For some context im 19 and I still don't know what i want to do. I know I'm still young and I am not too worried about it but lately I've been trying to put some extra thought into it. I tried college for one semester and realized It's not for me in multiple ways but one being that I'm terrible at algebra. I've started thinking about trade school because I'd love to do a job that keeps me active and doing something. Right now I work as a full time BOH crew member at chick fil a, I love staying busy and doing the faster paced stuff but of course I know that is not my future career. I'm not sure what trade I'd like to look into so thats the main advice I want along with other general stuff about trade school. Also in case it matters, height might be a phyiscal limitation as I am 5'0. I've been looking into welding so let me know if you guys think tat might be a good option. Thank you so much!

Title more or less sums it up, jumped into IT during COVID after unexpectedly becoming a dad and the future is looking pretty bleak for it and I want to retrain. Fast forward to 2026 and as a single father I want to get into a trade because better money and would likely make me more useful day to day, but the starting money via apprenticeship is making me ill trying to do the maths for my existing bills.

What are some of my options for getting qualified and avoiding losing like £150/week for the next 4 years

Hi! I'm a grad student at NYU Wagner School of Public Service. I’m doing research on how people get into trade careers and on the barriers to entry.

Would you be willing to have a short conversation to share your experience entering into a trade career? We’d especially love to talk to people who are still exploring their options and current job seekers. We are also intersted in talking to those on the hiring side.

I will be upfront that we cannot offer compensation for these interviews, but we will happily share our project with you at the end of the year.

Feel free to comment or DM me to get in touch. Thanks!

So Im graduating highschool this year. I have come to find that if i do a 9-5 office job ill probably go insane and die. I wanna do a trade but im stuck between 3. I need the experienced and inexperienced to give me your opinions and advice on this. I live around albany for context.

Welding:

my most ideal pick job wise, im a creative person and making things would be cool. only issue is it doesnt get paid as well as people say it does. Is it harder to get into the more difficult kinds of welding like Tig or under water welding? Under water welding concerns me tbh... otherwise I am completely fine working in hot environments and lifting heavy things. im the captain of my wrestling team and i pick up girls who are 250 lbs.

HVAC:

I think this one im neutral about, I think it could be interesting, gets paid alright. i am assuming its expected for the newbies to be going into peoples houses for the work in hot attics because its like the most annoying one to do. but i also know you can do work in hubs or for different companies.

Electrician:
So science was never my best class but i passed them. I totally think I can learn circuits, but id also be in peoples basements sometimes and i kinda have a phobia of spiders... anyways. i know this one gets paid the most.

I am good with any of these but i wanna hear the pros, cons, regrets, and everything you all love about your jobs. maybe even other trades that idk about yet. ive been doing more looking around than what i said in this post but i just need advice. i have some people hating on my choice not to go to college but i also have people fully supporting me in my choice. i just need help

We contracted a bunch of work on our condo recently and with the doors, the pre-milled recesses are all 3.5" tall, but when they installed 3.5" hinges on them they look like this.

We've complained saying it looks dumb as hell, they're saying it's a matter of personal preference. I also don't understand why a door manufacturer would do this, since the doors are thin enough that only a 3" hinge will fit them width-wise. So basically we now have doors that can never have a properly fitting hinge on them.

I am 16(m) and I’ve been throwing around the possibility of becoming a cook. I live in Alberta Canada so I do have the option of the RAP(registered apprenticeship program) but I want to know. Is it a good job to get into? What should I work on now/ prepare for. And is there suggestions I can take into account.

I’m 19, I’ve done garage doors Commercial / Residential, I’ve done lawn care, and I worked in a big restaurant 4 years being a cook and bartender, I want to start something of my own I’d love ideas of what people think the best jobs are, I want to find something to learn and walk away with my own awareness of what I need to use towards my own company even tho im not sure what I want to start I’m open to ideas, to experience and people who have advice I’m moving to Arkansas from Texas because of family I’ve been thinking about doing oil rigs to start and I’m ready for a new journey and new look on everything I can. All knowledge is good knowledge I appreciate anyone who responds.

I've got an old suitcase style box that is made to hold a typewriter I own. The lock mechanism is non-functional to the point of not even being able to keep the box closed correctly. Would be open to a replacing the lock mechanism entirely with something more modern if that would be easier than repairing the existing one. Just not sure what kind of person I should be looking for that would take care of this in the first place. (Also if anyone has suggestions for other subreddits to get a better answer happy to hear that out too!)

Thank you in advance!

I want to replace my loo seat at home and stupidly thought they were all the same so I just bought a nice one from b and m and it doesn’t work.

Pictured is the current loo seat fixing.

Please tell me what loo seat I need to buy / what to google. I’m in the uk so b and q, Homebase or Amazon are easiest options for me.

Also please tell me how to change it / send me a link to a video.

The fixings are hidden, no wing nut in sight underneath!

I design and build custom websites for tradespeople; electricians, plumbers, landscapers, and similar businesses -- who want something that actually looks professional and works properly on mobile. Clean design, your services and work front and centre, easy to find, easy to contact.

A professional website would give you a proper online presence, somewhere people can find you, see what you do, and get in touch, instead of relying only on word of mouth or Facebook.

Happy to put together a completely free mock-up first so you can see it before deciding anything.

Not a scam. I swear by my work and take pride in the detail I put into these projects.

No hidden fees, just one up-front payment and monthly hosting fees.

Website : cmcwebsites.com

Fill out a quote form online, email or give me a ring on my mobile (Listed on my site) and we will sort out the mock up draft COMPLETELY FOR FREE. If you like the way things are going and wish to move forward we can tweak the site to exactly how you want it.

