Worried About The WrongTrade: The Decline of Manual Labour

FROM THE NEWLETTER

TC Grey

3/20/20261 min read

Trade is the topic of conversation

Who is trade.
Who pulls trade.
How to impress 1080p trade.

Whole time, the actual trades are disappearing.

Electricians.
Plumbers.
Welders.
Carpenters.
The people who make sure buildings don’t fucking collapse.

For about 30 years we told every kid the same thing:

Don’t work with your hands.
Go to college.
Get a degree.
Send emails.

Now we have a generation that can build a Notion dashboard, a brand identity, and a personal strategy…

…but cannot fix a leaking pipe.

Like att all.

Not even a little.

Right now if your sink explodes you have two options. Call a plumber or wait three weeks and pay $900

Because the plumber is booked.

Because there are like three plumbers left and they are all LITERAALLY 57 years old.

Its happening everywhere.

Construction companies can’t find workers.
Manufacturers can’t find machinists.
Cities can’t find electricians.

But don’t worry.

There are 14 million AI Agency Owners ready to…. Um wtf do those AI agencies even do.

America currently has too many people who can design a pitch deck . Not enough people who can install a toilet

Unbalanced?

The jobs we told kids to avoid will end up being the most stable jobs left.

You can automate content.
You can outsource copywriting.
You can AI-generate presentations.

You cannot AI unclog a sewer line.

You cannot ChatGPT a broken water heater.

You cannot download a new roof.

At some point, someone still has to show up with a truck and a wrench.

Which means the future might look like the plumber owning three vacation houses and the guy with a marketing degree freelancing on Fiverr.

We are worried about the wrong trade.

The sexiest trade is the person who knows how to use a wrench…

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