Duden advises on how to pursue a trade in the U.S.

Finally, a few words about direction. The artisan, the technician, or the craftsman will also be freer in this respect than the farmer, insofar as the nature of these skills and trades (especially with a certain degree of training) prevents great differences. However, everyone must orient himself in the new surroundings before he proceeds to extensive undertakings. The native has the advantage over the immigrant that only a longer stay in the country can supply. When a European has once come to feel at home here, then everything that promised him an advantage over others in his own country will prove of value here. But the person who wants to proceed immediately in the European way and wants to spend considerable amounts in doing so has to beware that he does not lose his means before he is capable of using them.

The last remark is important for no one more than for the farmers, because they have the most to learn in America and need guidance most ... If a person has engaged in agriculture in Europe, he will know much that is also applicable here. But the important thing is that he comes with an open mind as far as the standards and practices of European agriculture are concerned, instead of being ruled by them. The immigrant must approach his new life with a mind that can comprehend easily what the climate, the soil, and its location offer in the midst of the changing relationship of social and political conditions. Such a person will, instead of beginning with adverse criticism of local procedure, consider carefully whether he will not have to adapt himself to a similar one. He must not expect the Americans to take the trouble to disprove his criticism. The more decisively the stranger airs his opinions, the less they will try to teach him. They become politely evasive or even agree with him, well aware of the fact that the practical results will teach him more effectively than words.