WELDERS Rule! So do Electricians! Plumbers! Heavy Equipment Operators! Machinists!
Any one of them can make BIG BUCKS while the lib arts students are still in school racking up debt.
My point, exactly! These creative, cerebral types don't realize that they can be an electrician/plumber, etc. and either pursue their passion on the side (after work hours), or somehow integrate their creativity into their work.
I work at a library, but do my writing & editing on the side as freelance/moonlight/hobby. Also I write for the library blog. They can find jobs that complement their creative interests.
I see a big conflict among the younger generation -- creative fulfillment vs. financial realities. Have any of them been groomed for marriage? "Marriage-minded" means being practical. It means giving up the $5 latte when the kids need new shoes.
Actually, this is another topic -- the obsession with artisanal food, on which, according to the author, his generation spends at least 40% of their earnings. Try budgeting a family menu on heirloom tomatoes, which cost $9/lb. Or rice grown by Tibetan monks, whatever. This is not how poor or middle-class people with children eat.
Sure, being an electrician isn't "sexy." But the world looks a lot nicer when you're able to pay rent/mortgage & provide for a family.