Job Satisfaction!!! - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Knighton · 02-10-2009, 10:03 AM

How many of you out there really love what you do?

I was reading a thread about college educated individuals on this forum so I wanted to add my two cents...

I have a bachelors degree in accounting and am a CPA. I've spent many years of my life going to work with a shirt and tie on, getting paid a decent amount of money, working 8 - 5. I never get dirty unless I spill lunch on myself...BUT I HATE IT!

The only time I get any job satisfaction is when I'm working with my hands, cutting myself, accidentally smashing my fingers, and being sore. (no jokes here) Part time, I do home renovations and remodeling for myself and some limited customers. I wish I could do it full time, but I tell myself that I need the stability of my job and its benefits...especially the health care. I enjoy doing real quality work and it seems today that the work that I see, is so shoddy. I know I could be a real asset to your profession.

BUT I'LL TELL YOU THE TRUTH...I envy all you who can make it work, all of you who took the plunge and made the commitment to go out on your own and who refuse to sacrifice quality work/craftsmanship for a quick buck. I am plenty educated and have the knowledge and capital to create a near perfect and financially sound business plan, but I'm too scared to take the real plunge.

How many of you out there really really love what you do?

"Some of the happiest people on the planet, go home stinkin’ to high heaven at the end of the day."

Heritage · 02-10-2009, 10:31 AM

I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't love it. There is a long list of things I really don't like about my work, but they are heavily outweighed by the many things that I love about it.

I've been spending a lot of time in the office lately, but I miss the field work.

There are few things in my life that I enjoy as much as framing a roof on a breezy autumn day.

You're an accountant so you hardly need to be reminded, but turning a hobby into a viable business requires some consideration that most people underestimate. I personally can't stand wearing a suit and tie, been there done that.

I'm getting more into the Engineering/Architecture side of the business lately, I'm also preparing myself to become a certified Building Inspector and Designer...there are so many avenues that you are open to, it's all up to you.

What I love most about what I do is that it's honest work...for the great majority of us anyways. There's very little BS in my business, no fairy fluff.

Knighton · 02-10-2009, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heritage

I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't love it. There is a long list of things I really don't like about my work, but they are heavily outweighed by the many things that I love about it.

I've been spending a lot of time in the office lately, but I miss the field work.

There are few things in my life that I enjoy as much as framing a roof on a breezy autumn day.

You're an accountant so you hardly need to be reminded, but turning a hobby into a viable business requires some consideration that most people underestimate. I personally can't stand wearing a suit and tie, been there done that.

I'm getting more into the Engineering/Architecture side of the business lately, I'm also preparing myself to become a certified Building Inspector and Designer...there are so many avenues that you are open to, it's all up to you.

What I love most about what I do is that it's honest work...for the great majority of us anyways. There's very little BS in my business, no fairy fluff.

I've stongly considered flipping a couple of houses...I have the capital, I can work on my own schedule. Maybe that could fill that satisfaction void I suffer from?

Heritage · 02-10-2009, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knighton

I've stongly considered flipping a couple of houses...I have the capital, I can work on my own schedule. Maybe that could fill that satisfaction void I suffer from?

That would really open you up and I think it's a wonderful idea. When I started out, I did a bunch of work for family/friends and it was great exposure.

I bought a house some years ago and gutted the whole thing. Did almost all of the work myself and I loved almost every single minute. It became my obsession, you could find me there any time of the day and night. I would have buddies come over to help out and we would take lunch/dinner on the roof. I built a prop on the roof and we would sit there for hours, shooting the ****. Working my own hours, I loved it.

Some of my friends weren't so fortunate. One of them spent 2 years flipping his, he ran out of money shortly after starting and had to work to pull in cash for materials/subs, etc. Not so ideal...but he still pulled out a 60k surprisingly enough.

P.S., it's a great place to get away from the wifey

Knighton · 02-10-2009, 12:20 PM

Thanks for the response. Maybe I'm kinda different, but I want my wife right there beside me. I guess I still like her...only been married 13 years.

Sasquatch · 02-10-2009, 01:38 PM

When I started i had trouble getting it and understanding it. But once I started to get it i have absolutely loved it. It is a sense of fulfillment when you complete a home especially a custom home. Starting it from a foundation and seeing the final result. It is like climbing a really tall mountain and looking out all around at the breathe taking view. God I love this trade. That and it helps to stay in shape.

MetalBender · 02-10-2009, 01:51 PM

I love what I do. That's the only reason I do it. I have tried other things I thought I would like. Refinished antiques for a few years, great fun but low pay. I went to school to be a auto body man, and got a job doing that and left it to do auto customization(tint, graphics, remote starts, ect.). It was also a fun job and pay was very good, but I disliked driving a route overnight and constant sales and shows. Helped a friend put on a roof and found my niche by accident. Moved around to several differnt companies and always went to the front of the line after just a few months, so I started my own business in 1996. I love seeing our work years after it is completed still looking great. And nothing compares to having built homes from the foundation up for me. Not so much hands on anymore, but I still love showing off my skills from time to time. Never went to college just some small business classes and I read every thing I can get my hands on about better ways to operate or install. Main reason I joined CT is research always led here.

TileLady · 02-10-2009, 01:51 PM

I really, really love what I do. I've worked in the business world most of my life and I'm so happy to finally be out of it. Granted, I've had to make some huge sacrifices but so far for me, it's been worth it.