Thanks lads

Has anyone ever come across Michael Burke, 144 Kilbarry Place, Farranree? Most dodgy trades person ever. Has a few businesses in roofing, ground work and garden design. He'll promise you everything but quality of work brutal, never finishes anything and looks for more money once the job starts. Avoid at all costs.

I know the usual ones like electrical, plumbing and gas but what about plastering or even tiling?

So a little context is that I did a health check on my shower install with the manufacturer as it was shaking everytime the door opened and closed. I complained that the left side panel and door was the issue

An engineer came out and realised the head rail was faulty, and it needed replacing. He left the door fitted slightly better temporarily but they were due to come out again and replace/fix, plus I'd get a refund for the visit which was very expensive at £250

Anyways, new engineer came - wasn't the same guy unfortunately, no proper handover notes. Was only given a replacement bit coming out of the headrail not the whole thing. He couldn't do it as I heard a number of phone calls he made back to the office to say I can't do xyz and that he thinks another bit is faulty too.

Was seemingly okay enough

Until I went back to look and he was like the right side panel hasn't been installed properly, it's shaking there isn't enough silicone. I've had this installed since last year, I have washed my shower countless times, I've never heard it rattle once. As he was trying to show me it was rattling, he used excessive force to wobble it, to the point his pink fingers went white.

Now in his report, he's put down it's an installation issue. Which to be repaired is going to cost £470 I think...

He was also an idiot who left with the shower seals and cut other seals down short?! I tried to complain but they haven't come back to me yet.

What would you do? My question really is how do I argue he used excessive force when it's my word against his and his stupid report.

I didn't somehow think it'd get worse in places I didn't even complain about so didn't evidence it beforehand 🙄

Please help

I want to work in HVAC but I'm not too sure if I'd be good at it and heavily feel like I wouldn't be a good employee. I'm going to get a promotion and a couple months at my current job. I'm waiting to save up enough money to get a second vehicle so I'm much more reliable. After that I'm going to try and switch over to maintenance, I've talked to a few building maintenance workers and I think I'd like it enough. Then after a while building up skills and working on my work ethic itself I'm going to try and become an HVAC apprentice. In total I have worked two jobs, one in a grocery store, and my current job in an animal shelter. My greatest strengths is that I am dependable and professional and my greatest weaknesses are I'm a slow learner and not a very quick worker (middle of the road speed). I also try and get any volunteer work or helper experience I can when I can.

Hi, so I’m 25 and feeling very lost in life right now and it’s getting me down a lot. I’m working in a dead end civil service call centre job and I hate it, I need a change and want to build an actual career. I’ve been thinking about doing a trade for a while now but not sure what I’d be good at/want to do or if it’s the right path for me. I was very interested in becoming a painter/decorator, arranged to begin an apprenticeship course but before the course begins you do a trial week with a painting business. Did a couple days of the trial week and it’s not really for me. I don’t hate painting or anything but it was just too labour intensive for me and very different from the small amount of room painting I’ve done in the past. Worth mentioning I have a heart condition, had many open heart surgeries in the past and have a mechanical heart valve. This means lifting really heavy things or working at heights aren’t really suitable for me so much as I’m on warfarin for life. I also really didn’t gel with the other guys working there. Not that there was anything bad about them, they were very skilled and hardworking, I just didn’t fit in with them as I’m very introverted unfortunately. And some of the older painters seemed a bit jaded and idk I don’t wanna be like that. I’d love to find something I enjoy and that allows me to stay healthy. My dad was an electrician, then moved to consulting/electrical engineering and he says I could look that. Trouble is unlike him I’m not exactly smart and was never good with maths or science or technical things like that. He also mentioned plumbing, which I know nothing about but could be good. I know there’s some heavy lifting involved in that but is it a lot? I do like working with my hands, and would love to build more skills as currently I don’t really have any. I’m more of a creative person tbh, but that’s not really an area that’s guaranteed to lead to a career, and I’d like to keep my passions separate from work anyway. So are there any trades that would suit someone like me? Something I can learn with zero prior skills or knowledge and focuses on smaller hands on work with tools etc. and limited heavy lifting/physical strain. Or am I kidding myself?

TLDR - any trades that might suit someone with a heart condition and aren’t too physically demanding

Thanks! Sorry for the long essay

I had a concreter about 2.5 years ago lay concrete around the house, the concrete has tilted and moved away from the house at least 5cm one side while the other 2 sides only abit. The separation on the worse side started happening about a year after the work was done, this summer just gone 2026 as it was dry for 2 months is when most the separation happen. I spoke to the concreter, he reckons when the plumbers laid the pipes then filled the trenches with soil the soil was compacted properly. Could this be correct? The quote for job was higher end quote compared to two other quotes.

I cut the pipe and attached new custom pipe so water go down pipe after the major movement

I just had my tax returns completed for 2025 and... I'm not impressed. 30% of my total income was my salary, the business has nothing in it, and I never do cash work. My accountant told me "What you have is not a business, it's just a job. For it to be a real business, the business needs to save money."

Something needs to change. So, for those of you who made it bigly in the business, how did you do it? Profit off the backs of cheap labour? Squeeeeze your suppliers and clients for everything they have? Cheap out on materials? Bring lunches every day? Focus on high end work? High volume?

I think a whole subreddit could be dedicated to this topic. Hell the white collars have got wallstreetbets and investing subreddits. Why can't we have our own r/WealthyTrades subreddit to share secrets to creating wealth for tradespeople?