No, Trades Jobs Don't Pay Less Than Office Jobs. Let's Kill That Myth.
In November 2025, Ford CEO Jim Farley made a statement that should have ended a decades-old myth once and for all. Ford has 5,000 open mechanic positions at its dealerships, paying up to $120,000 a year, and cannot fill them. Six thousand service bays sitting idle. Not because the work isn't there. Not because the pay isn't good. Because the cultural narrative around trades careers has told an entire generation that these jobs aren't worth pursuing.
That narrative is wrong. It has always been wrong. And it is costing Virginia graduates real careers.
The data in 2026 is unambiguous. Electrician positions are projected to grow 9.5% through 2034 — more than triple the national average for all occupations. HVAC technician roles are growing at 8.1%. Welders are in critical demand in Virginia's shipbuilding, manufacturing, and construction sectors. Many of the highest-paid, most in-demand trades jobs pay well over six figures. The training timeline is 12 to 18 months in most cases — not four years and $80,000 in student debt.
Virginia's CTE programs have been producing certified, qualified trade graduates every year — students who looked past the myth, did the work, earned the credential, and are ready to earn a real living.
Some of them can't start because they can't afford a tool kit.
That's the part that should make everyone angry. A student who fought through the cultural stigma, completed a rigorous CTE program, passed an industry certification exam, and landed a job offer — stopped before day one by a $1,000 tool purchase with no financing available.
The Virginia Blue-Collar Tool Foundation exists because that outcome is unacceptable. We buy the tools. The graduate starts work. The myth gets one more data point proving it wrong.
