Thinking about a new career path.

[notazombie]

I was an auto tech for over 20 years. Whenever I hear some young guy talking about wanting to get in I try to talk them out of it. It's a technical job and parts changers can't hack it. Problem is, no one wants to pay for talent or experience. There are rarely any benefits to speak of. You're on your own for retirement. Plus, you get to spend 10-20% of your income on tools. It's also hard on your body. Not just the physical strain but also the chemical exposure.
I got into it because it was fun and I have an aptitude. I'm out now, hopefully for good. I'm still in an automotive related field but no longer in the trenches like I was.
My brother is a body tech. His complaints are similar to mine but without the heavy tool tax. He makes twice what I did. His biggest complaint at this point is insurance company interference.

If I could talk to 20 year old me, I'd probably be an electrician now.

 

[Heywood]

Low voltage electrician here. You can do anything from work for a cable/sat/phone company in the bad times. All the way to setting up multi million dollar networks or entertainment systems on your own. When the economy last crashed I had a few friends that were skilled tradesmen that had to sit around waiting for work, 2 other low voltage guys worked as a subcontractor to a satellite internet business and made over 100k a year. And it's easy work too. Another went to work for an alarm company and did ok and still another was a sub contractor for sat tv and made a ton of money. All of them could work on the side doing telecom and entertainment prewire jobs for electricians and made good money there as well.

 

[Stomper]

I forgot to mention that my employer pays me $1,000 a month extra just to be on-call for after hours emergencies, whether we get called or not... we almost NEVER get after hours calls, and when I do go out I get paid triple figures per hour from the time I leave my house, time on the job, and the trip back to my house (usually an hour each way).... what a country!



I just belted out $50,000 worth of additional follow-up repair quotes today from all the service calls I had this week....

 

[308]

^^will you be my sugar daddy

 

[AK0perator47]

^^will you be my sugar daddy

lol I just snorted when I saw this! WTH is wrong with people?

Next thing you know they will be posting kicking people in the ding ding in other threads so they forget about the pain they're in. Geez

 

[Stomper]

^^will you be my sugar daddy

Sorry, that position is "filled".... plus your boobs are too small.

lol I just snorted when I saw this! WTH is wrong with people?

Next thing you know they will be posting kicking people in the ding ding in other threads so they forget about the pain they're in. Geez

<——— ding-ding

 

[jb11]

I forgot to mention that my employer pays me $1,000 a month extra just to be on-call for after hours emergencies, whether we get called or not... we almost NEVER get after hours calls, and when I do go out I get paid triple figures per hour from the time I leave my house, time on the job, and the trip back to my house (usually an hour each way).... what a country!



I just belted out $50,000 worth of additional follow-up repair quotes today from all the service calls I had this week....

I hope there were some ice machines in that quote. I hate those things.

 

[joken]

Thats no lie. Few years ago I was on a job in central Oregon there were probably 12 of us. I was the baby on the crew at 36........blew my mind. Couple guys in their 40's but the bulk were in their 50's and 60's. Couple over 70! On an underground job no less. Hopping in and out of ditches, running a shovel at times.

My friend said that projects are being held up because there are no tradesmen to do the work and everyone is buried in work. I think nursing will see a glut when us boomers are gone.

 

[308]

.... plus your boobs are too small.

Not anymore. Ive been driving a desk for the last two year and getting quite voluptuous

 

[Tully Mars]

I'm a rig welder, for those that don't know what that is i have my own truck and tools and go do jobs on a bid basis. i've done erection, tilt-ups, mechanical construction, and oil industry, everything from banks, sam's clubs, frito lays plants, food processing, windmills to pipeline, oil or water tanks, co-gen plants, chemical plants, refineries, cement plants, and i could go on. I started in 91' and stopped in 2012. the hours suck but i was making 10k a month clear in 91'. If you are willing to put in the time and learn the trade, and i mean all of the welding processes from tig to stick get certs in all you can and be willing to travel from one side of the country to the other. Own a ton of equipment. It is a great job. I had a lot of fun and got to see a lot of places. and there is always work in the oil fields and in food processing plants when times are lean. BUT if i could go back and knew what i know now i would go into healthcare and have a nice cushy job inside where it is never 120 outside and i'm in a ditch in leathers having to air arc out someone's mess so i can fix it. Or doing tube turns in the rain with makeshift tarps trying my best not to get shocked. Oh and to you know still be able to hear out of my left ear and be able to see w/o glasses or any number of burns, broken bones and other things that happen.

