Transactions should be wide open. At least, that’s the myth people like to repeat—that blue-collar jobs are desperate for help, begging for apprentices, basically handing out tool belts and pensions to anyone who walks in. A job seeker says the picture is wrong.
In a Reddit post titled “No, the trades aren’t hiring,” a frustrated electrician put it plainly: “I’m so sick and tired of this worn out idea that blue collar jobs are looking for apprentices to come work for them.” After hitting a wall with several companies, he said the reality looks less like an opportunity and more like a closed circle of insiders — “full of more nepotism and gossip than any other industry I’ve ever been in.”
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He did not lack experience. He had four years with an electrical company, listed detailed project work on his applications and named high-level references. However, he was dismissed as a foreigner. “I even went back to my old electrical company that I had worked for for 4 years. You know what they said? ‘Apply online and go talk to HR.’ No hiring manager in the store, no chance to talk to someone for recognition purposes.”
Instead of a callback, he received a rejection email a week and a half later: “Thank you for applying. After careful consideration . . .”
One of the few offers he received came from a company he described as hitting every red flag. “‘Only meth lords and divorced alcoholics work here,'” he wrote. “‘Damn OSHA.’ Everywhere, he said, he gave a version of “no.”
And it wasn’t just a city. He said he went to every electrical company in town. Many of them required a two-year technical or trade school degree — just to offer $15 an hour starting pay. Even the ever so popular unions weren’t the solution: “Brother, go Union!” someone inevitably says. But, as he pointed out, “unions have been supported for centuries.”
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In responses, commenters on the thread echoed their frustration, not just in jobs, but in careers. One user noted that the same tired cycle occurs everywhere: “Every market and everyone and their mother is going to have a ‘just learn to code’ variant,” referring to how every field is presented as a magic bullet but doesn’t deliver.
Another joked that for a while the answer across all industries was “just go to law school,” and health care workers shared their own instability, with one saying he almost faced furloughs because Medicare reimbursements ran out.
Some in IT said they faced similar barriers even with in-demand technology skills, and a pharmacist described several layoffs in a short period. Another commenter pointed out that even health and administration jobs can be difficult to secure, with employers citing distance from the workplace as a reason to reject applicants.
The broader labor market helps explain some of this dissonance. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 7.7 million job openings in October — a large number overall, but not evenly distributed across industries and not always significantly accessible to candidates without specialized credentials or connections. At the same time, unemployment hovered near historic lows but rose slightly as the labor market shows signs of softening, with broad averages masking pockets of intense competition and stagnant hiring for some roles.
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In transactions in particular, demand data tells a mixed story. Many sectors such as HVAC, electrical and plumbing are projected to grow over the next decade as infrastructure work and pensions create openings. But this growth does not automatically translate into accessible entry points for every applicant. Employers often list jobs that go unfilled for reasons ranging from credential requirements to a slow hiring pace. What’s more, US job openings are outstripping the number of employees, suggesting it’s tougher than the headlines suggest.
Knowing how to wire a panel and having experience does not guarantee a chance at a job. Despite the traditional message that the trades are a stable path, with apprenticeships and union routes, his experience has shown that many companies still favor paperwork, screens and gatekeeping over introducing and mentoring new talent.
In a job market that seems unpredictable and uneven, what looks like an opportunity on the surface can turn out, for many applicants, to be another maze of forms, filters and dead ends – even in fields that people are told are desperate for workers.
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This “Just Go Union” article? The electrician applied to every company in his town and said the pipeline for blue-collar apprentices is worn out, delayed and held at the gate originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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