It's not about being a braniac, it's about doing something you enjoy.

The key to life is Happiness. Not the goal.

Yes and no. If you contact the company, are skilled in the field they are hiring for (more than someone local) and they are willing to sponsor a visa you can get a job in the USA. It's just a lot of work and a lot of red tape. But not completely impossible.

I think you missed the point.

There's nothing wrong with being a welder, I was a low level welder/fabricator at a shop in high school for awhile. My friends boyfriend is a welder, decent enough guy.

If a person who will not be fulfilled by a career as a welder chooses that profession for the monetary gains, I have no respect for them. If a person chose to become a doctor specially for the monetary gains, I would have the same opinion.

Money is only numbers, possessions are only things. When you die, none of that really matters anymore. At the end of your life, reflecting, you won't wish you had worked harder and bought the ipad99s and felt happy in the knowledge you own expensive jeans. If you can reflect on having lead a happy life, secure in the knowledge that you made a positive impact on the world, that's when you will be truly fulfilled. It's that fulfillment that is important, over anything else in our brief stint on this planet.

I started working at a construction company at eighteen as a labourer and stood out quickly; the company had difficulty people getting people at my age to even show up daily, I however was the first person on site every morning. That attitude earned me the opportunity to constantly learn new skills, so when an opportunity to move up in the ranks presented itself I was promoted over a few people with more seniority and began working on job sites unsupervised with one or two crew members. The clients we worked with were very high end, so I went the extra mile no one else thought to do. I shaved and wore clean clothes, a pretty novel concept for some people in construction. I also never failed a building inspection and did flawless work. Before long contractors who questioned the company for sending me, a kid, were specifically requesting I come to the job they booked. That lead to another promotion to running multiple crews, up to twenty people.

I was good at my job, I made lots of money. I bought my car all cash, lived in a nice apartment and lived a pretty comfortable lifestyle all around. I didn't go to work excited though, I went to work and just went through the motions. There was satisfaction in a turning out a good product, but it was always just another job for another person with way to much money. When my friends talked about school, I was curious about all the things they were studying and took that as a sign.

Now, I'm completing my bachelors. Once that's complete I'll be applying to a two year BSN (Registered Nurse) program, specifically shortened for people who already have a full bachelors degree. I'd like to work with Doctors without Borders as a nurse.

That was a much longer explanation than I intended.

Materialism Is what drives the world forwards. People could like their job because it's good money. For some being financially well is what makes a job so enjoyable. If we all had our choice of jobs that we wanted, the world would crumble so fast.
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Also like to make the point that we are raised in a world where being a doctor, or any other glorified profession, is always the better choice because of the money.

And thank god for it!

I came into working in trades from the outside. I went to school for business management, and really hated being a drone in the chain of drones that ran the place I worked for.

So I quit, and went to do what I wanted to do...build. I wanted to go home at the end of the day and say, "I built 'this' today out of nothing"

I wanted to be 'the' manager. The decision making starts and stops with me.

My number 1 sales pitch is, "I am not some walking talking ape that you can't communicate with. You have questions, and I can provide meaningful answers"

When I first started, I did a lot of reading about what to say during quotations and how to book work. Everything said, "wear work clothes...makes you look busy"

Ok.

I wore dress pants and a button up shirt.

As soon as you open the door, you think, "different".

For some people it works, and for others it doesn't. Some people are looking for the ape type. That's cool. The next guy that comes in is going to be your ape you are looking for.

I'm instinctively going to be nice to your neighbors, considerate to building staff and get the job done.

welding is much harder than picking up a book and read isn't it?? hell, if i get payed $140/hr to read and study i'd do that instead than to weld all day

Why yes, yes I did.

Oh ya, sorry. I just sat here and it fell into my fucking lap...

I thanked you for your views & opinions. Considering that the world is money driven and hungry for money, where I can honestly say so am I.

