Is anyone working in the trades?

[GQgeek]

If you want to make money in trades, it's pretty easy because not a lot of people are going in to them anymore, so they're always in demand. Guys working at the oil&gas fields in Alberta make a lot of money (like 200k). Their living conditions kinda suck though. On the other hand, back when we had the hotel, one of our electricians used to take contract jobs in the Caribbean and make tons of cash. When we lived near toronto, our next door neighbor owned the company that did the wiring for the CN tower. He did pretty well for himself.

It's like anything else. If you are smart, motivated, and do good work, you can do very well. Most people are not though.

 

[Orsini]

Originally Posted by Lucky7

It has hit a lot of the underskilled tradesmen hard...guys who were getting fat and lazy while others were working years ago are the one's suffering now. It really is the survival of the fittest right now in the trades. My top crew will be flying to Palm Beach in March to finish up a custom home build for the company...not a bad way to spend a few weeks of work!
Yes, the more qualified personnel will be better positioned to weather this. A while back I sold a loan mod to a gentleman who does specialized welding inspection (I do not recall what kind.) He was very strack -- had his own LLC, very well organized, with good money management and business skills and paid cash. He indicated that business was off in 2008 and he expected it to drop off again in 2009. His loan mod languished in processing until the auditor kicked it back -- "no hardship." Another customer was a swimming pool contractor. Good cash flow both in 2007 and 2008, but unincorporated and running the business out of his back pocket and seriously delinquent on both his 1st and 2nd. We negotiated his 2nd down to 10 cents on the dollar and his 1st was well on the way to a significant reduction in APR when I left. We had a tough time getting him to pay -- the mod was almost complete when my sales manager (also since gone) managed to "negotiate" the balance of our fee out of him. Every day I would talk to folks who had what used to be good blue collar jobs, but their hours had been cut, no new projects, etc., and they were now ready to walk away. Their judgment and poor money management were vectors in their situation but they also had help -- such as being sold an Option ARM that they could never support over the long term while being told "it would be OK"...

 

[lynchpatrickj]

The obligatory armchair frownies:

If you start now, you're likely starting at the bottom and competing to learn your trade amongst a large semi-skilled workforce. You'll work really hard, probably not have insurance or benefits for awhile, and the chances of you rising to the top are...???

It'd be awesome if you could leave it all behind, Office Space style, and work with your hands and not suffer for it, but nag nag nag nag nag nag.

The end.

 

[Despos]

I wouldn't have thought to be a tailor but my father was a tailor and that was my introduction. I had a false first start because my motivation was wrong but the second try was an epiphany. Became my passion. The draw was not fashion but the design and assembly process. The design/ build process is equal parts of imagination/right brain and technical/left brain and it fit with the way I am wired. Nine years of working in tailor shops followed before I accidently went out on my own.
If you try a trade, the work has to turn you on give some satisfaction or it is hard to stick with it when it gets tough. Can sincerely say I have not had one boring day or have felt regret of my choice.

 

[dl20]

Originally Posted by Orsini

If you can find steady work, it can be a good living but the economic downturn has hit a lot of tradesmen hard...

QFT The tradesman in my fiancees family are currently laid off and can't even find any side jobs

dl