Key Takeaways
Skilled trades are experiencing booming growth in certain fields, are largely AI-proof, and will need more laborers through the next decade.
While these skilled trades often earn less than jobs requiring a bachelor's degree, they're easier to switch into and take less time to learn.
You can pursue these trades in two years or less through certificates, associate degrees, and trade school, or get paid as you learn through an apprenticeship for two to six years.
Skilled trades are among some of the fastest-growing professions and most likely to experience labor shortages in the next decade. As young adults, especially young men, scrutinize college more closely, these trades offer a great opportunity for a lasting career.
These careers don't require a bachelor's degree to start; instead, you'll need to complete certifications, apprenticeships, or associate degrees — which can take between a few months to a couple of years to finish, depending on the program. You can also start right away under an apprenticeship that pays you as you work through a mentorship program that will guide you to mastery over two to six years.
Find out some of the most popular trades within six different fields, how to study them, and the future of these career paths.
What Careers Are Considered Skilled Trades?
The most common ways to enter the skilled workforce are through a trade school, which provides a certificate/certification at the end of your program, or through an apprenticeship or on-the-job training.
We'll explore different fields, some of the most popular careers within them, and how much you should expect to make, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Healthcare
Median Salary Band: $37,000 to $101,900
If you're looking to move into the healthcare industry, there are generally two skilled trade pathways you can pursue: patient care and administration.
In patient care, there are emergency services like EMT and paramedic work — on the lower end of the salary spectrum at a median of about $46,000 per year — and direct patient care like phlebotomy and medical equipment operators, (such as radiation therapists), which make above a median of $101,000 per year.
On the administrative side, professions include medical assistants, records specialists, and medical transcribers who transcribe and document doctors' voice notes in the medical record. Medical transcribers made a lower median salary on our spectrum at about $37.5k.
Generally, some of the highest-paying trades require an associate degree to enter the field, such as dental hygiene, radiation therapy, and other care that involves machine operation.
Service
Median Salary Band: $48,000 to $92,500
Service trades are some of the first to come to mind when thinking about skilled trades, including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), electrical and lineman work, and plumbing. Service trades provide services to the public and maintain and install machines like wind turbines and electrical lines that help run public infrastructure.
To enter a service trade, you'll most likely need to complete one of these three educational routes: on-the-job training, an accredited trade school, or an apprenticeship.
If your program requires schooling, make sure it is accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
The highest-paying trade in this category is electrical power-line installation and repair at a median of $92,560 per year. It requires at least a high school diploma and apprenticeships or on-the-job training to qualify. In the lower pay band are small engine mechanics, who earn a median of $48,240 per year.
Construction
Median Salary Band: $46,000 to $106,000
These professions, involved in residential and commercial construction and development, often require on-the-job training or an apprenticeship.
Electricians, construction equipment operators, and elevator/escalator installers and repairers commonly work in commercial buildings, while construction and building inspectors are responsible for ensuring that building safety and security meet industry standards.
Professions like carpentry, painting, drywall and interior construction, and insulation workers may not require formal experience or education, instead relying on on-the-job training or informal apprenticeship.
Construction laborers earned the lowest salary in this band at just above $46,000 per year, while escalator and elevator installers and repairers earned the highest at around $106,000. Note that elevator installers and repairers work in cramped crawl spaces, at great heights, in machine rooms, and can be on call 24 hours a day.
Agriculture
Median Salary Band: $33,000 to $87,900
Agricultural skilled trades involve raising farm animals and plants, testing and caring for animals and plants, and protecting land.
If you're interested in managing a farm or agricultural center, farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers earned the highest median annual salary on our scale at about $87,900. You could also work with farm animals or in animal shelters or veterinary clinics as an animal care and service worker, requiring only a high school diploma and on-the-job training.
If you prefer to be in the food science part of agriculture, consider becoming an agricultural and food science technician who aids food scientists in testing.
In an adjacent field, forest and conservation workers, like park rangers, are responsible for upkeeping trails and protecting wildlife and public land — a great career for those who want to be in the field at a national park all day.
Manufacturing & Industrial
Median Salary Band: $43,000 to $73,000
These careers are the unseen force behind structural and large-scale development.
