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What a 25 year old SHOULD Do

With the exception of a doctor repairing our body, is there anything that relieves us of worry like getting our motor vehicle repaired? I thought about this after a long-distance tow to town, recently. Both the van and the trailer were towed, so I could sleep overnight in the repair shop's parking lot. Being stranded at an inopportune place could cause a lot of worry for an RVer.

I envied the owner of the repair shop. He did a job that was tangible and crucial to his customers. Contrast that with some insignificant college boy in a cubicle at a large organization, wasting his life by writing reports that no one will read, attending useless meetings, following arbitrary organizational rules, laughing at the boss's jokes whether they are funny or not, and hoping to dodge layoffs in middle age. Of course there are a number of reasons why my mechanic might think that running a car-repair business is a hard way to make a living. Do you think he subscribes to the one-time American Dream of sending his son to college, as if that really were a step up in the world? (Maybe it used to be.)

Maybe my mechanic would be happier to be an employee rather than a business owner. Well, at least he has that choice. Joe SalaryMan, in the cubicle of a corporation or government agency, probably doesn't. My mechanic will never have to worry about which country the car is designed or built in; same with the parts. His job can not be replaced with slave labor in East Asia.

A specialized college degree might force it's victim to work where ever the job is, rather than where he really wants to live. He'll probably end up at corporate headquarters in some ghastly megalopolis. Over the course of a lifetime, literally years of his life will be squandered fighting metropolitan traffic. In contrast, the auto mechanic could probably find a job in any location. (Thanks for pointing this out, Sondra.)

An automobile mechanic is also in harmony with a societal megatrend. There seems to be no limit to how complex and expensive automobiles will be legislated to become, in the future. The soccer moms in the suburbs hear that Candidate X wants to mandate higher fuel economy standards; so she thinks, "Gee, what a nice guy. He wants to protect the environment." Meanwhile another government agency, the safety Nazis, mandate yet more safety equipment. (And the suburban soccer mom says, "Gee, what nice folks, they want to protect the Children.") Generally safety equipment increases the weight of the vehicle, which cancels the effect of the fuel economy mandates.

So who wins, besides government regulators? They have turned a mechanical contraption into a financial and bureaucratic "perpetual motion machine." (Eric Peters writes a lot about this issue.) 

As the average length of motor vehicle "mortgages" increases, the financial arm of the automobile companies will rake it in. But many people will go into sticker shock over the price of a new pickup truck and will refuse to take out a long term mortgage on it. Instead, they'll plow several thousand dollars per year into repairs for their older, high-mileage vehicle. So your mechanic wins.

This trend seems endless. A mindset has overtaken society; it doesn't ask about Benefits versus Costs. It doesn't even consider the concept of Diminishing Returns. It looks at environmental and safety issues as holy, religious things. Although he isn't responsible for this insanity, the guy who will laugh all the way to the bank is your auto mechanic. And that, young man, is what you should do for a living. Don't go to college.

Comments

Sondra said…
I completely agree for a couple of reasons..
1. I was a small business owner for almost 30 yrs WISH I had waited a bit longer to get burnt out and go looking to see "What else is out there."
2. My father was an auto mechanic his entire life which ended way too soon. NO matter what town he moved us to he found a job within one day...
3. My son spent 6 yrs in college has a BS degree and was laid off 3 weeks ago age 32!
I wish he would let me teach him my trade he could be his own boss for the rest of his life...but its Manual labor! I had an Upholstery Biz started it at age 22!
Unknown said…
A 25 year old SHOULD do exactly what the rest of us should do... something that we like and that makes enough money to live the type of life we want to live.

The problem with the 25 year old (and many others) is no one ever told them that so they go from day to day thinking they have to get the degree, become enslaved by the job, and die the slow death of main stream mediocrity.
Anonymous said…
I am the college graduate in the "cubicle farm" of a large government facility. I spent my younger years playing, always moving to recreational locations and then finding a job. Only later in life due to finances not keeping up with the cost of living, I went to work using my degree in accounting.

I'd rather be RVing, boondocking somewhere and have told my boss those exact words. Funny that I just read your blog tonight, last Thursday I was in my closed door "Annual Revue" and he told me he didn't like what I had put down as my short term goals....

At 60 yrs of age, my short term goals and what I wrote on my performance input document...was "just to wake up everyday"

My long term goals were to retire at 62 and travel the country in an RV, or tent camping.

Being my boss and an engineer from a college that is the rival to my school where I got my degree .... he could not for the life of him, understand what I was saying....after all ... "this is serious and it's official." !!!! LOL

I've told more than a few young people, some were a niece and nephew, that in todays world I would have not gone to college but to a trade school, vocational school of some sort and learned a trade.

I live outside a small town, 2,200 population, in the midwest that has 3 good vehicle mechanics.....ALL of them are booked solid and each has a 2-3 week waiting list before they can even see you ... sometimes longer.

At 25 I took my BS in Accounting, moved to the beach in southern California and raced bicycles....I wanted to do that more than wear a suit, kiss ass to move up the corporate ladder.

37 years later I don't regret any of my decisions ... except my recent ones the past few years of staying in my current job just to chase the almight dollar.
Thanks Sondra, Maria, and Bhounds, for your comments. Each could be turned into an essay without too much work.
Anonymous said…
This is good advice, Boonie, but auto mechanic is not the only profession to consider. A lot of the construction trades are far from being recession-proof, but if one is open to travel, they are a great option. Welders, carpenters, electricians, steam-fitters, plumbers, etc.

There are also some trades where university is required, and are always in demand. Nurses, doctors, engineers, scientists, and more. While I was earning my degree, I often considered all the other majors that students were getting their degrees in and realized that the majority of them were not going to find rewarding professions related to their education. Good thing about a degree in philosophy, is that EVERYthing is related to that sort of education! A good education in philosophy does not require a $20,000 degree, though.

Your post reminds me of Matthew Crawford's book, Shop Class as Soulcraft. Crawford has a PhD in philosophy but chose to make his living as a motorcycle mechanic (and author). If I was to make a recommendation to a 25 year old, or anyone really, it would be to read this book. Also, to read your post on the subject and some of Randy's ideas on a ten year career while living in an RV :) I hope to semi-retire as an auto mechanic at the ripe age of 32.
Anonymous said…
See what I mean Johnny is the typical 20-50 something who believes what the Kodger preaches, the fact is he will be dead broke living at the slabs his whole life and at age 70 he will get $200 in SS if he is lucky. Most likely he will die prior to age 50 due to depression, alcoholism or drug abuse.

The reason mechanics are in great demand is because people today are too stupid and LAZY MOSTLY to change their own oil. Everybody in school , including retards are told they are special , they too can go to college, if you knew what 6 graders are like today - you would be STUNNED !! Insane stories I hear from teachers - cannot even be repeated on the net