Advice On A Career Change

Stickman

So I am taking the step and making a career change. I have been in the electrical field for 6 years or so and have decided it is time for a change. I have always been interested in carpentry work through the years and especially finish work. I am located in New Jersey in the southwest area (Gloucester County) and was wondering if anyone had any advise to help me in pursuing my career change? Any and all tips, advice would be greatly appreciated. Also looking for any school (night courses or such) that may be of help in learning the trade. I look forward to training under someone who actually cares about the work they do, as this is the type of person I am. So lets hear the good, the bad, and the indifferent.

john5mt

find someone who is good and offer to work for cheap so you can learn. Better than school cause you don't have to pay

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Greg Di

OK. You swap with me. If you are a licensed electrical contractor, you would be certifiably crazy to ditch that in favor of being a trim carpenter.

If I could do it all over again, I'd be a plumber or an electrician. It would be nice to handle 95% of your work with a milk crate full of tools. Us carpenters need about $5k of tools to do a $100 job (properly). I'm not kidding either.

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neolitic

Amen brother, Amen.

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john5mt

That is so true!

I wouldn't mind being a licensed electrician. I'll teach you if you teach me and get me my ticket.

__________________
1st Gen tradesman
My summer job in college became my profession

neolitic

This is the way to learn.
You'll have the advantage of
real world experience, and
you will get that chance using
someone else's big ticket tools.
It's much better to buy tools
after you know how to use them
and what you want them to do.
It's a bummer to lust after the great
thing-a-ma-jiggy only to find out
it hurts your hands after you've
laid out the bucks.

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orson

Here's an idea: find a good custom home builder that does most of their work in house and tell them you'd like to learn carpentry from them and in return they get their houses all wired up by an hourly employee. Most would probably jump at this and should be able to pay you a jouneyman carpenter's wage given the money they are saving having you do all the electric.

JLTrim

True, I have a 2500 van so full of tools I can barely walk in it, plus a good amount in my garage, and there are still some more things I need to buy whenever business picks up.

If I could do it over, I think I would've gotten into drywall, or maybe painting, seems like it would be much easier to find good help in those trades (not knocking anyone, just sayin'). Finding a good trim guy who doesn't want top dollar is pretty hard.

jcalvin

I think that you need a shrink!

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Cal


You hired WHO

JLTrim

Maybe so, just seems to make sense. Not that I really want to paint or hang drywall all day, but it would be easier to put a few decent crews together that will work for cheap. Plus if I'm not mistaken good drywall companies make pretty good money. I love my job, but there are times when I wish I could just sit back and let crews of Mexicans make me money, that's all.

Stickman

As stated above I have been in the elect. field for 6 or so years, I have 3 years of elect. trade school as well. I do not carry my lisc. I have worked for companies through those years and done side work as well. As for the milk crate worth of tools, LOL I have spent my fair share on tools, I can spend more on a meter then a miter saw and its easy for some one to walk off with. All tools cost $$ that I understand and that is not a issue for me. The advise so far most seems good finding a builder is a great way or train under some one for lesser pay. Thanks for the ideas, keep them coming!!

cleveman

what kind of finish carpentry do you want to do?

I ask because I consider cabinet makers finish carpenters and I don't think there are many cabinets made on site anymore. I never considered a staircase finish carpentry, but I've learned that they are and I've seen framers run away and hide when asked to build one.

You can probably specialize in staircases if you like, or cabinetry. Or you can do "trim".

You should be able to learn how to do baseboard and casing in not much time and you'll just need a chop saw and a finish nailer, a coping saw and some sandpaper and sanding block.

I guess you'll need to learn how to hang doors.

The more I think about it, I agree with the guys who told you to get a job helping someone trim homes. The problem is, they'll probably start you out on a broom. So tell them you DON'T EVEN WANT TO GET PAID, you just want to learn, maybe just want to watch them work and have them supervise you and teach you.

This is the whole problem. You should have to pay someone to work as an apprentice for them. I think this is the way it used to be. You were basically slave labor in order to learn the trade, then you were a journeyman. Only a meister could train apprentices. Probably your journeyman (think about the word, journeyman) papers had to be signed by a meister. This was union control of the education, pay, right to work, and industry in general. If pay was too low, if there was too much supply of labor, the union would just restrict the signing on of apprentices.

Don't mind my treatise on trade unions, just find a guy trimming houses and tell him you want to learn. If he rejects you, find another. But don't expect to get paid over $8/hour to learn because you're liable to screw up more than you produce.

skymaster

Stikman sorry you are so far away, I would be happy to teach ya the few things i know from too many years as a trimmer. I cant do it anymore cause of health.

Stickman

I am looking towards the trim, cabinets, stairs, doors, crowns end of it. I feel this is where my interest seems to be. I do enjoy reading up on the cabinet making end of it but think i much rather be out in the field then stuck in a shop all day. With this said it is not set in stone though, as i have never tried it and who knows, I might love it. I have no problem with grunt work at all, as for working for free, those days are long over as I have a mortgage to pay and a family to feed. I am willing to work for a fair rate or stop by a job site on off hours to watch and learn.


Skymaster, Thanks for the offer!! Maybe one day when I am up that way I can meet up with you. I head up to central/north jersey allot to visit friends and family and do some fishing, as i grew up in somerset county and still have family there.

Quiglag

I think your best bet is to find someone on a job you are on and check out the quality of their work. If they do good work, ask if they are looking for help. If they do bad work, don't bother. It would not be worth it to you to learn how to do things the wrong way.

As for tools. The above posts are correct. We finish carpenters have to lug around a lot of tools. Miter saws, table saws, circular saws, sanders, drills, routers, air compressors, 15g nail gun, 18g nail gun, 23g nail gun, saw horses, some kind of saw stand/table, etc... Just so you know what you would be getting into.

Good Luck

genecarp

if you have some limited experiance with trim, see if friends or family need anything done, doors hung windows trimmed etc...also if you are going to work for someone, make sure they are good, many people are doing it wrong, you do not want to learn from them.

Stickman

Sounds like some good ideas. Thankfully I already have allot of the tools such as a ridgid compound miter saw, table saw, compressor with finish nailers, router, palm sanders, levels, squares etc. I do allot of handyman kind of side work now. I am just looking to get into carpentry as my full time job and right now just doing it for myself full time is not enough.

Thanks for all the tips and thoughts, it great to hear from people form different areas and backgrounds.

DBCoop

AIfter being in the trades for many years ,I made this change 2.5 years ago.I agree with everyone and orson made a great sugestion.Myself I worked with the best mechanic/craftsman that I knew 3 months for free.As you can see the monetary aspect is very significant and as my mentor aways harped! REPETITION! REPETITION! REPETITION! I can be a very rewarding trade and lead to other ventures. Good Luck!

Trimwerx

You don't need all that stuff! Ok... well you don't NEED the 23g gun, but its nice to have.

john5mt

In finish carpentry you'll find many "NEEDS" when you have some extra money in your pocket. you'll need a second miter saw. Youll need that new festool domino. You'll need to try that new nailer. So on and so forth. Then you'll start thinkyou need two of everything for back up

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1st Gen tradesman
My summer job in college became my profession