Jobs in the Trades Offer Attractive Career Options

Do you know a young person who’s just not interested in college? Or who prefers to be active and work with their hands? Encourage them to use the time while they’re home during the upcoming holidays to explore the dozens of well-paid careers offered by the trades.

Today’s trades are ideal for individuals who are looking for a comfortable salary and who don’t want a traditional college degree. They include dozens of jobs in four main categories: Building, Mechanical, Industrial, and Medical. The common denominator is the requirement for a specific skill set or training, along with manual labor, which means you’ll be using your hands and won’t sit at a desk or be cooped up in an office.

Depending on the trade, you can learn on the job, attend a vocational school and be ready to start work in less than two years, or complete an apprenticeship. Some apprenticeships require up to five years to finish and become licensed; however, you’ll be paid during the training.

If you like to be outside and use tools, a career in the building trades could be a good fit. One construction job you may not be familiar with is foundation repair, which includes basement waterproofing, crawl space encapsulation, and concrete lifting and leveling. These kinds of home repair and maintenance services are always in demand – meaning they offer steady, year-round work, regardless of what’s happening with the economy.

A position in the foundation repair field involves working on a small team, traveling to job sites around the state, and solving problems to make families safer and more comfortable in their homes.  Specific on-the-job tasks might include jackhammering cement, removing debris from a basement, installing a sump pump, reinforcing the floor joists in a crawl space, excavating a hole for an egress window well, or using hydraulic drilling equipment to bury foundation support piers.

Ayers Basement Systems has more than 20 installation crews, each led by a foreman and comprised of two or three team members. Training takes place on the job, mostly at project locations. Crew members are taught how to interpret system design plans, prepare and clean up the work site, and install various products. They also learn important communication skills to keep homeowners informed and provide outstanding customer service. 

“The great thing about this job is knowing how much of an impact I make in the lives of the families we help,” said one crew member. “People are so thankful we can repair their homes and they never have to deal with basement water or scary foundation problems again.”

Many crew members are promoted to foremen after a couple of years, allowing them to lead a team, take full responsibility for a job site, solve complex problems, and increase their earning potential. Ayers also has opportunities for qualified employees to move into other areas of the company, like annual maintenance or designing systems for new customers.

For more information about a career at Ayers, visit GoAyers.com/Careers.