Blue Collar Apprentice

I've been riding a wave this week I never expected. But I never get too far from shore. Because she's always standing there. Kids smiling. Cheering me on like I already made it.

Known to millions as the host of DIRTY JOBS, Mike Rowe has spent years shining a spotlight on the people whose hard work keeps America running. - "Work ethic is not a skill - it's a choice." Nearly 7 million skilled trade jobs may need to be filled in the U.S. by 2030 as older workers retire. All we have to do is look to history - civilizations have always depended on craftsmen. The future will depend on it. 🇺🇸 (Image by Gemini)

There are only about 25,000 elevator technicians in the entire U.S. Let that sink in. Now think about how many elevators exist: • Apartments • Hospitals • Hotels • Office buildings • Airports Every single one needs maintenance… forever. Now here’s where it gets interesting: Elevator techs make $100k on average Top earners clear $150k+ With overtime in big cities? Even higher. And the “training pipeline” everyone talks about? It’s not 4 years of college. It’s: • Apprenticeship programs • Trade-based training • Earn while you learn So let me get this straight… We’re telling 18 year olds to take on $100k+ in debt… Instead of pointing them toward a career where they can make six figures fixing elevators? Here’s the controversial part: The shortage isn’t because the job is bad. It’s because no one is telling kids this path exists. We’ve marketed college. We’ve ignored trades like this. And now we have a massive gap. In 10–15 years? The people who chose these “invisible trades” are going to look like geniuses. Fun fact: only one out of the three elevators worked during our trip and average wait time was 10-15 mins.