From Heroes to “Plan B”: How We Screwed the Trades

There was a time when tradesmen weren’t just respected, they were the apex predators of society. The mason who stacked stone wasn’t some sweaty guy you ignored; he was building cathedrals that took centuries to finish and still put tourists in neck braces today. The blacksmith wasn’t “that dude in the apron”; he was the Marvel Cinematic Universe before Marvel existed, hammering out weapons, tools, and the literal future of his community.

Trades were legacy. Fathers passed them down to sons. Families carried them like bloodlines. You didn’t fall into being a carpenter. You inherited it like royalty inherits a crown.

So, what happened? How did we go from treating the trades like the heartbeat of society to treating them like society’s afterthought, a place you get shoved when you’re “not college material”?

The First Domino: College as the Golden Ticket

After World War II, America went on a G.I. Bill sugar high. College became the new cathedral. Every billboard, every politician, every high school guidance counselor started peddling the same sermon: “If you want a future, you need a degree.”

And sure, in the 1950s and 60s, that made some sense. The country was industrializing, corporations were booming, and we needed paper-pushers to manage the machine. But what started as an opportunity turned into a cult. By the 70s, parents weren’t asking kids what they wanted to be; they were asking what college they were going to.

It didn’t matter if little Johnny loved working with his hands. “Hands are for losers, son. Go get yourself a diploma in medieval poetry and a lifetime of student debt.”

Meanwhile, shop class was slowly being buried six feet under. Once a staple of American high schools, it got axed in favor of college prep. Because nothing says “preparing kids for the real world” like teaching them how to circle dangling modifiers instead of how to wire an outlet.

The Media Spin: Blue Collar vs. White Collar

Then came the cultural divide. “White collar” jobs got branded as smart, sophisticated, forward-thinking. “Blue collar”? That was painted as grunt work, a second-class ticket for kids who couldn’t hack calculus.

TV shows and movies piled on. You didn’t see sitcoms glamorizing welders. You saw boardrooms, lawyers, doctors, “important people.” If a plumber showed up on screen, it was usually to fix the toilet while the “real” characters lived their lives.

We literally wrote tradespeople out of the cultural story. Out of sight, out of respect.

The Political Snake Oil: College for All

By the 80s and 90s, politicians doubled down with the slogan: “Every kid should go to college.” It sounded noble. Who’s gonna argue against education? But it was poison wrapped in a Hallmark card.

Every kid? Really? That’s like saying every kid should run marathons. Not everyone is built for it, not everyone wants it, and the world doesn’t run on marathons. The world runs on plumbers, electricians, glaziers, welders, carpenters, linemen. But we told a generation of kids that those jobs were for people who “couldn’t make it.”

And kids believed it. Parents believed it. Schools enforced it. By the time the 2000s rolled around, trades were no longer careers, they were punishments.

Didn’t get into college? “Guess you’ll end up a roofer.”

Failed algebra? “Looks like welding for you.”

Didn’t want debt? “Enjoy digging ditches.”

We turned trades into punchlines.

The Fallout: Reality Punches Back

Here’s the irony. While we were busy glamorizing cubicles and pumping out sociology degrees like free AOL discs, the trades didn’t go away. We still needed houses built, pipes fitted, wires strung, glass installed. But the pipeline of young workers dried up.

By the 2010s, the shortage was a full-blown crisis. Housing costs spiked, infrastructure projects stalled, and everyone was screaming about labor gaps. Parents were horrified when their college-grad kids moved back into the basement, while the “ditch digger” across the street was buying a boat.

The system backfired spectacularly. We created an army of debt-ridden baristas while demonizing the very people who could actually afford to hire them.

The Edgy Truth: Civilization Doesn’t Run on Degrees

Let’s cut through the BS. When the lights go out, you don’t call your guidance counselor. When your basement floods, your MBA neighbor isn’t gonna save you. When your office building needs glass, you’re not hiring some kid with a communications degree.

Civilization doesn’t run on degrees. It runs on calloused hands, dirt under the fingernails, steel-toe boots, and tradespeople who solve problems you can’t Google.

We can pretend all day that society is built by TED Talks, LinkedIn posts, and startup bros sipping oat milk lattes. But without trades, your oat milk spoils, your WiFi dies, and your Tesla charger becomes a $50,000 paperweight.

The Comeback: Plan A, Not Plan B

Here’s the plot twist: the trades are coming back. The pendulum always swings. Kids and parents are waking up to the fact that a six-figure career without six-figure debt looks a hell of a lot better than a diploma collecting dust while Sallie Mae stalks your bank account.

And the truth is, trades were never plan B. They were always plan A. Plan B is what you need when your plumbing fails, your power goes out, or your roof caves in. Without trades, “plan A” doesn’t exist.

Final Punch

So the next time someone smirks and says the trades are for kids who “couldn’t make it,” remind them of this:

Without trades, society doesn’t function. Period. No Netflix. No Starbucks. No office buildings. No Amazon Prime. Just caves, candles, and chaos.

We didn’t just screw the trades, we screwed ourselves by convincing a whole generation they were beneath us. Time to flip the script. The real heroes wear hard hats, not lanyards.