Taking a few welding courses at the local community college was an eye opening experience for me. Welding is a means by which someone with essentially no education (but a steady hand) can earn a very decent living. Additionally, I've heard the age of the average weldor is something like 58. There's a coming glut in the market for skilled weldors, and it's going to be big. http://bit.ly/pmZVkz
Same for small-scale computerized manufacturing. The educational requirements are slightly higher (shockingly few people know even the simplest shred of trigonometry) but it's still a great way for some who would otherwise be flipping burgers to support a family.