An opinion is an opinion.. I haven't gotten the joys out of travelling yet, although I went with family. (Europe, Cali, Calgary/Edmonton, Prairies, Hawaii etc..etc..) I would rather make money now, get a house in the GVRD, and before having kids, enjoy some of the money I made, and possibly go travel and sit somewhere hot and sunny. (Bali, Cancun, Hawaii again, Fiji, Caribbean)

My friends in tech said the same thing in 2002 when we graduated, then the bubble burst and there were no jobs, even for the non-lazy who actively pursued job openings.

The employment situation is not bad right now, yet its not good either. I don't think your decision is wise, yet if you can afford it, go for it.

I think its important to keep things in perspective at a younger age. I took off and went to Thailand for a month. Best decision I could have made. I have made more money from taking off for a month than I could have if I stayed home for a month.

It really changed my perspective enough to be able to say, "I picked up and did this, so I can definitely make this happen" For me, it was changing from a "could do it" person to a "going to do it" person.

No one in their 50's, 60's or 70's is ever going to say, "if only I had made an extra $3k in 2006..."

i lived/worked abroad for 7 months when i was 20. was one of the best experiences of my life!
dont regret that for a second.
now im quite a few years older and if i wanted to do that now, well, i probably couldnt unless it was for work.

Academic success success is a lot more challenging than welding. Welding is just endurance and relatively simple technique, it only pays well because of the conditions up north.
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There is more to it than that. Boeing has 15'000 employees. Of course there is going to be a revolving door for employees going in and out, and 248 openings compared to the 15'000 working already is not a lot.

As well, not everybody is in a financial position to move across the entire country for a job. Some companies may pay to help you transition to a new city, but many people have commitments, family, etc.

so have you figured out with to do with that $1M in liquid?

I wouldn't say that. I know many academics that cannot turn a wrench, and many mechanics that cannot read a book. What comes easy to one person, may not to the next.

It doesn't make sense to sit here and debate about which path is more stimulating, which path is more rewarding and which path is more difficult...

It's such a pointless argument. To each their own. No one can tell another person that they would be better of doing something else because you don't know what that person is or isn't capable of.

But, if you're in trades and making easy cash, don't come in here and say I'm doing fine and making money and living it up because no one cares. And if you're in academics and can't get a job, it's not because education results in LESS opportunities, it's because that field of study you chose may at this time, have less opportunities or simply be more competitive. Again, that field of study is your own choice and if you didn't figure out the kind of job opportunities you will have after school is over, then that is essentially poor planning on your part.

I am kinda annoyed of seeing these threads with people being upset about how expensive it is to live. That's the way things are; it's life, you're not the only one who's having a hard time and there are plenty of other people who are doing fine. That shows that it is possible to live comfortably. This thread is a key example of a mixed variety of people. Those of you who studied and are complaining about how hard it is to afford things, then maybe you should do what some of these trades guys are doing. Trades guys who are saying they can't live off their salaries or that their jobs sucks, go get an education and try something else.

I don't know, I just think it's dumb that people are complaining about how hard things are because there are plenty of people doing just fine. Not saying that it's not hard for you, just say there are things you can probably do about it (at least in most cases.)

I agree, people have natural skill sets.

Through the series of quotes and responses however, my point has digressed significantly. To reiterate my original point, I have no bias against welders or tradespeople as some people seem to be inferring, I was once a tradesperson so it would be quite ironic if I did. My lack of respect goes to a person who disregards leading a fulfilling life in exchange for earning as much money as possible, so they can run on the treadmill of consumerism always striving for the next gadget or toy. It's better to live modestly and enjoy your short time on the earth, with the people you care about doing the things you love most, than to obsess over the numbers on a bank statement.


If there's one thing Vancouverites love to do, it's complain.


The world is crumbling, fast, because people fill emotional voids in their lives with objects. Maybe if more people focused on living a fulfilling life through experiences than materialism, the credit crisis and resulting recession would never have happened.

Also, I wasn't raised in a home where doctors were admired for the monetary rewards. I was taught to admire doctors for the schooling they went through and the fact that they help people, just like fire fighters and police officers. Meh.. different perspectives I suppose

This is another big factor. I wasn't focused in high school. I didn't give two shits and didn't think much about my future. I barely got by and never took any extra curricular activities. Looking back, I wish my parents at least gave me some incentives to get into trades programs like welding and automotive, As i wasn't interested at the time, but now I'd love to be a part of a super cheap trades program.

