The Headlines Have Caught Up to Mike Rowe.
Now What?
Townhall,
by
Salena Zito
Original Article
Posted By: Judy W.,
3/11/2025 9:19:04 AM
JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania -- Alex Bambino, 21, is the son of two educators. He's busy working, welding a piece of material that will be used on a heavily armored military vehicle when finished. Despite two college-educated parents, who teach at the local Cambrian County schools, he wanted nothing to do with college following high school.
"I like working with my hands, being part of making something that is important, and I had no interest in starting my adult life in debt," he said.
So he went to Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center. (Snip) And he became part of something bigger than himself in the machines he helped make.
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 3/11/2025 10:01:57 AM (No. 1912648)
Great to see this. I ended up spending over 40 years in the insurance business pushing paper and becoming well-to-do but, I was happiest working on my sports car and racing it. I don't regret it but working with my hands and seeing the results was a lot more gratifying. My plumber is just about to retire as a wealthy man. He earned it, and I don't think he would have been happy doing anything else.
32 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Bob2021 3/11/2025 10:02:27 AM (No. 1912649)
That's a great article. I was in academia for 17 years and constantly urged people to consider getting a skill. X-ray tech, plumber, HVAC, etc. The ones who took my advice have prospered, but some of them who got sociology or psychology degrees still work at Starbucks. Learn to fix stuff, learn to make stuff. You'll always be in demand.
42 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
navybrat 3/11/2025 10:22:08 AM (No. 1912656)
Many do not understand the value and importance of acquiring a marketable skill. A skill that someone wants and will pay you to perform.
20 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
sunshinehorses 3/11/2025 10:42:22 AM (No. 1912670)
While my career in IT required a degree (which was stupid btw), I urged my grandsons to consider other fields that wouldn't put them thousands of dollars in debt. One is a diesel mechanic and the other is still finding his way but won't be going to college - I had hopes of his becoming an electrician, but he isn't listening to grandma yet :)
14 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
hurricanegirl 3/11/2025 10:44:52 AM (No. 1912675)
I am proud of my nieces and nephews, as well as many of my friend's kids, because they are becoming plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, and nurses, just to name a few.
I tell young kids today to get a two-year degree in a field that they want to go much further in. That way, if they decide they can't finish their long-term degree, they can at least get a job in a field that interests them. They can also work part-time in this same field while they continue their education. Some of those with two-year degrees make more than I do with a four-year degree!
14 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
DougTN 3/11/2025 11:30:11 AM (No. 1912704)
I hope Trump gives Mike Rowe a Presidential Medal of Freedom. It’s not that he deserves it as much as his ideas need amplified. Academic work has been overrated as the only path for too long.
22 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
zephyrgirl 3/11/2025 11:50:35 AM (No. 1912719)
I hired a plumber from a handyman service to work at my house. We started talking, and come to find out he used to be a CPA working for a big accounting firm and hated it. He talked to his manager who thought he was just burned out and suggested he take a few weeks off. He did, and when it came time to go back to the accounting firm, he decided he wanted to do something else. He liked to work with his hands, so he became a master plumber and was starting his own business. Another plumber I hired years ago lives in a multi-million dollar house in a nearby neighborhood. He has a huge business now. Good work pays off.
14 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
DVC 3/11/2025 2:06:12 PM (No. 1912778)
Mike Rowe is a neat guy, doing a great thing here. I was down to the last few paragraphs when I thought, "This has to be a Selene Zito article". I had not checked the byline before reading it, being a big Mike Rowe fan.....and when I checked, of course is IS a Selene Zito piece, ALWAYS worth reading.
Engineering was perfect for ME, but is NOT necessarily good for a lot of people. We need top brains in our skilled trades, for certain. In my life I have friends who are heavy equipment manufacturing mechanics, carpenters and other skilled trades who are very smart people and who add a LOT to their jobs. I'm much in favor of Mike Rowe, but also there ARE still places for college educations. But not for the BS, even destructive sort of 'fill in the blank' studies which basically teach hate, division and destruction.
I went to college to become an engineer, and even when I finished with my bachelor's degree in MechEng, I KNEW that I wanted to learn more technology, that I didn't meet MY requirements for being a good engineer. So, I took the Master of Engineering degree, and by the end of a couple of years more of carefully selected graduate level engineering courses, I felt ready to go and "do engineering". And I enjoyed, had a great 45 year career in several industries and consulting with various clients from art museums to high end travel trailer manufacturers. And I often worked with skilled tradesman to make things REALLY get made.
3 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
wilarrbie 3/11/2025 2:07:46 PM (No. 1912779)
I hope Mike Rowe occasionally has the ear of our Labor Dept.
8 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
BirdsNest 3/11/2025 6:47:05 PM (No. 1912858)
I always enjoyed watching Mike Rowe on his show.
5 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
YorkieMom 3/11/2025 11:30:12 PM (No. 1913042)
Mike Rowe would be a great president. Smart and full of common sense.
1 person likes this.
FTA: "...but somebody has flipped a switch in our culture.". That "somebody" is Donald Trump - both as a candidate and now as President. He brought common sense back into vogue...most Americans had it, but had been intimidated into submission by the "woke" (DEI, CRT, etc.) cancel culture crowd. The wheels came off that movement when those Americans said "ENOUGH!"!!!
0 people like this.
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Comments:
Mike Rowe is one of the most valuable people around. He is the savior of countless young men, guiding them into good futures and giving them the esteem they need. Kind of like a practical Jordan Peterson.