Which career path would you recommend for me ?

14 comments

1. If you can learn to code, go for it.

2. Tradesman here. Honestly getting my trade was the single best decision I’ve made in my adult life. I’ve learned a ton, I make more money than nearly all of my peers, and the market for tradespeople is excellent and will only get better. Especially because you live in Alberta.

   Don’t sleep on trades my friend. Feel free to DM me, I’m in Alberta also

3. I say trade. I think coding and programming all that stuff is important and you can make money. With that being said, there is something beautiful about being a tradesman.

   I worked at Home Depot and learned a little bit, which I am grateful for but the Tradesmen that showed up definitely knew what they were doing. They’d explain to my coworker or to me, depending on the situation, what we should be looking for when a customer asks for X, Y, Z.

   I feel like a trade will help you out in your every day life while coding programming will help you out only with your electronics.

   That’s just me.

   Hear everyone’s thoughts. But, definitely, definitely, definitely, do, your, own, research. Like I’ve heard a lot of roofers suggest to not take the trade because it definitely impacts your body.

   I’ve heard electricians that you have to respect Mother Nature but never fear her. It’s the people who don’t respect Mother Nature or the ones who fear her that die in that trade. Etc.

   Do your research and pick a trade I say. Even do your own research and maybe stick with programming. You can just watch interviews on YouTube. Read articles and or hit people up to ask them questions.

   Knowledge is power [+]

4. Get some elbow grease skills down. Do trades, get your red seal. Trade skills you learn will not go away, will be the same for years to come, and will always be in demand in a province like AB. When you get a red seal, that’s it. And you really only need to learn 1 trade.

   And if you don’t think you like it, then you can go back to coding.

   Coding can be learned at home, in minimal time, and changes demand every so often so you gotta be on point with at least 3 solid languages, e.g. C, C++, Java and be conversant with at least 2 more depending on what platform you plan to code in. Then you have to learn hardware somewhat which changes every few years as well. Thus a constant need for updating.

   Pay is equally good for both. Growth as well. The advantage of trades is that you really can’t forget how to whack a hammer or thread a pipe.

5. Depends on the crime, but knowing IT companies in Edmonton a record will make you nearly unhireable in the IT world as you have so many security checks. I would look into plumbing or electrical trades as those are careers that a. pay well b. have different career paths c. Give you drive and purpose

   Best of luck

6. Trade

7. My personal opinion:

   Everyone is coding. Everyone is programming. It is a field that both 1) Is filled to the brim with competition 2) Is eternally changing.

   You can devote 100% of yourself into this field, spend time and money learning the latest technology, and in three years when you are an expert in your field, the next latest greatest programming technology breaks, there are 2 million “kids” that know it 1000% better than you do….

   …and congratulations. Seemingly overnight, you’re now an obsolete dinosaur.

   On the other hand, learning to build a house, carpentry, electrical, masonry, plumbing…..

   These things are going nowhere. People are not about to stop living in houses. As a matter of fact, not only is there a shortage of housing, there’s a shortage of people that are highly trained, bonded, licensed, and professional.

   Cousin Joe’s nephew’s best friend only has a GED, smokes dope all the time, and just got out of jail….and construction companies are throwing job offers at him because he 1) shows up to work and 2) can pound a nail.

   Imagine the salary you could command if you were credentialed, trained, held a journeyman license, and worked out your local union hall. Especially if you were able to read blueprints, or calculate bills of materials and such.

   Many people frown on skilled trades as if it is, somehow, inferior, but well trained and certified skilled laborers can easily command six figures in many instances.

8. >whats your advice? im also a bit overweight and think that i might let myself go if i spend to much time behind a computer and “forget” to work out .

   Working out isn’t even necessary to get and stay slim, just track your calories. You’ll eat less if you have a more sedentary job or lifestyle. Not going to put on muscle but you can lose weight and avoid gaining if you just adjust your eating habits with your lifestyle.

9. I’m a plumber in Toronto and make ridiculous money as an apprentice. You deal with a lot of bullshit, but it’s pretty good.

10. I would base this based on what I think the world of the 2030s is going to be like.

    If you go the trade route, it should be involved with construction of commercial/residential. We are facing a serious housing shortage and for many reasons I feel the largest building boom in North American history will take place over the next two decades. Most of this is going to be urban infill development, so the workers are likely going to be unionized and specialized. Canada has a terrible housing shortage and if folks there start going for bulk urbanization. This is something I would only want to do if I was either unionized or self employed, where I live construction workers who are not one of these two groups tend to do poorly.

    Electrician is going to be another big one as we are going to see a rapid adoption of localized solar, wind, and battery storage that is only going to pick up as years go by. Its going to need a lot of skilled people who are fairly distributed throughout the continent. My crystal ball tells me that in the late 2020s people are going to start ramping up purchases of home batteries all over the US and Canada. These need to be installed by a professional. There are like 130 million households in the US and Canada that currently do not have them and by 2040 all of them will (plus everything else).

    What I would avoid. Anything automotive. As we shift away from ICE vehicles, the demand for mechanic labor is going to drop of sharply. Its not that NO one will be driving an ICE vehicle, its that it will be a constantly shrinking customer base. Never get involved with an industry that is in structural decline. Even a shrinking of 3-5% per year is going to be very ugly for people getting into the business. The all electric autotaxi is going to be the big thing this decade, and it is going to cause people to give up ICE vehicles anywhere from 2 to 10 times the current rate.

    Likewise. I would not spend my time getting involve with commercial driving. These are industries which pay well, right now, but are very sensitive to a labor shortage, once a labor shortage turns into a slight labor surplus the wages are going to fall off a rock. The AutoTrucks just need to start replacing a few routes to have a ripple effect over the trucker labor market. I would also not be involved with the oil industry or gas industry. These are already at their peak size and if the demand for them just shrinks by 15%-20% it would be a pretty ugly employment market.

    If you are going to go the coding route, I would focus on taking community college classes at all times, even if it is just one. Getting whatever certification you can. Your criminal history might prohibit you from doing anything security related but there are other kinds of work you can do and if you have years of solid work and a good reputation people will be more and more willing to look beyond some mistake you made as a youth.

11. Trades are good but try and get a trade that will not beat your body up. It can take a toll on your knee back and feet

12. Software Engineer in a “FAANG” role chiming in. I realize not everyone can land these roles but might as well give my 2cents.

    I (34m) work from home and currently earn $300k per year in a mid-level role. The current ceiling is ~$700k. This job is infinitely challenging and rewarding and forces me to always be finding new ways to make an impact. I’m also welcoming my first child into the world and feel very financially stable. Bonus is I’ll be able to take lunch upstairs and watch her grow during the day when most folks would be working.

13. What are you passionate about/what kind of things do you find fun?

    I work in tech but I’m a huge nerd and I was doing for fun/free before I got into tech back when I was working in retail. It makes it much less taxing. But doing things just because they pay good/might pay good, usually isn’t a good move imo. It can make you burn out incredibly fast, which starts to lead into problems.

14. Both sides have ups and downs. Programing ups you make more money and your body will not burn out unless you tripple shot caffine trying to complete with people all over the world. Programing down is you have to be learning all the time and a wide variety of things or you will become obsolete. Trade ups are job availability and security. Maybe able to work outside and move. You can probably get a trade job quick with no or few debts while programing might take years and place you thousands in debt to be following you for a while. Trades down is if or when your body burns out you will have little or nothing unless you become a Forman or transition to something else.