[marxlaws]

ok i have allways lived in florida, i have only worked in three trades - electrical, cable(main line and fiberoptics) and sign and lighting. i went to school for electrical left third year while working for randys electric for lol- 8.oo an hour. worked at&t and lucent making 25 an hour made foreman / tdr and splicer pretty quick, but union laid me off. went back to electrical for 4 years did a little better average 12 an hr. but went to 18 an hour doing bucket work and sign and get this repeling( im talking 300 ft.) the work was just too dangerous. learned contol and lowvoltage wiring and fa work. got a good job as a electrical/super running multible hospice jobs and some remodles and generators. year later im burnt out from 80 hr weeks and out of town living left on good terms. i m now doing service for 15 an hr and getting by. trouble is im topped out. the trade just dosent pay more than 15 - 16 an hour. im making less than the drywall guy. what the heck is going on. drywall guy slaps mud on a wall and makes 3 dollars more than i do? drywall guy has a 4th grade education and 30 dollars worth of tools, mean while my tool list looks like a kline and sears catalog.

rant over, i dont think i can get my masters because i filed bankruptcy and its damn near a full time job studying and applying for the masters. i got three kids, wife two new cars, house, dog, two cats and a fighting fish counting on me to bring home the green.

i m thinking of starting a new buisness with about 20000 and a good partner but i cant because of licensing. any ideas? do any states do the residential electric lic anymore. is there anywhere you can go or any non electric trade that i could try that doesnt require 3 to 4 years as a superviser to get a license? in fl you need 3 yrs foreman exp to be a drywall contractor thats incrediible. maybe ill stic it out in electrical i dont know.

 

[Teetorbilt]

Marx, With your background I'm really suprised that you aren't doing better. I'd look into going back to IT. My wife works for Arrow Communications, a small IT company and their techs are making about $23 an hour plus bennies that rival the old corps.
We review our positions annually and her benifit package is worth nearly $20K AT GROUP RATES. I'm sure that there is someone in Tampa that is competitive.
Same goes for electricians.

 

[marxlaws]

Marx, With your background I'm really suprised that you aren't doing better. I'd look into going back to IT. My wife works for Arrow Communications, a small IT company and their techs are making about $23 an hour plus bennies that rival the old corps.
We review our positions annually and her benifit package is worth nearly $20K AT GROUP RATES. I'm sure that there is someone in Tampa that is competitive.
Same goes for electricians.

it seems big companies pay less but have good saftey records and smaller companies pay more but from what ive have exp ask me to do dangerous things or lay off at the drop of a hat. keeping mostly there appren and cheap labor. and their pay record be pretty can be a little loose. my problem is that my owners drive hummers. and pat me on the head for coming in under budget and ramroding crews. i just want to better. and if its not electrical related i dont really have a clue.
the last thing i would not do for this one company was pulling live 250s out of an ats so he didnt have to call fl power(storms, flp wasnt discoing anyone at the time) . i dont know if you ever tried it but this ats was 6 by 3 and tight there was no way. one guy asked me and a helper to change out balasts 1500 w gym lights with an extention ladder 40 ft in the air, no prob right? but the only way to do it was for my helper to hold the ladder strait up and then i would have to climb to the top with the ladder balenced in midair and pull the fixure. lmao. it stuff like that the just kills me.

 

[marxlaws]

i might just do the cable thing, but i must admit some of the technology has passed me by. and i left my last job by choice at xmas, stupid i know but just wanted to be home with my family and the job was a mall fastrack in miami that kept me there untill the last min , and i just had enough missing b days weekends taking my job home uhg. i was out of work a few days and probaly did nt make the wisest choice.

 

[Teetorbilt]

Don't know how old you are but I'm over 50 and still making adjustments, all for the positive. Look over what you have done in the past and consider becoming a contractor in that field. I didn't go into business for myself until '88 and I thought that I was pretty old then. If I had to do it over, I would have started in my 20's. You sound like an intelligent guy, get out there and do what you do best.

 

[marxlaws]

Don't know how old you are but I'm over 50 and still making adjustments, all for the positive. Look over what you have done in the past and consider becoming a contractor in that field. I didn't go into business for myself until '88 and I thought that I was pretty old then. If I had to do it over, I would have started in my 20's. You sound like an intelligent guy, get out there and do what you do best.

im 34 .yeah thats kinda what my wife said also just ten min ago. getting a licence for anything seems almost impossible in florida. most of the contractors i know get there lic before they added all the rules. man that seems like a cop out to me, and i wrote it snicker*sigh*

 

[Teetorbilt]

I was 37 when I broke the mold, you can do it too.

