Ever thought playing with Legos would help you grow up to make six figures? Entering a trade can help you do that, even without a fancy college degree. A recent Business Insider article shares Malik Johnson's journey along that path, and offers suggestions for how (and why) others might want to do the same.
Here are Five Fast Facts about getting into the trades:
- 📦 LEGO Beginnings - Malik loved building cool stuff as a kid...but his real toys were boxes, trash cans, and Legos. At what point are we going to start giving empty cardboard boxes AS the gift?
- ⚒️ Trades > College (Sometimes) - College isn’t for everyone. After high school, Malik went to work as a concrete laborer for a few years, then switched to pipe fitting. There was no college needed, just some training classes and a union apprenticeship. But, like many trades, he got paid to learn along the way!
- 📈 Rising Pay - It's a progression. Labor jobs often start around $15/hour, but as you gain experience and expertise the sky is the limit. As a fifth-year apprentice pipe-fitter, Malik is making over $100,000/year, and is expecting to go up even further from there. Not too shabby for no college degree!
- 🤔 Know Your Why - Finding your motivation is key. For Malik, it was helping provide while his mom battled cancer. But working a trade also gave him confidence knowing he had real skills that were critical to others, and that he could provide for his family.
- 👍 Ignore Failure And Fear - Don't be scared of messing up because sometimes mistakes lead to happy accidents, and that's how you learn. And don't let fear prevent you from taking on new challenges or responsibilities - those are open doors that could lead to amazing new things!
🔥Bottom line: So here’s the deal: you don’t need a fancy degree to earn big bucks if you're willing to learn a rare trade, hustle when needed, and know why you're working so hard (like “I refuse to live in a box again”). Malik’s story is proof that you can build a six-figure salary—even using Legos as your first training ground.
Have you thought about working a trade?
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