For a long time, I thought college was the path.
Not one path.
The path.
That was the message I grew up around. If you wanted a good career, you went to college. If you wanted stability, you got a degree. If you wanted to do well, you aimed for office work.
I do not blame anyone for that message. A lot of people believed it because it worked for them, or because they were trying to point the next generation toward security.
But it kept me from seriously looking at the trades.
I knew trades existed, obviously. I had worked on cars as a hobby. I liked fixing things. I liked tools. I liked learning how mechanical systems worked.
But I did not understand the union apprenticeship path.
I did not understand that someone could start as an apprentice, learn a skilled trade, get scheduled raises, earn benefits, build retirement, and become a journeyman in their twenties.
Looking back, I wish I had explored it earlier.
I am not saying I regret everything. That is not useful. My years in business operations taught me a lot. I learned how to solve problems, manage pressure, communicate, organize work, and keep moving when things were messy.
Those skills still matter.
But I do wonder what would have happened if someone had sat me down after high school and explained union apprenticeships clearly.
Not in a vague way.
In a practical way.
Something like:
- You can apply without already being an expert.
- You get paid while you learn.
- The application process can be competitive.
- The tests are studyable.
- The interviews matter.
- The benefits can be strong.
- The work is hard, but the career can be real.
That would have gotten my attention.
Instead, I found this path later, after burnout, a layoff, and a lot of rethinking.
That is okay. Starting later is still starting.
But if you are younger and even slightly curious about the trades, do yourself a favor and research them now.
Visit a union website.
Look up the apprenticeship program.
Read the wage sheet.
Ask when applications open.
Talk to someone in the trade if you can.
You do not have to commit your whole life after one conversation. Just give yourself the information.
I wish I had done that 10 years ago.
Maybe even right out of high school.
I cannot go back and make that decision earlier. But I can write about it now, so someone else might look sooner than I did.