By Pattie Mihalik

newsgirl@comcast.netI've become somewhat of a sidewalk superintendent - someone who stands around watching a construction project in progress.What captured my attention is the new home going up on the next block. I never saw a home going up as fast as that one. My neighbors agree it's the fastest progress they've ever seen in home construction.I'm amazed when I watch the crew work. They don't seem to be breaking a sweat but they get so much done in a day.Yesterday I watched a skinny worker pick up a huge piece of wooden framework. Another guy waited on the roof while he handed the framework to him.How, I wonder, can he lift that thing by himself? Even skinny guys must have incredible strength.The other day I needed to carry my 15-foot kayak over a rock pile because if I pulled it the bottom would be ruined. I told myself I could do it. But I couldn't. I managed to move it a few feet at a time before I had to rest it on the ground.Are guys that much stronger than women? They're certainly stronger than I'll ever be. I keep trying go build up some arm muscle to get strong enough to carry my kayak by myself.One reason why I was so fascinated with the construction workers who made so much progress in one day is that it seemed like there were many more than the five guys working there.Watching them made me think about how good tradesmen are getting harder to come by.One veteran vo-tech teacher told me there are fewer students today who want to learn a trade. Yet he noted that a good tradesman could earn decent money right off the bat without having to pay back thousands of dollars in student loans.For decades we've been told having a college degree is mandatory to get ahead in this world. I bought into that, too. In past generations, a college degree was a passport to better-paying jobs.That's no longer the case for many kids who come out of college with huge debt and no jobs in their field.Does the fault lie in the fact that kids pick careers based solely on what appeals to them when they start college instead of picking a career like engineering where college grads can find plentiful jobs right after graduation?Whenever I talk with someone headed to college, I ask about the job potential in their chosen career. Everyone thinks the potential is great - until they are actually out there looking.So many have to settle for a job, period, not necessarily something in their field of interest.A college education can be the right steppingstone to a rewarding career. Or, maybe not.The vo-tech teacher may have a vested interest in saying the time is especially right for students to consider learning a trade that will pay off with good employment prospects.I agree with him. All around me there are more construction job openings than there are people to fill them. And it's always a problem to find good repairmen of any kind.One of the problems may be tradesmen are not rightly compensated for their knowledge and hard work.In any field, all workers are not created equally.Some work very hard. Others don't care about being a good worker.I hope the construction crew doing an amazing job putting up the new house is well-compensated. But I doubt their paycheck reflects their value.I'm not the only one who is amazed at how fast that small crew is putting up the house. My neighbors said they never saw a better, faster crew. We all made note of the company in case we ever need a builder.Coincidentally, another new home was just erected across the street from the one now going up. It took a year and a half for that builder to finish the house.In talking with Bob and Karen, the owners of that home, they told me they were supposed to be in their home seven months before it was actually finished.Since they live across from the home now going up, they can't help but contrast the builders.Actually, any builder is only as good as his workers.Do you think really fast, conscientious workers are paid more than those who don't share their work ethic?Sometimes it takes awhile for a good worker to find a good company - or to go in business for himself.The very knowledgeable repairman I hired to do some work for me told me he makes upward of $75,000 fixing air conditioners. He got his training working seven years for others before he realized he could make more going into business for himself."If you have initiative, if you treat people right and if you're not afraid of hard work, you can do really well for yourself," he said.Maybe if we valued tradesmen more and paid them what they are worth more young people would be interested in that kind of career.It could only be a win-win for everyone.Here's a relevant question: Do you still think a college education is the surest way to economic stability?Or, do you think preparing for a job in the trades is a better answer?Contact Pattie Mihalik at

newsgirl@comcast.net.