Because my dad is a tradesman, I've known quite a few people in them who make a whole bunch of money, yet still consider themselves uneducated and look up to college smarts as if it's something out of reach to them. Some of these guys have such incredible talent that they make $80/hr installing doors that only a handful of people in the vicinity know how to do. My dad, for the most part, has been a general contractor, and even though he has installed thousands of doors during his career, he sometimes still has to call his door guy who can figure out the toughest door install there is. And he makes buttloads by just installing doors. The same exists in virtually every area of trades, but nobody looks up to it because it's messy work where you build up a sweat and don't wash your hands before you eat. Every person I've known who make a great living in the trades still subtly view what they do less favorably than what college degrees are supposed to get you.

I agree with the Mike Rowe view: we have tricked ourselves into thinking these kinds of jobs suck and the economy suffers significantly because of it. But they're great jobs.