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I do think that there's like at least big portions of our culture that doesn't encourage trade work

in the way that we encourage white collar work. Why do you think that is? Why don't we encourage

people to go into the trades?

I think there's two reasons. I think one reason is that there is not widespread knowledge that

tradespeople make money, like a lot of money and make good money and that it's a good job and

you can get paid well. Like you can make just as much as people who go to college. I'm making more going to trade

school than I ever made going to college. And then I think it's just like it's hard and dirty.

I'm like, girl, I have swamp ass all day. Like I am sweaty. I am dirty. I am tired. I am fighting

for my life. But I do feel that most days it's worth it.

This is Alden.

She's a 30-year-old union carpenter in Massachusetts.

I think a lot of people, when they think of carpentry, they think of a guy who builds houses or works with wood all day.

Yeah.

But the cool thing about carpentry is that it's basically just using any type of materials to build something.

Alden works with all kinds of materials, wood but also metal, concrete, vinyl, often on big

commercial construction sites.

She does everything from laying concrete foundations to framing and drywalling, to paneling

the outside of buildings.

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