One thing I think should be said. To the posters that say "people shouldn't complain about the cost of living in Vancouver". One question for you, A. do you live at home, or B. on your own?

If the answer is A, I think you should shut the fuck up until you move out into the real world.

That is all.

I moved out two months after graduating high school and have always paid my own rent.

I don't complain, because it achieves absolutely nothing, I wish others would realize the same.

Why not? There's always room for improvement and changes our government can make this city more affordable.

BC rated last in the country in salary growth, the cost of living in Vancouver wouldn't be such a hard pill to swallow if we weren't lagging so behind the rest of Canada. People should have a right to say something about that fact, should we all be sheep and be silent?

Tack welding is super easy, I agree. A monkey with one finger picking it's butt can do it. However, doing proper beading is a lot harder than most people realize. However, your point is taken. :p

Back in grade 10, I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life and adjusted my course load to help with that. After high school, I got a scholarship into a film school and spent a year there. Most useless year of my life I've ever lived. I learned less while there than I did in my high school classes. Regardless, I thought I wanted to make film my career and spent a couple years doing it. I had plenty of work experience between grade 10 and film school, so plenty of people were willing to hire me on, unlike those who I went to school with and had nothing under the belt.

I'll admit that it paid well. Very well. But my life was failing; my girlfriend and I broke up because we would never see each other (I was 20, she was 18, so we weren't really thinking properly lol), and my relationships with my friends and family were fading for the same reason. Sure, I had a decent savings and was financially fairly sound... and I actually enjoyed my job... but I didn't want to work to live. Or, more concisely, I didn't want to live my life as work, sleep, repeat. So I quit.

I make a lot less now and have been occasionally doing night school, but at least I'm a lot happier now. I can actually spend time with friends and go out on proper dates with whoever I happen to be dating at the time.

I'm uncertain as to where i want to go with my career right now. I kinda screwed myself over my not continuing with my AP science courses back in high school and now I need to take refresher courses just so I can get myself into any sort of proper schooling. But like I said, I don't know what I want to do. As much as I would love to have a big, fancy house, a nice car, and steak dinners every night, it's not something I need. I figure that no matter what I decide to do, the financial aspect will definitely not be my first priority when choosing it. So long as I'm happy and can pay for the necessities, who cares about anything else.

Well, that's because Vancouver really does nothing but be pretty. We aren't a financial center. We aren't a hub for head offices. Manufacturing is small. Resources? Shipping and logistics is pretty big. We're a center for foreign trade, but other than that, I can't really tell you where the money comes from in Vancouver off the top of my head.

So if we're not bringing in huge money, then how can it be paid out?

I'm talking on the macro level here...outside money into the city. Not trading it among ourselves.

and thats why the western world is so fucked up..

anyone who has spent any time in Europe etc. would probably agree that a simpler life seems to be a happier one

while i was travelling through Europe i came to that realization, specifically in places where i indirectly knew people such as Finland etc. I would meet absolutely gorgeous girls who back in Vancouver would be the biggest stuck up cunts in the world, There they could not be nicer and more accommodating, and this literally went for -everyone- i met

no one cared about who drove what, where you lived, etc. I stayed with people who had 1.5+ million euro condo's in downtown helsinki, who travelled with me to meet other relatives who lived in small 900sq foot apartments, and the people never batted an eye either way, people with excellent jobs had good friends that had shitty jobs, a "class" system, although obviously existing, never put restrictions on people like it does here

funnily enough, the UK is sort of the opposite. People are evaluated based on the the schools they went to, the type of accent they have (thus telling people where they're from). Kids who come from rich families go to good prep schools, getting them into good universities, getting them good jobs, allowing them to look down at all the chavs on the street.

I think it has to do with the overall education and average wage. In finland, there is a smaller lower-income/less-educated class, therefore a lower discrepancy between rich and poor...

But I definitely agree, travelling around countries like Norway, Finland, Sweden - life is simple (and expensive), but people seem geniunely happy.