EDITORIAL · SOURCED & DATED

Guides to the trades

The context around the licenses: what the trades really pay, how apprenticeships work, and the honest version of the "AI-proof" argument — every figure cited.

The Highest-Paying Trades, Ranked by Real Median Wages12 skilled trades ranked by May 2025 BLS median wages: elevator installers $109,910, powerline workers $95,320, plumbers $63,800, electricians $63,190.Are the Trades Really AI-Proof? An Honest LookThe honest case: physical work resists automation and licensing adds a legal moat — but "AI-proof" oversells it. What holds up, what doesn't.How to Actually Get a Trade ApprenticeshipUnion vs non-union routes, what applications screen for, and how apprentice pay progresses (typically 50–80% of the journey wage).Trade School vs Apprenticeship: What Licensing Boards Actually CreditVerified state by state: where school substitutes for field hours (NC: up to half; OK: 2,000 of 8,000) and where only an apprenticeship counts.EPA 608 Certification, ExplainedThe one HVAC credential that's federal law everywhere: who needs Section 608, the four certification types, and how it fits with state licensing.Apprentice, Journeyman, Master: How Trade Licensing Levels WorkThe three-level ladder, the four state licensing models we verified, and why "journeyman" is a license in Texas but a résumé line in Illinois.