 

[marxlaws]

I was 37 when I broke the mold, you can do it too.

thanks teetorbilt i will take all the positive reinforcements i can get :Thumbs:

 

[Mike Finley]

Don't be scared to move. Americans have a history of moving around to greener pastures all our short 200 years of our history. Going west ain't over with yet. I moved out of the east coast 10 years ago and kick myself in the head for not doing it 10 years before that.

Moving only 200 miles might make all the difference in your life.

I often look at people who live in some ******************** hole life and wonder what keeps them there, then I think about myself, I did the same thing. It is human nature to stay instead of moving and changing your situation.

One thing to remember - if it doesn't work out you can always move back.

 

[marxlaws]

Don't be scared to move. Americans have a history of moving around to greener pastures all our short 200 years of our history. Going west ain't over with yet. I moved out of the east coast 10 years ago and kick myself in the head for not doing it 10 years before that.

Moving only 200 miles might make all the difference in your life.

I often look at people who live in some ******************** hole life and wonder what keeps them there, then I think about myself, I did the same thing. It is human nature to stay instead of moving and changing your situation.

One thing to remember - if it doesn't work out you can always move back.

i played golf last weekend in shorts and then hit the pool. lol moving would be tuff.

i think it would kill the kids, they are 6, 9, 13. it would be hardest on them + my wife is a project mang for a gc making real good money. and she has too many jobs going on. i do however totaly agree with you.

 

[PipeGuy]

i got three kids, wife two new cars, house, dog, two cats and a fighting fish. i played golf last weekend in shorts and then hit the pool. my wife is a project mang for a gc making real good money.

It's a great country ain't it? When tha'ts a description of your life and it's still socially acceptable to moan about your job. I wonder if the 1/2 naked, barefooted, tsunami drenched foundry workers in India have fighting fish?
Around these parts you'd be hard pressed to afford your own apartment and old Chevy Cavalier on $15 / hour - much less raise a family and get some golf in on the side. I'm seriously considering relocating to FL.

drywall guy slaps mud on a wall and makes 3 dollars more than i do? drywall guy has a 4th grade education and 30 dollars worth of tools

Maybe that line of work would suit you better? Probably not, huh?

I think much of the angst many Americans (including some close to me) feel about their lot in life comes from something Jimmy Buffett describes in a line from one of his songs. "The beautiful people in the magazines, got the normal ones livin' beyond their means." Madison Ave. is always telling us to win a race that has no finish line.

 

[marxlaws]

It's a great country ain't it? When tha'ts a description of your life and it's still socially acceptable to moan about your job. I wonder if the 1/2 naked, barefooted, tsunami drenched foundry workers in India have fighting fish?
Around these parts you'd be hard pressed to afford your own apartment and old Chevy Cavalier on $15 / hour - much less raise a family and get some golf in on the side. I'm seriously considering relocating to FL.


Maybe that line of work would suit you better? Probably not, huh?

I think much of the angst many Americans (including some close to me) feel about their lot in life comes from something Jimmy Buffett describes in a line from one of his songs. "The beautiful people in the magazines, got the normal ones livin' beyond their means." Madison Ave. is always telling us to win a race that has no finish line.

dont mistake my point i got it good, my wife is great my oldest kids are straight a students, when i was making money i saved a lot of it, i want to run my own buisness. i want a chance to earn more , do more, get more out of what i do every day. leave something behind. i just get bored working for other people no bored isnt the right word, i am just not built to work 7 to 330. i want purpose to action. when i work hard i want a 20000 dollar check insted of thanx marx, dont be 1min late for work or your fired . thats the reason im doing service its challenging sometimes and my boss never tells me when to eat . usally i end up skipping breaks or lunch but thats my choice kinda. you know, you just get into what your doing next thing you know its 5 or 6 pm.

what you failed to notice when you said" jb living above their means" is : i pay very little taxes (FL) i was a super making 1200 week, and my wife is a project manager which is a step or two above super. i m not poor, i just want to do IT. you only get one go around in this crazy world, why do it under someones thumb a third of the time your awake and upright.

 

[Teetorbilt]

Many years ago one of my employers told me that if he didn't make $500 a day that it was not worth showing up. At that time I was making $600 a week, no bennies. Shortly thereafter a friend that was in business told me that I would never make much money working for someone else. Then came the luxury tax which stifled the business that I was in and forced me out on my own.
I have never looked back and that $500 a day is peanuts.