The liberal arts

[Admiral Yi]

I met an underwater welder down in Pepsi Cola, Florida who made massive bank.

[crazy canuck]

I'd be happier as a welder

My uncle was.  Always wished he stopped.

A guy I worked with in bail bonds early in my career left the biz to go be an underwater welder.  Traveled the fucking world and made serious coin.

Yeah, the only downside with being a welder is you need to travel to where the work is.  But if that is ok there is plenty of work for welders.

[katmai]

I met an underwater welder down in Pepsi Cola, Florida who made massive bank.

Because it ranks high on dangerous jobs list.

[crazy canuck]

I met an underwater welder down in Pepsi Cola, Florida who made massive bank.

Because it ranks high on dangerous jobs list.

True, but landlubber welders can also make a lot.  The problem with them is that jobs in one location are generally few and far between and so they need to travel a fair bit to have regular employment.

If these various piplines ever get approved there is a going to be a big demand.

[CountDeMoney]

True, but landlubber welders can also make a lot.  The problem with them is that jobs in one location are generally few and far between and so they need to travel a fair bit to have regular employment.

Yeah, or they get a long-term construction contract;  my uncle got a welding gig through my grandfather for Diablo Canyon NPP.  Lasted years.

If these various piplines ever get approved there is a going to be a big demand.

Yeah.  Fixing leaks.

[Maximus]

Pipeline welders make so much because QA demands keep the supply low.

Anecdotally, (and welding tickets were the career of choice among my peers growing up) even a licensed welder has to jump through major hoops to get into the game and if you fail one inspection you're back out of it.

[OttoVonBismarck]

I agree with Ide we should not finance liberal arts educations at the post-secondary level. However I disagree that they are unimportant. It's the difference between being a gentleman like myself and someone like who Ide was back in his unwashed white trash days. But I don't believe the government should help one aspire to such a thing, in fact it should discourage the lessers from aspiring to such a thing.

I may hate people like Martinus with the heat of the sun, but if we were ever to come to blows it would be in a duel between learned gentlemen. But someone of the unwashed masses, like Raz, for example, would not warrant a duel but would just be viciously bludgeoned on the spot with my walking stick or I'd have several of my manservants flog him and ride him out of town on a rail.

[alfred russel]

I'd be happier as a welder

Sadly, apprenticeship programs are virtually nowhere to be found around here. Craigslist ads I've seen for welders want "experienced" ones; none of them say "will train", "apprentice", or etc.

You might be--without having met you, I get the impression you might be happy doing blue or white collar work. With Ide, I get the impression he is much better cut out for white collar work.

[alfred russel]

Ide, at the risk of poking the bear, if you step back for a moment, aren't you better off with your education? You have an office job that pays reasonably well. I know it isn't a dream job, but do you really think you would be happier as a welder?

Opportunity costs are hard to measure.  It was not unlikely I'd be in a restaurant management capacity, however, earning $10,000-20,000 a year more and with further opportunities for advancement.  I'm not doing poorly, but remember I'm a temp and there is vanishingly little chance for permanent employment, let alone true stability and forget real advancement, in doc review.

And that's my $65,000 + living expenses professional degree.  The only reason I earned more money after I got my history degree is I started waiting tables at a higher price-per-plate restaurant.

$65k, in the grand scheme of a lifetime, is not a lot of money. Servicing the debt on that is probably less than $200 a month.

[mongers]

Pipeline welders make so much because QA demands keep the supply low.

Anecdotally, (and welding tickets were the career of choice among my peers growing up) even a licensed welder has to jump through major hoops to get into the game and if you fail one inspection you're back out of it.

It's not just the tickets, the ones I worked with were on the edge of turning a craft into an art-form; the really good ones are really good, the less talented ones wouldn't last.

[fhdz]

You might be--without having met you, I get the impression you might be happy doing blue or white collar work.

You know what? I take that as a compliment, and one I particularly needed to hear today. Thank you.

[MadImmortalMan]

How much is $200 a month in your earliest earning years going to be worth if invested and compounded over your career?

[Jacob]

How much is $200 a month in your earliest earning years going to be worth if invested and compounded over your career?

Who the fuck invests $200/month of their earliest earnings?

[MadImmortalMan]

How much is $200 a month in your earliest earning years going to be worth if invested and compounded over your career?

Who the fuck invests $200/month of their earliest earnings?

Not people with college loans. 

[Ideologue]

Ide, at the risk of poking the bear, if you step back for a moment, aren't you better off with your education? You have an office job that pays reasonably well. I know it isn't a dream job, but do you really think you would be happier as a welder?

Opportunity costs are hard to measure.  It was not unlikely I'd be in a restaurant management capacity, however, earning $10,000-20,000 a year more and with further opportunities for advancement.  I'm not doing poorly, but remember I'm a temp and there is vanishingly little chance for permanent employment, let alone true stability and forget real advancement, in doc review.

And that's my $65,000 + living expenses professional degree.  The only reason I earned more money after I got my history degree is I started waiting tables at a higher price-per-plate restaurant.

$65k, in the grand scheme of a lifetime, is not a lot of money. Servicing the debt on that is probably less than $200 a month.

No.  $65k + living expenses.  And it's about $1000 on a normal ten year schedule, which I obviously do not keep.  I guess it depends on what you mean by "service."  I "service" my debt on IBR in the mid-hundreds (dunno why I'm coy about my income, since market for doc review in Columbia is easily googleable, but at least it'll keep Tim from knowing although as part of my quasi-promotion I do make somewhat above market).  But that "service" takes a very long time, and indeed on a monthly basis comes very close to negating the difference between working as a waiter and working as a coder, at least on an hourly basis--I guess my law degree lets me work 50 hour weeks.  Thanks FLSA exemptions!

And, yes, that means that if I were paying $1000 a month, I'd effectively be making significantly less than a decent waiter who works 4/5 the hours, and probably free or heavily discounted food.