Joe Rogan says we’re pushing kids into the wrong careers — and Canada’s trades crisis shows he may be right

Generations of Canadian parents have pushed their kids to go to university and work their way up through the ranks of a white-collar job. Joe Rogan thinks they've been off the mark. Now, amidst headlines of layoffs in banking and tech, more North Americans may come around to Rogan's view, as many wonder if their job is in present danger.

Joe Rogan, a comedian and influential podcaster, shared his thoughts on the way we perceive blue-collar work with his guest, Tim Kennedy, an American soldier and mixed martial artist.

“It's very bizarre that we've somehow demonized blue-collar work and put white-collar work on a pedestal," said Rogan (1). He continued by adding that "[what about the] freedom that comes from owning your own business? That’s real freedom.” As Rogan's guest explained: that freedom can be pretty sweet financially, too.

“You want to be the richest person on the planet right now?" Kennedy asked rhetorically. "Be in construction. Be an electrician. Be a plumber,."

To emphasis his point, Kennedy shared that the average income of a plumber in Austin, TX (where he lives) is US$200,000 (C$275,000). While tradeschool costs, apprentice time, as well as starting salaries and the cost to establish a business may differ slightly in Canada, the trajectory is the same — as is the outcome. In Canada, the median wage for an electrician is C$35 per hour — although, electricians working in Alberta and BC can expect higher average hourly wages, closer to C$50 per hour (2). Those trained as plumbers can expect a median wage of C$34 per hour, with the top range for earnings reaching above C$47 per hour (3).

To Rogan's point: Is it time to stop demonizing blue collar careers?

Cost to pursue white collar vs blue collar careers

To try and appreciate the difference between the pursuit of white collar versis blue collar careers, it's best to consider the cost and time spent on schooling along with the average earnings.

To illustrate, let's compare the pursuit of a law degree versus the becoming an electrician.

You need to buy into a legal career

Even subsidized, post-secondary education comes with a hefty price tag in Canada. For instance, if you chose to pursue a law degree, you'd have to:

• Pay an average of C$7,700 per year, for four years, for an undergraduate degree (4)
• Plus, three years of law school, at an average cost just under C$14,000 per year (5)

Just in school fees, alone, a person pursuing a law degree would need to set aside close to C$73,000. Tack on fees for the LSAT, bar exam and Law Society registration to living costs associated with almost a decade of schooling, and that upfront cost to establish your career can easily reach six figures.

According to ZipRecruiter (6), the average annual pay for a lawyer in Ontario is just over C$113,500, as of August 2024, while the federal government's Job Bank data pins the median annual earnings for a Canadian lawyer at C$122,000 (7). While salaries do increase with experience, average annual earnings appear to stablize around C$200,000 (unless you chose a legal profession that can maximize that hourly rate, like corporate law).

That means in the first 10 years of person's pursuit to become a lawyer, they'll spend at least C$70,000 and earn between C$340,500 and C$366,000 (for three years of full employment).

Time is money: The short road to becoming an electrician

On the flipside, you can train to become an electrician in as little as 12 weeks or as long as nine months. Expect to pay between C$2,000 to C$10,000 for this in-class training. After this initial education you are then required to gain experience and knowledge through hands-on apprenticeship training.

For instance, Ontario trainees are required to complete 9,000 hours of apprenticeship, which includes 8,160 hours of on-the-job training and 840 in-class hours of electrician training. But you get paid to learn.

The average wage of a union electrician apprentice in Ontario is $20 an hour (8); This means an electrician apprentice can expect to be paid between C$46,000 and C$51,000 per year, depending on the place of work. The most sought after (or luckiest) apprentices can land apprentice jobs at union shops that pay even more — bumping up that annual training wage to six figures, or more.

And these earnings are just for the years you apprentice as an electrician. Once you’ve moved from apprentice to journeyman (and then onto red seal/master electrician), your earning potential increases. Most electricians can expect to earn C$60,000 to low six figures throughout their career.

To put this in perspective, in the first 10 years of pursuing an electrician trade, you'll spend about as much as C$10,000 in tuition and earn over C$541,500, on the low end. (Note: This assumes annual earnings of C$46,000 for four years plus annual earnings of C$65,000 for 5.5 years).

A 10-year comparison

Lawyer (10 years)

• Education cost: ~$70,000
• Income years 1 to 5 (junior lawyer average ~$80K–$100K): ~$450,000
• Income years 6 to 10 (mid-level average ~$120K): ~$600,000
• Total earned: ~$1,050,000 before debt repayment and taxes.
• Net after schooling: ~$980,000

Electrician (10 years)

• Education cost: ~$5,000
• Apprenticeship earnings (4 years at ~$50K/year): $200,000
• Certified electrician earnings (6 years at ~$80K/year): $480,000
• Total earned: ~$680,000
• Net after schooling: ~$675,000

While lawyers earn more overall, electricians come out ahead early because:

• They begin earning years sooner
• They carry far less student debt
• They can scale earnings quickly through overtime, union jobs or starting a business

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The time is right to get into trades

Is Joe Rogan onto something? Based on this simple analysis, the electrician comes out ahead — earning more than 45% more in the first 10 years.

Then there's the supply and demand factor. These days, fewer people are entering the trades and yet, in the next decade approximately 700,000 are set to retire by 2030, of the 4 million active trades people, according to Employment and Social Development Canada (9). To offset this workforce loss, Canada needs more than 255,000 new apprentices.

The shortage is already affecting Canadians. In a 2024 CBC report (10), construction business owner Mandy Rennehan noted that service calls now cost double, simply because tradespeople are in short supply. "It used to be $70 or $80 for somebody to come to your house [and fix] your dishwasher; now you're going to pay double that," explains Rennehan, founder and CEO of construction company Freshco, which specializes in building retail stores.

Higher prices for consumers translate into higher wages, stronger bargaining power and better long-term earnings potential for workers entering the trades today.

A cultural shift toward blue-collar pride

On Reddit and across social media, experienced tradespeople echo the same sentiment: The overall opportunity is enormous.

As Redditor Rustbucket_enjoyer bluntly explains: “There are so many good trades in Canada dying for fresh blood … sprinklers, locksmiths, millwrights, boilermakers, instrumentation techs. So many great choices.”

The message from workers, economists and even Joe Rogan is the same: Blue-collar doesn’t mean low-earning — and in today’s economy, it might be the smarter bet.

— with files from Leslie Kennedy and Jing Pan

Article sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

The Joe Rogan Experience (1); Government of Canada: Job Bank (2); Government of Canada: Job Bank (3); The Daily (4, 5); Ziprecruiter (6); Government of Canada: Job Bank (7); ZipRecruiter (8); Government of Canada (9); CBC (10)