Manufacturing and industrial workers are responsible for crafting materials used to build structures, furnishings, and mechanical systems. Professionals in these trades usually work in factories, producing materials and operating heavy machinery. Some of the most common professions involve ironworking, welding, woodworking, and assembly.
Boilermakers, responsible for assembling, installing, and maintaining containers that hold liquids and gases, earned the highest median annual salary on our scale at around $73,000, while assemblers and fabricators earned the least at about $43,000.
Transportation
Median Salary Band: $42,000 to $144,500
The transportation skilled trades can be broken down into three categories: manning the vehicles that transport goods, caring for and transporting passengers, and servicing those vehicles.
Truck drivers, water vessel operators, commercial pilots, and freight train drivers are responsible for delivering goods across the country. Automotive mechanics and technicians, aircraft mechanics and technicians, and stationary engineers keep the vehicles in shape.
The highest-paying skilled trade in this field, with a median salary of $144,580, is air traffic control, due to its demanding hours and attention to detail. This requires an associate degree and long-term training to maintain airspace between planes and other aircraft.
Why Choose a Skilled Trade?
The skilled trades are typically a more job secure landscape since they often require physical presence and are much less likely to be replaced by AI. Four of the BLS's top 10 fastest growing occupations are skilled trades, with wind turbine service technicians and solar panel installers leading at a respective 50% and 42% – much, much higher than the average 4% national growth rate for all jobs.
According to a Georgetown study, some of the biggest shortages through 2032 in the high school diploma and associate degree education range will be in management, business and financial, production, office and administrative support, education, and construction.
Apart from the business need for skilled trades, they also require less education than a bachelor's degree, are less expensive, and let you enter the workforce more quickly than a four-year college degree.
How Do You Learn a Trade?
Every trade and vocational career path has different levels of education and time to learn and get licensed.
Certificates and associate degrees at accredited schools do qualify for federal financial aid, which you can apply for through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Depending on your financial situation, your education costs can be significantly less than without financial aid.
Before you enroll, make sure that your program is accredited by a federally recognized accrediting body. For trade schools, the most common accreditor is ACCSC.
Certificates
You're awarded a certificate after successfully completing a non-degree program, which you can show to employers to prove proficiency in that skill. Certificate programs can take anywhere from a few months to two years to complete, depending on your career.
Single course programs through colleges or reputable private providers like edX, Udemy, Coursera, and CompTIA can be anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Entire programs cost an average $24,956, according to our analysis of six Public Agenda case studies.
HVAC requires you to attend a trade school in person to earn a certification, which usually takes about 6 to 8 months. This is quite different from a computer science ethical hacking certification or a truck driving certification and license, each of which may take about a month to complete.
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are the longest programs to become licensed in a skilled trade, taking anywhere from about two to six years. The main draw is that these programs let you start earning a paycheck right away and learn on the job instead of going to school. Sometimes, a trade will let you pursue an apprenticeship instead of a certification through school.
According to data from ApprenticeshipUSA, an initiative managed by the U.S. Department of Labor, 94% of people who complete a registered apprenticeship retain employment, with an average salary of $84,000.
Associate Degrees
Lastly, some trades require an associate degree, which takes about two years to complete for a full-time student. Associate degrees generally require 60 credits or 20 classes, focusing on hands-on, foundational courses. Some healthcare and manufacturing careers require an associate degree.
| Feature | Certificate | Apprenticeship | Associate Degree | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time Commitment | A few weeks to 2 years | 2-6 years | Usually 2 years | Usually 4 years |
| Cost | About $24,956 net price for entire program | Pays you as you learn | $15,810 after financial aid per year | $20,780 after financial aid per year |
| Learning Style | Hands-on, online learning | Hands-on | Classroom-, theory-based | Classroom-, theory-based |
| Focus | Career-focused | Career-focused, learning on the job under a mentor | Mostly general education with prerequisites in your subject | General education base with major and minor focuses in your subject |
Frequently Asked Questions About Skilled Trades
A skilled trade certificate program costs about an average of $25,000, but will vary depending on the skill, financial aid, and the state you live in. Some trades require an associate degree, which comes out to an average $15,810 per year after financial aid.
If you become an apprentice, you'll be paid as you train under a mentor.