I've been a welder for 35 years and a rig welder for 20 of those years. I've started and sold off two businesses, making money both times. Like you stated I've done all kinds of welding work, but most of my stuff has been oil patch related. That's where I made the most money. The work is hard, but that's how I was raised. Back in Colorado before Berry was elected I was grossing 30k a month per truck and I had 6 running at that time.

The welding trade has been very good to me and my family. I'm soon to be 55yrs old and everything I have is paid for. I have worked on every continent, seen things and been places that most only read about.
I now work locally for the most part on what I want. To be honest, it's getting hard to keep up with the young guys and I don't have to work anymore-I want to. I do enough to keep the rust off my skillset, but mainly I play. Anything related to firearms. I build steel targets, target stands and bullet recovery systems. I added a gunsmithing section to my shop, and I do refinishing for some other smiths and shops in the area and I do repairs and builds on stuff that I know. I love the lathe and mill work as much as I did the welding.

The welding trade is what made all of that possible.
But, it comes with a cost. You miss a lot of family events on the road. It will eventually trash a marriage if you are gone as much as I was, but I guess that can be said for any travel heavy job.

 

[Stomper]

I hope there were some ice machines in that quote. I hate those things.

Yeah those things can be tedious, and MAN can they get rank and moldy if they're neglected... which is usually the case.

 

[308]

Yeah those things can be tedious, and MAN can they get rank and moldy if they're neglected... which is usually the case.

(1) Never use a charcoal filter on an icemaker, only a sediment filter (2) setup the air system correctly to minimize the food particles in the air causing the microbial contamination.

But yeh, I've clean some nasty mold infestes icemakes in my time.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

Dude,

I have been in HVAC for 27years. There is a SEVERE shortage of skilled labor in the trades. I used to LOVE installing when I was younger, but the real money is in the service/repair aspect of the trade and it doesn't beat one's body up as much.

I have a Class-5 boiler license, a LEB electrical license, a myriad of other certifications, and I work on everything from the big-boy chillers to the big-boy boilers and EVERYTHING in between ranging from reach-in coolers to automated building environmental control systems (those diverse skills equal awesome pay). I get tired and worn out at times, but I'm seldom bored.

I'm the HVAC service foreman for our Company that does >$80 million in annual gross sales (sometimes >$100 million) and I work an average of 2300-2500 hours a year (I'm paid hourly) and I EARN well into six-figures a year (not even counting my pension and benefits package). My cars and Harley are paid for, and my house will be paid off in about 7 more years. My next career phase (and challenge) is moving into management (from the office) when my boss (the service dept. manager) retires.

If things don't "change" I can punch out by the time I'm 62 and draw my full pension and do something else that interests me. The cool thing is that over time, MILLIONAIRES now seek out my professional input and make serious decisions based upon what I say.... THAT's respect, and it's actually kind of humbling.

If you have decent HS transcripts with at least one year of algebra (and you can tolerate more than a few "lefties") you can apply at our trade union, United Association Local 290 in Tualatin, . We have an accredited 5-yr apprenticeship program that gives you an associates degree when you're completed.

Keep in mind, pay and benefits are awesome but they don't just "give" you that money... you have to bring something to the table and EARN it.




Go check it out.

UA Local 290 | Serving Oregon, SE Washington & Northern California

Would you please spare a poor bum like me $1 for a shot of cheap booze?

 

[dangerranger60]

I started out as an Iron Worker, But realized early on that it was too hard on the body! ost of the guys I was working with were retiring with serious injuries at age 40 to 45 years old!
I followed my father in law into the Pipe fitters field. I did that till the economy slowed and I tried repair plumbing.
I found out I could make as much or more without packing up and moving every two years. I have owned and sold two good plumbing companies.
But my last gig is as a Stationary Engineer in a Jail complex. The years in the field have been very hard on the body but I'm now paid to make decisions based on those years of experience.

