Yes this is the way: you go into the trades, become a journeyman to learn the ropes, open your own shop, maybe eventually hire a few others, and then comfortably retire. All the people I know in trades who made good money went this way. There is a huge differential in trades between the cost of work being billed out and how much the worker is paid, and that surplus goes into the business owner's pocket. If you do good work as an independent you will always be busy.