Hey y’all, this is a career switch question bc although I would love to be freed from the life of W-4s, I have no idea on how. I am a plumbing apprentice, and I hate it. I love learning plumbing, I love the applications, I love how many ways and types of plumber you can be, but I fucking hate The Plumbers. I am super fucking tired of the western idea that sitting to do a task or using PPE is giving half the energy and that if a foreman saw that, they’d get laid off. They have romanticized the old days and old timers who strong armed their way through everything, and died of oral cancer and liver cirrhosis. That time came and went. My body is decaying under the three front war of it all. Not even kidding, the bones in my feet are starting to push inward and bellow out from shoving them in a steel boot everyday. The plumbers I’ve experienced are filthy and vectors of disease, picking their nose and then asking to hold my personal tools, pulling their dicks out to piss through the company harness’ holes so they don’t have to wash their hands or remove the gear. Then on top of that they pretend not to see me, every morning. I’m always tasked out as an afterthought and told I’m a diversity hire. They can remember 1000 different Mikes & Johns but have attempted to physically look through me bc they have mentally erased me. Then I’m told I’m not a team player bc after being ignored through the week, I won’t commit the next 10 weekends to overtime. There’s too much accepted degeneracy for me to stick around after I finish apprenticing. I mention everything above not to air out grievances, but because they are non negotiables for the transition I wish to make. I am super grateful for the job security I’ve had through the entire pandemic but the way everyone moves like cows to the slaughter during lay off season I can’t do. I need a career transition where hopefully I can make use of my journeyman card, but I don’t wanna be sick all the time bc the unsanitary lifestyles of my coworkers. I need something preferably less physical, but mostly less mentally distressing. I haven’t spent a sober day in this trade after the first three months of it all, when I’ve been straight edge my whole life. I don’t think there are any industries where nepotism doesn’t play a part, but I miss the air of sensitivity training where people had to be made of use. I’m simply here to learn a skill, but I spend more time dodging egos and people’s perception of me stopping me from getting my hands on tool. It honestly sounds like I should freelance plumbing but that’s not an option bc I can’t guarantee that in a few years I will have the skill set to contract out my own work consistently. So thanks for reading this long ass paragraph, please lemme know your thoughts and suggestions on making my next move my best move. Btw I am union and I am a She. If that makes any difference.