What are middle skill jobs (and what on Earth is the middle skills job gap?)
There’s a belief that middle children are easily forgotten. As a middle child myself, I like to joke about it, “My sisters had it so easy, but no one paid attention to me!” According to the myth, middle children are resourceful, hard working, and loyal because they have to earn attention.
Here’s what’s not a joke or a myth: middle-skill jobs are there but often overlooked, and middle skill workers are resourceful, hard working, and desperately needed.
You’re asking me, what is a “middle-skill job”? Middle-skill jobs are careers that require technical education and training beyond the high school level, but not a four-year college degree (aka: good money in less time).
Not pictured: The middle child. TYPICAL.
There are plenty of respectable careers that do not require an expensive four-year college education, but take a different education pathway instead, like... associate degrees, certifications, apprenticeships, on-the-job training...
Some examples of ways to make it in a middle-skills job:
Complete an associate’s degree to become a Dental Assistant earning up to $32k a year.
Earn a certification to become an Electrician earning $50.5k a year.
Train in a Carpentry Apprenticeship leading to a career of $60k a year.
...the list goes on.
With comfortable salaries, how are these jobs easily forgotten? It’s easy to feel like there are only two options: to go big or go home. It’s easy to feel like without a four-year college degree, you won’t find fulfilling work. I’m here to tell you, that is not the case. According to NBC, 53% of all jobs in America are middle-skill jobs. And guess what, companies are desperate to hire!
Mike Tamasi, CEO of AccuRounds, a machining manufacturing company, told NBC, “Anybody who is talented and already has that technical experience has a job.” Employers are eager to fill the middle-skills gap, they just need qualified applicants.
According to Harvard Business School’s report Bridge the Gap: Rebuilding America’s Middle Skills, middle-skill workers have been the “backbone of America’s workforce” but there is more need now than ever for trained skills.
USE THIS OPPORTUNITY. Middle-skills workers are needed and to become one takes focus but it can be done quickly, locally, and leads to a lasting career.