Robots will take the trades! Sure, and I’m the Tooth Fairy—teach mastery instead

Because “undecided major” isn’t a retirement plan...

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Thoughts for families with teens entering high school

Parents feel it first. A son comes home from eighth grade talking about wiring a tiny house in a maker club. A daughter lights up after a day shadowing a radiology tech. You can sense the wind shifting. For half a century we treated a bachelor’s degree like a rite of passage. Then the numbers arrived with a clean tap on the table. Recent graduates of registered apprenticeships are starting near eighty thousand. Recent college graduates hover around sixty nine thousand. That is an eleven thousand lead on day one, before we even count the fact that apprentices were paid to learn and often finish with little or no debt.

What do we do with that if we are raising teenagers right now. We begin by resetting the goal. The goal is not a campus. The goal is a capable and happy adult who can support themselves, contribute, and keep learning. Once you hold that aim steady, the map changes. Instead of asking where are you going to college, you ask what value will you create for others and how do you like to learn. For some kids the answer is medicine or engineering and a traditional degree. For many others the straightest line is mastery earned through structured training with real employers and real equipment.

This is not an attack on learning. It is a call to bring learning back to earth. For years we oversupplied credentials and undersupplied capability. We taught students to chase prestige and accept debt as a rite of passage. The culture is wise enough to correct. Wages follow scarcity. The work that builds, wires, welds, fabricates, installs, and keeps complex systems alive is scarce. It is also meaningful in a way teenagers can feel with their hands. When a young person stands in a lab, holds a meter, reads a code book, and fixes something that did not work an hour ago, the future stops being abstract.

Families can lead this turn without waiting for permission. Start with a kitchen table conversation that sounds like this. The question is not where you go to school. The question is how you will become excellent at something people need. We will try small and paid before we commit to big and expensive. We will respect every honest trade and every honest profession. Debt is a negative paycheck, so we will treat it as a last resort.

Then move from talk to texture. Visit a training center or union hall and watch a class. Touch the tools. Ask what a strong first year looks like. Shadow one tradesperson and one degreed professional so your student can compare the feel of each day. Price three paths in total, not in headlines. Tuition, fees, housing, transport, books, and most of all time, set against the power of earning while learning. Help your student build a small portfolio that proves reliability and progress. Photos of projects. A safety card. A short note from a supervisor who says this young person shows up early, listens, and learns.

High school offers a natural rhythm for this. Ninth grade is for keeping math strong and writing clear because trades run on measurement, codes, and clean communication. Join robotics, agriculture, automotive, or a maker club and build something you can lift and show. Tenth grade is a good moment for an entry certificate and some weekend work helping a neighbor fix or build, just to gather vocabulary and posture. Eleventh grade invites a pre apprenticeship or dual enrollment with an employer and a paid summer in a field you want to test. Twelfth grade is decision time. If the work you want requires a license or degree by law, choose a program with labs, co ops, and deep employer ties. If the work you want rewards skill most of all, apply to registered apprenticeships on a calendar, not vibes, and arrive with your hours, references, and safety credentials in order.

Schools and districts can amplify this shift with simple acts of sunlight and proximity. Put outcomes by program on one public page so families can see completions, job placement, starting pay, transfer rates, and licensure pass rates. Build employer advisory boards that meet in the lab, not the conference room. Schedule hands on exposure for every ninth and tenth grader so no one must choose blind. Fund field equipment first and fancy seating later. Grant credit for paid work and industry certifications. Train counselors to present apprenticeship and college with equal respect and equal data.

Employers have a role that begins with an open door. Offer tours and shadow days. Share a clear checklist for a successful first year apprentice. Give a few paid summer spots to rising juniors and seniors. Co design curriculum with nearby programs and donate usable equipment. Hire for attitude and train for skill, then publish your internal ladder so students can picture a future that climbs from helper to journeyman to foreman to estimator to project manager.

Money is the part most families whisper about, so bring it into the light. Build a simple budget with your student that includes a small emergency fund. Use community grants and employer tuition support before any loan. If a loan is unavoidable, cap the monthly payment at a number a realistic first job can carry. Teach the basics of taxes and benefits before day one on the job so that the first paycheck is a start, not a surprise.

Along the way expect to bump into three old myths. College is the only path to a good life. Trades are for students who are not academic. Robots will take all the hands on jobs. The better truths are clear. Many paths lead to a good life. Trades are intensely academic in applied form. And the more complex our systems become, the more valuable the humans who can install, maintain, and integrate them.

If your family likes structure, try a short sprint. In the first week pick two fields to explore. In the second week book two site visits. In the third week shadow a professional. In the fourth week earn a small certificate. Spend the next two months doing paid weekend work in the field you prefer. Finish by building a mini project and capturing it in your portfolio. You will know more in ninety days than most students learn in two years of vague talk.

At some point your student will need language to reach out. Keep it simple and respectful.

Email to a training center

My name is Taylor and I am a high school junior interested in the electrical trade. I would love to visit your training center, learn about the first year of apprenticeship, and ask what makes a strong applicant. Could we schedule a visit or sit in on a class.

Call to a potential mentor

Hi, this is Taylor. I am exploring HVAC. May I shadow you for a half day to see what the work is really like. I will arrive early, bring my own lunch, and follow safety rules.

Through all of this, hold a generous view of college without granting it a monopoly. Some paths require degrees and licenses by law or by the physics of the work. Medicine. Nursing. Architecture. Accounting. Teaching. Research. When a student is lit up by theory and discovery, the university can still be a wonderful place. The point is fit. The point is mastery. The point is value that travels.

The cultural pledge

In our homes and communities we celebrate builders and fixers. We ask schools for clear outcomes. We help the young try small before buying big. We speak with respect about every honest trade and every honest profession. We choose mastery over status.

Do this and the numbers that startled us at the start become something better. They become the first proof that we have moved our pride to where it belongs, which is toward the people who keep the lights on, the water flowing, the machines humming, and the future built one precise task at a time.