Under the Hardhat

08/21/2026

If you're not one to sit on an office all day there are a million opportunities!

The trades are waiting for you...

08/08/2026

"The money comes early in the trades and later in white-collar work"
I have alot to say about this whole post, but in short.. I would rather enter a career free of student loan debt and be paid to learn, than pay to learn only to risk time and money with uncertainty that my degree be obsolete in 5 years as AI advances.

What are your thoughts?

Here's a conversation worth having with your kid before they decide on college: the trades are a legitimate path, and the math works early. Paid apprenticeship at 18, roughly $62,000 by the mid-20s, no student loans.

But there's a second half to that career that almost nobody talks about. You rarely see 65-year-old electricians pulling wire through an attic in August.

Meanwhile, you do see 65-year-old managers and office workers. A study that tracked 16,196 Americans over 24 years found that workers whose longest-held job was in the construction trades were 124% more likely to end up on Social Security Disability than workers in management.

The money comes early in the trades and late in white-collar work — and trades workers participate in a retirement plan just 45% of the time, the lowest of any sector studied. Short earning window, low savings rate. That's two problems compounding at once.

None of this means don't do it. It means price it honestly: own-occupation disability insurance, a higher savings rate in the peak years, and a plan to get off the tools before your body makes that decision for you. 🔧

08/07/2026

Union Iron Worker 💪

08/03/2026

AI proof your career!

08/03/2026

There are approximately 7.6 million open jobs in America today, including an estimated 700,000 skilled trades positions that employers are struggling to fill.
The opportunities are real, the pay is strong, with long-term career opportunities.
You don't need a degree, many employers pay to train with salaries in the 6 figures.

Biggest shortages:
Electricians
Plumbers
Welders
HVAC technicians
Diesel and heavy equipment mechanics
Industrial maintenance technicians
Carpenters
Machinists
Linemen
Construction equipment operators

Let's stop treating the trades like a backup plan. Without skilled tradespeople, there are no homes to live in, no roads to drive on, no electricity to power your life, and no infrastructure to keep America moving. It's time we put respect back on blue collar.

06/11/2026

👩🏽‍🔧💰Equal Pay: Why the Trades Are Leading the Way

When people talk about the gender pay gap, the conversation often focuses on corporate offices, executive positions, and salary negotiations. But there is one area of the workforce that has quietly been providing some of the most transparent and equal pay structures for decades: the skilled trades.

📖 A Brief History of Equal Pay

The fight for equal pay isn't new. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law. The law made it illegal for employers to pay men and women different wages for performing substantially equal work under similar working conditions.

A year later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 expanded protections by prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, s*x, or national origin.

The idea was simple: if two people are doing the same job, they should receive the same pay.
Unfortunately, enforcing that principle hasn't always been easy.
In many industries, salaries are negotiated individually, bonuses vary, and compensation structures can be difficult to compare. That creates opportunities for bias whether intentional or not.

📣Why the Trades Are Different

One of the things that attracted me to the trades was how straightforward compensation can be.
The job is the job.
The wage is the wage.
The work speaks for itself.

In many unionized trades, wages are established through collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).

These agreements set pay rates based on factors such as job classification, apprenticeship level, certifications, and years of service—not gender.

A first-year apprentice earns the first-year apprentice rate.
A journeyman earns the journeyman rate.
A foreman earns the foreman rate.
It doesn't matter if you're male or female. The wage scale is already negotiated and published for everyone to see.

👩🏾‍🔧Transparency Creates Fairness👩‍🏭

One of the biggest advantages of union wage structures is transparency.

Everyone knows the rate.
Everyone knows the progression.
Everyone knows what qualifications are required to move up.

There's no wondering if a coworker is making more simply because they negotiated better or because management likes them more.

The expectations are clear, and so is the pay.
That's not to say the trades are perfect. Women in construction, utilities, transportation, manufacturing, and other skilled trades still face challenges. There are stereotypes to overcome, assumptions to challenge, and sometimes the need to prove yourself in environments where women remain underrepresented.

But when it comes to the paycheck, many union trades have already solved a problem that other industries continue to struggle with.

Equal Pay Isn't About Gender
Equal pay isn't about giving anyone special treatment.
It's about recognizing the value of the work being performed.

If two people can weld the same pipe, repair the same truck, climb the same pole, operate the same equipment, or build the same structure safely and effectively, they should earn the same wage.

The trades have long embraced that principle through structured wage scales and collective bargaining agreements.

👀💪Looking Forward
As more women enter the skilled trades, they aren't asking for special treatment. They're asking for the same opportunities, the same expectations, and the same compensation for the same work.
That's exactly what many trade careers already offer.

The trades aren't just creating infrastructure, repairing fleets, restoring power, and building communities they're also providing one of the clearest examples of what equal pay for equal work actually looks like in practice.
And that's something worth building on. 🔧 🔨

06/07/2026

👩🏽‍🔧From a fellow Lady in the trades:

The Job That Changed Everything

A few years ago, I was laid off from the restaurant industry and found myself wondering what was next. As a single mom, I needed something that would help support my daughter while still allowing me to be there for her. Then I saw a post on a local Facebook town page from a woman-owned contracting company looking for reliable laborers.

I sent a message and started just two days later.

