Can California Convince Teens to Work in Construction?

“So —” “I’m going to the University of Oregon.” “Colorado School of Mines.” “Syracuse University.” “C.S.U.—L.A.” “I wanted to be like a medical student. I realize now that I want to become an electrician.” There used to be straightforward messaging about how to achieve success in America. “Go to school, go to college, get a degree, make money.” But times have changed. Student debt has skyrocketed. Jobs are hard to find, and now A.I. is threatening to upend the economy. “Like you can barely find jobs nowadays.” “I’ve heard a lot about coders — how A.I. just completely eliminated them.” “It feels as though the economy is like just continuously moving against us.” “I don’t think there’s a perfect American dream anymore. I think, honestly.” In California, the world’s A.I. capital, the state is keenly aware that students are looking for new options. “No one cares how much you know because ChatGPT knows more.” It’s part of a nationwide conversation happening in government, at schools and increasingly on the internet. “Why the hell would you go to college? Like, seriously.” “There’s so many people with multiple degrees that are broke.” “I became a millionaire from construction like a year and a half ago.” “I would see all these people saying, ‘I dropped out of high school, I dropped out of college, and I’m a millionaire.’ And I was like, ‘I need to learn how to do that.’” California is pouring money into hands-on trade programs in public schools. There’s a construction labor shortage in the state, and in 2021, the state doubled a grant for classes like this to help solve it. “Yeah — hit it like it owes you money. So start it off steep so you can swing your hammer back. State of California educational system has seen that if students are not going to go to a four-year college. They should have an option. I would say over 95 percent of my students, maybe even higher, have never used any tools before in their life. And I would say almost 100 percent had never used a power tool. Ta da — see, you know how to do it. “No, I had no idea this class existed. I didn’t even really consider construction seriously until I took this class.” “I actually did consider, oh, maybe I should go to trade school. Or maybe I should focus less on aero-engineering as a degree.” “A.I. is not going to build a home. A.I. isn’t going to weld anything either.” “We had somebody come and talk to our class about electricians and can still make $200,000 a year.” More students across the country are choosing to go to trade school — but working with your hands still comes with a stigma, and the college path still holds a lot of power. “Yeah — yeah. Almost 100 percent.” “I think a lot of people, especially older generations, still believe that trades are like dirty.” “I have students who are very good carpenters, and their parents still want them to go to college, and I totally respect that.” “I come from an immigrant family, and so pressure has been even more heavy. They’re supportive. They’re just a little disappointed that I’m not going to college.” “They don’t want their sons or daughters to go into the trades. They think it is less than. And I try to have this conversation with them and say the trades are a good place to go to make a living. There you go.” But for this generation of Bay Area kids, who grew up in the pandemic and are seeing major changes in the tech industry, the overall feeling is that no path is safe. “As you can see, we just built these little kitchen tiles and to me they look great. If you make a wrong decision, that could lead you into a debt spiral and you’re just kind of stuck.” “I don’t have any friends that are really wanting to go into the tech industry at all because of A.I.” “You’re paying $400,000 and then what are you going to get from it?” “Like, am I going to be able to make all this back when I get a job?” “And we have a storage cabinet in here. This generation, especially, you really have to think about what you’re going to do. Because if your plan is not future-proof, the world is going to eat you. It’s so small, but it’s a pretty cozy little home.”