For me, tiling is very artistic and you have to have a lot of attention to detail and mostly patience.

One time I finished doing a tile shower surround for a customer.

She commented on how nice it was. I told her 'ya, you did a great job at picking out the tiles!' and she said 'but you did the work!'.

I'm a very modest person but then I thought to myself 'you know, I did do the work and it made that customer so happy'. It's a very fulfilling feeling making customers happy with their houses.

DRC · 02-10-2009, 05:27 PM

I love my work.

ribuilder · 02-10-2009, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heritage

I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't love it. There is a long list of things I really don't like about my work, but they are heavily outweighed by the many things that I love about it.

I've been spending a lot of time in the office lately, but I miss the field work.

There are few things in my life that I enjoy as much as framing a roof on a breezy autumn day.

You're an accountant so you hardly need to be reminded, but turning a hobby into a viable business requires some consideration that most people underestimate. I personally can't stand wearing a suit and tie, been there done that.

I'm getting more into the Engineering/Architecture side of the business lately, I'm also preparing myself to become a certified Building Inspector and Designer...there are so many avenues that you are open to, it's all up to you.

What I love most about what I do is that it's honest work...for the great majority of us anyways. There's very little BS in my business, no fairy fluff.

Couldnt agree more with you. Its kind of like golf....I hate it when I slice like a mofo...but when things work out..I love it. Everything in life has its pros and cons. As long as the pros keep out-weighing the cons, keep on trucking, right?!

Wolfgang · 02-10-2009, 05:53 PM

I wouldnt be doing it if I didnt enjoy it. Life's too short to spend it doing something you dislike. True, there is the job or customer that comes along that I could do without. Told my wife; "When it's time for me to go I want the following put on my headstone: All in all, I had a pretty good time.".

bob_cntrctr · 02-10-2009, 06:05 PM

Knighton,

Similar situation here. Grew up on a farm working with my hands, but then did the univeristy route. First 15 years of engineering and R&D in the physical sciences, then a decade in business after an executive mba, and now rehabilitating old properties.

In each of my careers my job was to create something, so I got a fair bit of satisfaction out of that. I would say that the R&D in physical sciences was probably the most reqarding because I was literally discovering new things mankind didn't know yet, or developing new things, like new materials, that never existed before and could improve peoples' lives. But the grass is always greener, an I got tired of being locked away in a lab on salary while the salesmen got to roam the world and make the really big bucks.

At first I thought the business stuff was really rewarding - you know, self-made man, building something from scratch instead of relying on the big bucks of some corporation - but after a time I found it hollow. Just another business, just another money making venture. It seemed pretty meaningless after a while.

I'm finding building and renovations much better in that sense than business. A piece of software my company developed might be in use for a decade, then - pooof - disappear into thin air as if the time I spent on it never happened. But people will likely still be looking at the 12" x 12" beam I laminated, or the ceramic foyer I made, long after I'm dead. That's a neat feeling. It's also really cool to develop these skills.

As you're married, I'll add - most normal women love a handy guy, too. When you come home having come up with a good tax-minimization plan for a client, it doesn't sound half as sexy to your wife as it will when you've gutted that house and framed the new dividing walls and wired the new breaker panel. Get ready for "my guy's handy" sex.

That said, I must say that for someone used to intense intellectual work, it can get a little simple at times. How many times can you measure and cut a stud or wire an outlet or plumb a toilet or lay a tile before you're bored to tears of the subject and are looking for something a litte more mentally challenging. Just like most jobs, after figuring out the layout for your third DWV system, you'll start to wonder if choosing the right path for poop is really the best and highest use of the days of your life when you have a talent that could help businesses optimize capital utilization and thus create job opportunities for hundreds or thousands. But that's what they made spare time and Scrabble for.

Also, be sure you're in shape. I don't know how some of the porkers I see with beer bellies on sites manage to do it - especially if you're working alone, this is a job that will make you tired and sore.

tinner666 · 02-10-2009, 06:18 PM

I love what I do.

WisePainter · 02-10-2009, 06:45 PM

I love what I do.

ModernStyle · 02-10-2009, 07:20 PM

I always wanted to be a sideshow attraction, but the people aound here had been laughing at me so long for free, nobody ever really wanted to pay me. So I became a painter .........

Brock · 02-10-2009, 07:23 PM

During the course of an average day you can cheat death, be outdoors, run power tools,operate heavy equipment, spit all over the ground, have a nailgun fight, cuss, laugh, argue about your favorite team.....I sort of enjoy it at times.

oldfrt · 02-10-2009, 07:53 PM

LET"S SEE,

Its 20* outside with a wind chill of -10* ,and we go out there and shovel the snow off our equipment,materials and work surfaces so we can still get in a half day of real labor , all the while slipping on frozen ice and snow,retying our boot laces three times a day,bumping into things because your hood creates blind spots,changing wet gloves,breaking the icicles off the end of your nose,trying to find tools dropped in the snow, unfreezing air lines........

YEP,
I must love it!!

rbsremodeling · 02-10-2009, 07:56 PM

Where else can you hand some one a one page document and get a check for 100K?

and they brag to their friends how lucky they where to find you.

Deadhead Derek · 02-10-2009, 08:04 PM

I love what I do

oldfrt · 02-10-2009, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbsremodeling

Where else can you hand some one a one page document and get a check for 100K?

and they brag to their friends how lucky they where to find you.

You're making it sound too easy !!!