With absolutely zero construction experience, I was offered $10 an hour and on-the-job training. The hours were flexible, which made balancing work and my daughter's schedule much easier. From day one, I could tell my boss was different. She was smart, hardworking, patient, and determined to teach me something new every day.

I started out doing demolition work. Honestly, it was one of the best workouts and stress relievers I'd ever had. What single mom doesn't have some stress she could take out by smashing drywall?

Over the course of a three-month renovation project, I learned the entire process from demolition to finish work. I learned how to hang drywall, tape, mud, paint, install trim and baseboards, and properly use tools I never imagined I'd be comfortable handling. Whenever I felt nervous or worried I wasn't doing something right, my boss was there to reassure me, encourage me, and remind me that learning comes from doing.

The work environment was unlike anything I had experienced before. Music was always playing. We laughed together, worked together, helped each other, and celebrated progress along the way. Watching the project slowly transform from a construction site into a finished space gave me a sense of pride I'd never felt before.

The support I received from that team was something special. Even on the days when my body was exhausted, I went home feeling accomplished and genuinely happy.

Just a few weeks after I started, I was given a raise to $20 an hour because I showed up every day, kept learning, and continued improving my skills. I was so used to having to fight for recognition or have awkward conversations about pay that I was completely surprised when it happened.

As the weeks went on, my confidence grew along with my skills. By the end of the project, I wasn't the same person who had nervously shown up on that first day. The building had been transformed, and so had I.

The experience opened doors I never expected. One of the subcontractors noticed my work ethic and offered me a position. They valued my effort, recognized my potential, and didn't try to cut my pay.

To this day, I'm still working in construction and renovations, and I can't imagine doing anything else.

The feeling you get when you step back, look at a completed project, and say, "I built that," is indescribable. It's a mixture of pride, accomplishment, confidence, and gratitude that never gets old.

I will always be thankful to the woman who gave me a chance when I had no experience, believed in me when I doubted myself, and taught me how to believe in myself too.

To any girls or women wondering if the trades might be for you, my advice is simple: put yourself out there and give it a try. You don't need to know everything. You don't need years of experience. You just need a willingness to learn and show up.

The trades will challenge you, teach you, and push you to grow. You'll spend your career learning new skills, solving new problems, and building things you never thought possible.

And if you're anything like me, you'll be forever grateful you took that chance.

06/05/2026

📣Calling on Ladies in skilled trades 👩🏾‍🔧👩‍🏭
share your stories of what it's like for you in the field, what you love about it and any advice you'd give to the next generation of ladies entering the trades.

06/05/2026

Ladies in the Trades: Why Aren't There More of Us?

If you've ever walked onto a construction site, fleet garage, utility yard, welding shop, or excavation project, you've probably noticed something right away:

There aren't many women.

Despite all the conversations about diversity, equality, and workforce shortages, women remain one of the most underrepresented groups in the skilled trades. While women now make up roughly 11% of the overall construction workforce, most of those positions are in office, administrative, accounting, HR, project coordination, or management roles. When you look at the women actually wearing hard hats, climbing poles, running equipment, welding, plumbing, wiring buildings, repairing vehicles, and building infrastructure, the numbers drop dramatically, often to around 3-5% depending on the trade.

So why aren't there more of us?

Part of it is perception.

For generations, girls were encouraged toward careers in healthcare, education, administration, or office work while boys were encouraged to build things, fix things, and work with their hands. Many young women simply never learn that the trades are even an option.

Part of it is culture.

Let's be honest. Walking onto a job site where you're the only woman can be intimidating. Sometimes you have to work twice as hard to prove yourself. Sometimes people assume you don't know what you're doing before you've even picked up a tool.

But here's what many people don't realize:

The trades can provide an incredible career.

Many skilled trades offer paid apprenticeships, strong benefits, pensions, healthcare, overtime opportunities, and six-figure earning potential without requiring massive student loan debt. You earn while you learn. You build real-world skills. And at the end of the day, you can actually see the results of your work.

There is something incredibly rewarding about driving down a road and knowing you helped build it. Looking up at power lines and knowing you maintain them. Seeing a truck, a building, a bridge, a water system, or a piece of equipment and knowing your hands played a role in making it work.

The trades aren't just jobs.

They're careers.

They're opportunities.

They're financial freedom.

They're independence.

And despite what some people still believe, success in the trades isn't about being the biggest or strongest person on the job site. It's about skill, knowledge, work ethic, problem-solving, and determination.

The industry desperately needs workers. Experienced tradespeople are retiring faster than they can be replaced. Companies across the country are struggling to find electricians, welders, heavy equipment operators, mechanics, linemen, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and skilled craft workers. Yet we're still overlooking half the population.

Imagine what the industry could look like if more girls grew up knowing that a welding hood could be just as much an option as a nursing degree. If operating an excavator was considered just as normal as working in an office. If young women saw more women in hard hats and fewer people telling them what they "should" do.

The future of the trades isn't about replacing men.

It's about making room for everyone who wants to build, fix, create, and contribute.

To every woman already working in the trades: thank you for showing up, proving people wrong, and opening doors for the next generation.

And to every girl wondering if she belongs here:

You do.

The trades need you.

And there's plenty of room under the hard hat.