# I am at a career crossroad.



## Addon Builders (Jan 20, 2010)

*well....*

When i was younger i knew that I was going to be in building trades. My grandfather was a GC and if he hadnt passed awat when i was 12 then I would have been well on my way by now. I started working for myself about 3 years ago after working in a couple cabinet and countertop shops. I wanted to work for myself and never looked back. Last year I decided to drop a small fortune on shop tools and start building cabinets and furniture. Its been the most rewarding experience so far. Alot of people think its hard to build custom cabinets. The tools do all the work, you just tell them what to do. JMO

Jason


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## Carpenter Wayne (Dec 21, 2009)

The best advice I can offer to you is find/figure out which part of the trade you like to do (or can see yourself doing) the most, and run with that - the rest will come in time as you're exposed to more and more of it along the way (and whatever doesn't - don't matter anyway) as it's not all about trying to be/know all about everything.

The way I see it is - we all have to make a living somehow, and these days it's hard to turn down ANY work but there's always some part/s of the trade you like doing more than others, and that you find yourself doing more of because of that fact (but at the same time) you don't really want to go off into a part of the trade that you really don't like doing JUST for the sake of making $$ - that's when you wake up one day (10 yrs down the rd at 30/+) and realize just how much you hate your job, feeling like you've wasted part of your life, and find yourself wishing that you would've pursued the path you wanted to in the 1st place (and you don't give a crap about the $$ anymore because you'd rather be doing something you "enjoy" VS making top dollar in something you hate).

Example - I used to do concrete work from 16 til 19 yrs old, and roofing for a few yrs in my early 20s but I soon realized that neither of those trades were for me as I worked my azz off while watching the trim carpenters show up at 8:00am and leave at 3:00 or 4:00 just as clean as they were when they showed up in the am, after having played with wood & cool saws/etc. all day (while) I worked like a dog in the hot sun all day from sun up to sun down, doing that back-breaking slave labor work, sweating my azz off, listening to a screaming bunch of A-hole bosses that I wanted to throw off the roof and going home as dirty as the night is black only to wake up the next day, and do/deal with it all again. I told myself - I want to do what THOSE guys are doing so I went off into the remodeling aspect of the trade which lead to other things, and I haven't looked back/regretted that choice for a single day!

You can't pay me enough to be a concrete guy or a roofer, and I don't like or want anything to do with siding either. My preference's are for interiors/finishes, and I stick to that (commercial and residential) with preference to commercial work because of better pay, better working conditions, better benefits, etc. and residential work more as an on the side thing for extra $$. Home owners suck, they're a bunch of whining crybabies, and are a pain in your azz - you don't have to deal with them/the BS that goes with them in the commercial world. You just need to do your job, do it well, and on time and usually you don't have much to deal with beyond that in the commercial trade/s.

These are just my experiences and opinions in/of life & the trades - others may disagree and that's fine - what it all comes down to is YOU and what YOU want/like to do - figure it out, and go with it, and you'll be fine!

Good luck no matter what you choose.


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## contractors pro (Jan 29, 2010)

Try carpentery once...may be it will work


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## curtis fulton (Jan 29, 2010)

good luck and congradulations


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## cbchris (Jan 4, 2010)

Just get out there and try different types of work. Reading won't do any trade justice, you can't beat first hand experience.


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