Researching switching jobs into the trades. Any advice?

[Loneiguana]

To try to make a long story short, I've spent the last 8 years working in front of a computer. I was using my college degree, but 2 years ago I was involuntary moved to graphic design. I tried to learn it on my own, no help from employer, but it was rough. I recently went out a got another editing job, but I don't like it. I'm tired of being bored. And I'm tired of not really building any skills, mastering my craft, and the day going by super slow.

I have some connections in the local trade unions and am looking at tech schools as well. Though I need to remain employed, I have 3 kids.

I have a meeting with a carpenter union this afternoon for some information, local job market and such.

My current job does offer things like pension, Healthcare, paid time off, sick leave. So I do have nice bendifits.

My wife is worried if I went into the trades, I'd hardly see my family, let alone be able to help her with sick kids or running them around. My father was a union labor, so I have experience with that as well.

I do have a good work life balance now, if only super bored and burned out at work.

Anyone here work for any of the unions or any trades? What's work life balance like currently? Any non union jobs out there with paid training? Anyone else make a similar career change in mid life?

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by Holladay

You are in the tech industry. What better time to be in it!

Yes, it can be boring...all jobs can be at times. Get more certifications. Learn to program. Sharpen your resume.

The tech industry is very fluid. Of all the tech people I know, none have been with the same company. They get a raise during the switch.

Great boring industry to be in!

I bet your getting paid well. You didn't include that in the OP.

My son went into the Military. I told him to go IT not Infantry. He has been working for a tech co for 3.5 yrs "Dad, it is soooo boring". He doesn't say that now. He just got a pay bump of 20k, making 80k at 24 yro.

Work is work. Money is money. Take your money with the wife and kids and go have fun.

W - O - R - K is a 4 letter word. It is not suppose to be fun but a means to an end. You are VERY lucky if you love your job and get paid well.

I wasn't smart enough to go tech. I went English major.

Though I may take some classes at the local community College. I like building computers, so it's an area I've given thought.

[notorious]

How old are your kids, Lone?

[Mr. Wizard]

Been teaching trades for 33 years, have past students in all walks of life, here is my 2 cents.
At your age I think you are better off calling local electrical or HVAC companies and telling them your story and asking if they are looking for an apprentice. They will hire you and teach you until you take your apprentice test then your journeyman test. At that point (usually a year) you are a journeyman electrician.
I have sent kids to trade schools for electricity and they ended up doing the same thing as stated about. May as well go straight to the apprenticeship.

Personally I would say, Electrical or HVAC are clean, require less travel.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by Loneiguana

I wasn't smart enough to go tech. I went English major.

Though I may take some classes at the local community College. I like building computers, so it's an area I've given thought.

If your local CC has courses that end with you having certifications for IT, that could be a great option.

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Lone,

I started my career change/business when I was 25. I don't think I could do it now, especially walking away from benefits. Seemed easier at the time.

Now what I did is a fair bit different from a union outfit. I don't have any experience here.

Just tossing ideas out here, so maybe you're not interested at all, but maybe you pick up a side hustle. I know there are lots of videos on YouTube about finish carpentry that you could look at. My buddies' wife has a little craft business that pulls in some cash. They don't care about net profit, so it all goes back out, but if you manage it for a profit, there can be some nice little side businesses out there. And if you get bored at work, use your mental bandwidth to focus on things for your side hustle. Keep the benefits and pay and get satisfaction elsewhere.

Thanks.

This has been a huge line of thought to me as well.

Being bored at work really motivates me to do something productive when I get home, and a lot of side gigs look fun.

Right now this approach seems the most realistic, dependent on me finding a good side gig.

[Jewish Rabbi]

Male stripper

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

You don't sound like someone who should make a switch like that at all, OP.

You need to find a way to keep yourself busy.

I've told myself that years.

And I did too. Taught myself graphic design purely by my own desire to learn it while at work. And it wore me out.

You are of course correct, but I've gotten burned out on finding work to stay occupied after my last job.

I need to right my thinking, but I'm also motivated to find somewhere that will train me rather than I train myself.

I do need to hear what you said.

And yeah, I hate job hunting and making changes. This is hard on me.

[ghak99]

I possess the 30+ year daily work journal of an operator. The first 10 were non union and the last 20+ were metro area union. It should really be made into a book as it is full of pros and cons and creates a decent educational story line from start to finish, but the biggest thing every family member who has read a piece of it comes away with is just how much time was lost. If your kids are of the age range I assume they are, I'd put some heavy thought into the decision before joining any trade that requires travel. Joining young and dumb allows for growth and adjusting as you and the family matures. Joining late is a culture shock for the family and a long rough row to hoe for the individual.

If you were to ask me what I thought based on your posts, you should explore any options of joining the office of a union trade, probably not the general population. They are two very different personality types and the office guys never end up crippled from the daily grind. You're probably going to need to know someone to get the foot in that door unless you catch a staff rebooting, as they tend to do every so often.

If you can find a local based trade, there is definitely a sweet spot worth hitting for many people and families where they get a healthy balance of rewards without being gone all the time. I know some drywall and painters who live in the northland and have loved their job for around a decade now. Notice that decade started with them joining after '08 and living in the middle of ground zero. It's key to their story and their now being far enough up the call sheet that they won't be the first to be left swinging during the next down cycle.

[George Liquor]

Imagine lone lecturing a bunch of trade union workers on their internalized transphobia

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

1. Not sure why picking up a trade would mean less time at home with your family. If anything, the best tradesmen set their own hours. Depending on the craft, you could knock out a job in two weeks and then afford to take the next two weeks off for the month.

.