Being able to move out of field work into an Engineering job probably added 10 years to my working career.
I'll retire in Nov of 18 making more than I do now working! Now Ill just have to find something to do for 10 more hours a day! DR

 

[Argonaut]

I started out as an Iron Worker, But realized early on that it was too hard on the body! ost of the guys I was working with were retiring with serious injuries at age 40 to 45 years old!
I followed my father in law into the Pipe fitters field. I did that till the economy slowed and I tried repair plumbing.
I found out I could make as much or more without packing up and moving every two years. I have owned and sold two good plumbing companies.
But my last gig is as a Stationary Engineer in a Jail complex. The years in the field have been very hard on the body but I'm now paid to make decisions based on those years of experience.

Being able to move out of field work into an Engineering job probably added 10 years to my working career.
I'll retire in Nov of 18 making more than I do now working! Now Ill just have to find something to do for 10 more hours a day! DR

Something like.........GET OUT OF CALIFORNIA.........

 

[teflon6string]

...
Now Ill just have to find something to do for 10 more hours a day! DR

Congrats in advance Danger! I pulled the plug in July but still manage to put in 10-12 hour days. Of course that involves rehabbing several rooms in my wife's house as well as emptying and selling my old place. I really don't know how I ever had time to spend 40 hours a week at work.

Three obvious advantages that you might enjoy, even if you stay busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest:

- Ditching the desk and eateries downtown, I quickly shed 10 pounds of hard gut that didn't look good on an otherwise fit frame.

- No more nightmares about trying to accommodate the pointless, swirling mental gyrations of a socially stunted supervisor.

- Knocking out projects all week allows me to enjoy weekends with Mrs Teflon instead of dragging her along while I do chores on Sat/Sun.

 

[dangerranger60]

Congrats in advance Danger! I pulled the plug in July but still manage to put in 10-12 hour days. Of course that involves rehabbing several rooms in my wife's house as well as emptying and selling my old place. I really don't know how I ever had time to spend 40 hours a week at work.

Three obvious advantages that you might enjoy, even if you stay busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest:

- Ditching the desk and eateries downtown, I quickly shed 10 pounds of hard gut that didn't look good on an otherwise fit frame.

- No more nightmares about trying to accommodate the pointless, swirling mental gyrations of a socially stunted supervisor.

- Knocking out projects all week allows me to enjoy weekends with Mrs Teflon instead of dragging her along while I do chores on Sat/Sun.

I have been off work rehabbing after shoulder surgery. My wife is calling it a "Practice Retirement!" I'm going back in November, and then a year later Ill retire.
I'm not very good at sitting still. I'm still forming a plan. At one point I taught in a Tech School. I liked it enough that I may get my NRA credentials and teach Hunters Safety, or CCW classes. Not something I have to punch a clock at, But keep busy and pay me to travel. DR

 

[EPS]

I am 31 years old and have had the same type of job for 11 years and at the same company for 7 years. I have a warehouse job I receive raw grains and flour. I'm just not satisfied at the end of the day I don't feel like I have really used my brain much.

I keep getting told to go in to a skilled trade. I have been thinking about maybe plumbing. I hear there is a lot of demand for them right now so sounds like a good place to start.

Who works a trade and loves there job? Why? I would love to here from y'all and kinda help talk me in to it.

If you're going to go to school to change careers electricity is the future I know union line men that make over a hundred grand a year and if there are huge storm 's and power is out to whole city 's they get paid 1000 dollars a day to work but they travel the country

 

[EPS]

My friend Russ has a F350 and a fith wheel camper trailer he travels all over the United States as a union line men works on the huge power lines that cross cross the country he makes great money but you can stay local if you want I know when I had power problem 's at my house a few months ago when the guy showed up and fixed it I was so happy I could have gave him a hug but nobody wants a hug from me I'm kinda big and ugly and smell like beer most of the time lol

 

[Hawaiian]

Why is there still such a emphasis on math? Today, a pocket computer can do all the math for you?
I suck at math, but it does not hinder me in the real world.