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this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2026
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Because a lot of trades are pretty bad for your health. They require getting in potentially unsafe environments, dealing with substances or byproducts that can lead to cancers or other occupational diseases. They also require a lot more physical work. So of course people would prefer a cushy office job to trawling through crawlspaces lined with asbestos to plug in a light. Not to mention that a lot of trade jobs are not that great paid when starting out, the good pay comes with years of experience and until you get there you have to suffer through all the above. Sure some office jobs don't pay well starting out either but you just sit on your ass in a air conditioned office instead of nailing 2x4s in the hot sun for 8 hours.
People always ask this question but they never consider that there are actual valid considerations that make trade jobs unattractive compared to other jobs.
Edit: Oh also a lot of well paid trade people run their own companies which is an additional stress and a lot of people don't want to deal with that. My father is in trades and he ran his own company and I watched him age 20 years in the span of 5 due to all the stress and physical work he was doing. Running a company, even a small one is no easy job.
The pay part of that equation is dependent on where you are, and what trade you're talking about.
Where I am, trades generally get paid more than any office job you're going to get with just a random bachelors degree. And if you join one of the trade unions, especially one of the higher skilled industrial ones (so like electricians, pipefitters, millwrights, etc, as opposed to general labour or residential construction), your pay will be much higher than entry level office positions, and will likely stay higher than anyone who doesn't get themselves into an upper management type position.
Electricians, pipefitters, and millwrights have really hazardous jobs. That’s why they get paid so well, directly and indirectly (because it takes a lot of training to do those jobs safely).
I’m not trying to discourage anyone from taking these jobs, but they’re not risk free.
Define "really hazardous".
What are the rates of workplace injury for trades compared to the rates of people getting long term health effects caused by sedentary work conditions?
Per 100k full time employees, 1.6, 3.1, and 1.8/year versus 0.8/year for electricians, pipefitters, and millwrights, respectively, vs office workers.
… you’re looking at those backwards, those are all lower rates lol.
Falls are the largest issue with trades and cause the most injuries, and all of the trades you listed are the ones that use heights the least.
None of the ones you listed Even come close to the top 10
A construction flagger is at far higher risk of injury, and that has almost no training as well, the risk is a very small portion of the pay.
So based on those statistics, I will say that those trades are definitely not "really dangerous". Tortilla manufacturering is twice as dangerous at 6.2, and hospital workers were up above 10. Going from 0.8 to 1.6 is like going from laying on your couch to walking down the sidewalk.
When I started in construction 20 years ago minimum wage was $10, but most trades start at $15, this is for a laborer, apprentices got $18
After 4 years I was 33.50 an hour and still had room to move up. My direct supervisor was making $50, but he had a cash bonus to pay for his truck, instead of them giving him one.
Now minimum wage is $15 and most trades start at $21 and hour.
Sitting on your arse all day, everyday is equally bad for your health. I'd probably argue even worse, you can't get PPE to help protect you from sedentary working conditions.
Yeah you can. Adequate breaks for eyes, standing desks, under desk elliptical/treadmill, etc... not that most employers will supply or allow it, but it can be overcome.
It's not even close. When I went from 50:50 lab/office to 10:90 lab/office I gained like 12 kg and outgrew all of my pants in a year. Granted a bit of that was stress with my asshole bosses but I believe that just working on my feet a couple of hours versus being sedentary made a massive difference.
Reread my post. You can do things at a desk, in an office, or at home...
Nah, I got the meaning of your post. Standing at the desk, even with a treadmill, is not the same as natural movement. Taking breaks from a physically passive activity is not tge same as being constantly physically active.
You probably weren't burning significantly more calories. What happened is you likely started eating or drinking more calories at your desk where before you were too busy. It's like a thirty minute jog to work off an oreo, it's unlikely you were actually burning that many more calories. But then most people still think exercise and metabolism have a lot of control over your weight when it's almost exclusively how much you're eating and drinking. Nobody is breaking the laws of thermodynamics.
I absolutely did not eat at my desk. In fact I had way more sweets in the first role, the culture was different at the lab. I know about thermodynamics, but I don't think it's that simple. Moving around helps a ton with stress and digestion which affects your metabolism and insulin resistance. It's not about moving to "burn off" fat, it's about moving to not synthesize the fat around your organs in the first place.
I don't think that's how that works. It's all calorie in calorie out, and once acclimated to a new routine most people within normal activity levels settle in burning around 2000kcal a day, that's sedentary and active people. Metabolism has way less impact than most people think and outside of heavy labor or semipro athlete you're probably settling in around that 2000kcal maintenance level. Unless you were doing strenuous labor or working out daily your maintenance level probably didn't change that much.
It absolutely is not all calorie in calorie out. Or rather, how calories are stored and burned depend on your metabolic health. There's a massive amount of literature on this.
Here's a starting point: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196%2825%2900201-3/fulltext
Yes but unless you're a statistical outlier that still won't make a significant difference to counting calories. When it comes to gaining or losing weight yes it is purely calorie in calorie out. The difference in caloric maintenance between an active lifestyle and a sedentary one is 4 to 6 hundred kcal. That's a bowl of cereal. Your metabolism has little overall impact.
Metabolic health has a tremendous impact on how we process calories, and I don't really find it useful to discuss this further. There's a tremendous body of evidence to support this, that you can do whatever you want with.
Yes, and you're still overestimating its impact on weight gain vs caloric intake. Your metabolism isn't special.
I didn't say I'm special. But you, clearly are. Bye.
It’s definitely no where close to worse.
Depends on which trade and location you're comparing with. Things vary wildly in the trades.
Name one that is better for your health than (checks notes) ... sitting down.
Locksmithing and similar type trades. Not construction trades. You're on your feet, but you aren't necessarily breaking your body lifting and such.
Yep..... Certain trades are worse for your bones and joints, but not much is going to be worse for your systemic health than sitting for half the day.
As someone who's worked in construction and now works in orthopedics and rehabilitation, I think the biggest issue with a lot of people in trades like residential construction is that they don't really learn how to prioritize their physical health until a lot of the damage is already done. Once you're a bit older you kinda learn that even if carrying that 80lb bag of cement by yourself is faster, it's still better to take the time to grab a dolly or another person. Most of the issues would be solved if we had better regulations.
The effects of sitting on your arse can be mitigated with 30 to 40 minutes of daily vigorous exercise. There are a bunch of studies showing this. It's not remotely the same thing.
I'm not saying that everyone who doesn't get an office job should immediately become a tradie. When you have nothing else to offer, just having some industry certificates is an advantage. Even if the certificate is unrelated to the job. My first job was assembly machine operator in a factory. My boss straight up told me that he hired me because of my Cisco and ECDL certs that I got in high school (for free because Europe).
If you don't get the office job you wanted, you've still opened up some options. Tradie life isn't glamorous, but it pays better than complaining on an internet forum.
And if you do get a job and it doesn't work out, you'll still have something to fall back on.
Of all the working class, they are often worked the hardest.