Union contruction Family experience. While my dad was able to make a lot of after school sports and stuff, there were times he missed things. He also didn't ever stay home with us as sick kids or when school days are off. He did some Callaway Nuclear plant outages, which were 60 plus hours a week 3 months at a time. The union could send you up to 2 hours away, so you may get off at 330, but your still not home till after 5.

My family is currently use to my wife and I being able to switch up who takes off to watch a kid when needed. I coach week nights.

I would basically trade some easy to get family time for a eventually better pay check and a skill that I could potentially use like you said to make my own hours.

I would be a gamble.

[TripleThreat]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wizard

Been teaching trades for 33 years, have past students in all walks of life, here is my 2 cents.
At your age I think you are better off calling local electrical or HVAC companies and telling them your story and asking if they are looking for an apprentice. They will hire you and teach you until you take your apprentice test then your journeyman test. At that point (usually a year) you are a journeyman electrician.
I have sent kids to trade schools for electricity and they ended up doing the same thing as stated about. May as well go straight to the apprenticeship.

Personally I would say, Electrical or HVAC are clean, require less travel.

How is HVAC clean? I don't understand why people outside of HVAC think this is a clean trade. It must be because they see us working with metal and making it look all nice in the air it's clean lol. The amount of metal/insulation/puddy/cuts that I experienced never made me feel like I was in a clean trade.

I don't even understand how you think he goes to journeyman in one year?

For us it was pre apprentice, take your apprentice test. Apprentice for years 1-5, with pay going up each year and you had to do 2 weeks of schooling every few months each year. after year 5 you were then a journeyman.

I'm speaking from a Union stand point so maybe Non-Union it's different and/or easier but if he's wanting a pension/benefits/packages etc, Union is the way to go.

THAT BEING SAID: I advise NOT joining the trade and/or union and here's my reasoning.


If you don't like change, if you don't like working with new people every day, if you don't like not knowing who your boss is going to be or the company you're going to work with in a year from now, if any of that stresses you out, don't join the trade.

A typical start up for you is you will be sent to a company and fill out paperwork and they will then send you to one of their many job sites for work. You will show up and meet your new boss and be sent to do whatever work he needs you to do that day. You will usually continue on this project until you finish said room/area and then be told to do something else.

At any moment your boss/company could send you to a whole new jobsite where you are then met with meeting a new boss/foreman and new coworkers. Hopefully they are nice each time right?

Then you have the chance of being abruptly laid off a few months later simply because work slowed down and you are back to the hall where you get reassigned to a new company for work. The hall is really your employer, but the companys work through the union hall to secure workers.

When you become a journeyman, every year you get the same pay raise as all the other journeyman no matter what work you do. Your reward for good work is being able to keep your job, that's about it. If you find a good company, especially as a journeyman, then it can be nice because you build friendships over time etc, but as said before, it just takes one slow spell and your back to the hall looking for a new company/work.

My brother's a foreman and he loves what he does, has a truck and the company provides him a gas card so no miles or gas for his long travel, but you gotta remember you go where the work goes. You'll need to live close to where you work, otherwise your days are LONG and you are TIRED every day.

I would get up at 4am, and I wouldn't be home until 4:00 pm even though I was off at 2:30 pm. Prime Traffic time. Then you're home and tired cause you've been sweating and working your ass off all day as opposed to listening to Dorothy on your teams call rant about that past due claim.

Stick with what you're doing, if you're bored find exciting work on the computer side of life. If you want to be trained in something new and feel accomplished, go back to your local college and take some courses in some things you may find interesting and go from there while keeping your job to support your family. School can be your back up and once you finish and apply to your dream job in a career that you found fun through school courses, you can quit your current job.

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by notorious

I’ve been doing carpentry for nearly 20 years and am far happier than I was flying everywhere.

I’ve transitioned to managing serval of my businesses now. Still enjoy it, miss the actual work, though.

I also grew up with it. I don’t know about someone getting into the trade with age that’s rarely touched a saw before.

Real work has a tendency to kick office jockeys’ asses. Get ready for a rough start.

You ever union? Do any training anywhere, like a community college?

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

I personally think any of the major trades such as construction, plumbing, automotive fabrication, electrical etc would be a total culture shock for him. In both the people, the work and the work environments. And the pay will kinda suck to start.

The good money don't start until the people around you think you're worth it. And that takes time, **** ups, and trust.

The only reason I even have a shot to get into a union are the connections I have. My dad has worked with the current business agent of the local carpenter union, who is also family friends with my uncle.

I've spend some time on a job site (being electrian helper, sod carrier, and carpenter tender). I've also worked at Meeks delivering and unloading lumber and doors and windows.

Yeah, the great money is down the line, but 18 to 20 an hour start isn't bad when I'm making 43 a year currently.

It would be bad if I have long bouts of unemployment.

[Loneiguana]

Originally Posted by Spott

It’s definitely a culture shock, but I was fortunate enough to not suffer any type of pay cuts when I changed over because I took a different job with the same employer because of layoffs back in 2004. Going from a career of being in an office all day to being a lineman where was pretty overwhelming at first, but it didn’t take me long to really love the job once I got the hang of it. Trade jobs can definitely be very lucrative and it would probably surprise a lot of people with how much many of them pay, but it’s not necessarily for everyone. There’s a lot of days where I’d go home sweaty, bloody and covered in dirt, and although I never minded it, some people just aren’t wired that way.

If the OP is ready for a career change I’d be all for it, because it really gives you a good perspective of how the other side operates. Although it’s a tough change, it’s definitely pretty rewarding.

Thank you.

I've been looking at utility and linemen degrees at a tech school. I think it would be fun. But that is definitely a longer schooling.

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by BDj23

Imagine lone lecturing a bunch of trade union workers on their internalized transphobia

Imagine a bunch of construction workers knowing what internalized meant.