home for most of the week to work? Is this good for your family? Is this good for your health? Its good for your wallet for sure! Sometimes that travel is for longer and for more money as well.
Also you are relying on your body to work. If you need to get a piece of equipment in place, you might need to lift something you normally wouldn't, and you can get hurt. On the job accidents happen often as well. You might be fine one day and dealing with an injury another. Think about the type of work you are doing in that field. Something like a fire alarm technician or controls technician might pay a little more and have less physical risk as opposed to outdoor lineman or critical switching technician.
You need to plan your life out and make a practice of sticking to it with whatever job you get. I made this post kind of more real than it needed to be but I feel like this is not explained at the high school level. By the time you are 23y/o and are making $30/hr it's a lot more fun to get a fast car and be out all night, but that is not going to reinforce your values when you are in your late 20s, late 30s, late 40s, and finishing your career out. You can likely replace electrician or construction worker with lawyer as well (maybe adjust the ages +10 yrs) and get the same kind of answer. It's up to you how you plan. Understand you will be surrounded by people with a lifestyle similar to this.
My best job was a small company and the people that worked there were all outdoor sports junkies. We planned to work most days up to about 5hrs, got paid per day not hour, and the guys were out on the river paddling late noon until the evening. I got unsolicited fitness advice all day long and had little stress. I was able to go to jiu jitsu in the evening and get up early to start the day again. I had a wonderful time! If you get an opportunity like this doing anything, defend your company and your job like it is your life! Work the hardest you can, make an impact on the company, and keep pushing to grow and do more! I started as an electrician in my late 20s and never really had an interest in going to bars. Because of this I can say that I felt an impact on socializing with other electricians who could easily hire me into other jobs. After I had the job at the smaller company I never went back to construction. I am working on my health but overall its good, I have a great relationship, I am a little behind on my personal goals, and I stress a little but I am in a competitive role now not as an electrician. I would say my work/life balance is off, but I feel it's much more workable now that I am not working in construction. I work for a big tech company. This is me however, and is not you. You need to answer all of this for you, I am just giving a rough picture of what the lifestyle is!
Most of the people on the job however got there by doing what felt right in the moment and not thinking 5-10 years ahead. They kept working, they stopped planning. You can see it show up in different ways: finances stretched thin despite decent pay, less time with family than they wanted, health that took a back seat. I can make this all about their fault (and believe me I have been that guy, might still be) but it's all about how you value your time and make a path for yourself.
When you become an electrician, you start to make more money than you have before. You are in your early 20s, you have freedom, you have friends, so you do the only thing that a 20yr old with money would do: go out and meet people. This means that somewhere in your mid 20s you end up with the family you ended up with, not the one you planned to have. For electricians and other construction trades, a lot of socializing can happen in and around bars. This means that there are sometimes legal troubles that follow. The person you go home with might not like that. They also might not understand that if you don't get to meet the foreman from another company at the bar, you might not get the next job. I might sound blunt in this description but I am trying to best describe how a lot of people in construction end up in those situations. They are not bad people, they just did not plan to do the best for themselves 5-10 years down the line. They did what was easy but kept working and stopped planning.
Sometimes you are working a lot. That money starts to pay off. If you are working at around $50/hr, overtime pay puts you at $75/hr. That means that if you are working 10 hour days/five days a week, 10 of those hours are at $75/hr. That's a nice boost to your pay (40hr week is $2000, 50hr week is $2750). Is this time worth it to you to not spend time with your family? Is this time worth it to you to not go to the gym? Is this time worth the tradeoffs with working more? This is the work/life balance that you need to look at. You are working in an area where an electrician makes $30/hr and you work straight 40hr weeks. You look at a job listing and five hours away there is a job paying $55/hr with overtime up to 60hrs a week. Five hours away has you not home 22 hours that day, so you decide to get a place to stay during the week while you are away from home. Is it worth it to you to leave home for most of the week to work? Is this good for your family? Is this good for your health? Its good for your wallet for sure! Sometimes that travel is for longer and for more money as well.
Also you are relying on your body to work. If you need to get a piece of equipment in place, you might need to lift something you normally wouldn't, and you can get hurt. On the job accidents happen often as well. You might be fine one day and dealing with an injury another. Think about the type of work you are doing in that field. Something like a fire alarm technician or controls technician might pay a little more and have less physical risk as opposed to outdoor lineman or critical switching technician.
You need to plan your life out and make a practice of sticking to it with whatever job you get. I made this post kind of more real than it needed to be but I feel like this is not explained at the high school level. By the time you are 23y/o and are making $30/hr it's a lot more fun to get a fast car and be out all night, but that is not going to reinforce your values when you are in your late 20s, late 30s, late 40s, and finishing your career out. You can likely replace electrician or construction worker with lawyer as well (maybe adjust the ages +10 yrs) and get the same kind of answer. It's up to you how you plan. Understand you will be surrounded by people with a lifestyle similar to this.
My best job was a small company and the people that worked there were all outdoor sports junkies. We planned to work most days up to about 5hrs, got paid per day not hour, and the guys were out on the river paddling late noon until the evening. I got unsolicited fitness advice all day long and had little stress. I was able to go to jiu jitsu in the evening and get up early to start the day again. I had a wonderful time! If you get an opportunity like this doing anything, defend your company and your job like it is your life! Work the hardest you can, make an impact on the company, and keep pushing to grow and do more! I started as an electrician in my late 20s and never really had an interest in going to bars. Because of this I can say that I felt an impact on socializing with other electricians who could easily hire me into other jobs. After I had the job at the smaller company I never went back to construction. I am working on my health but overall its good, I have a great relationship, I am a little behind on my personal goals, and I stress a little but I am in a competitive role now not as an electrician. I would say my work/life balance is off, but I feel it's much more workable now that I am not working in construction. I work for a big tech company. This is me however, and is not you. You need to answer all of this for you, I am just giving a rough picture of what the lifestyle is!
Melanie Guralnick, CCM
Retired, Volunteer
15
Answers
Bermuda Dunes, CA
Updated
Melanie’s Answer
Liam just did you a solid and gave you a masterclass in life prep! Here is what I'd recommend after overseeing public works projects for 25+ years as a consultant for various agencies (cities, airports, railways, etc.). I would definitely recommend working on the construction side as an operator of special equipment, such as a crane operator. The pay is quite good, you get great benefits (vacation, medical, retirement savings) and equipment operators don't take the physical beating that other construction workers do. When you're young you may not feel it, but 20 years down the line your body will definitely be feeling the wear and tear. If you work on public works projects (bridges, airports, train stations, freeways, roadways, water infrastructure) you are entitled to a pre-determined minimum wage in some states under the Davis Bacon Act. You can research prevailing wage for more information. Also, typically construction work starts early in the morning, so you can expect your hours to be 6:30 AM to 3:30 PM which is good for avoiding rush hour traffic. Get in contact with your local labor union to pursue more information about how to get started as an apprentice, which is a way to break into this line of work and get on the job training. The construction field will always be around and I don't anticipate the physical building operations to be offloaded to AI/autonomous equipment anytime soon.