Are skilled trades in demand?

If you choose to pursue a career in the skilled trades, here's what you should know about your job security.

Careers in skilled trades (occupations like electricians, carpenters, mechanics, medical technicians, cosmetologists, and the list goes on and on) are some of the most in-demand positions in the United States. Every month for the past several years, there have been hundreds of thousands of openings in skilled trade positions every month. The demand for workers who know a skilled trade is projected to increase faster than the national average (by a long shot!) over the next 10 years.

Why are there so many job openings?

Careers that require a skilled trade are both very difficult to automate (in the same way that Uber is trying to create driverless cars, and grocery stores utilize electronic cashier systems) and very difficult to outsource (like hiring software developers in India). This creates a ton of job openings because as the population and economy continue to grow, there is higher and higher demand for workers with a specialized skill.