Hey guys. I'm probably going to appear as if I'm going on a rant, so apologies in advance for this. Also, if you get to the end of this article without passing out, I will send your medal in the post. For starters, I am a 24 year old English graduate who has recently done a CSCS card and am currently working on a building site doing odd jobs. I have previously worked in factories and warehouses, and a brief stint in McDonald's, so I am no stranger to manual labour. I'm a grafter by nature, who went to Uni because my school's attitude to future careers was 'Uni or die'. I'm not trying to make this into a pity-post. I'm just wanting to ask if A) There's anyone who has been in this situation and is also re-training, and B) How can I get myself retrained into something useful? I'm aware that it takes a while to become a proper tradesman, I can't just go on a six week course and become a plumber. My tutor for my CSCS card (I did it through a college) said that its not impossible for older lads, even ones with degrees, to become successful tradesmen (he said he'd rather take someone like that on rather than a school leaver). Tradeswise I'm considering scaffolding, carpentry, plumbing, welding or bricklaying, although I realise I might be better off saving for a plant operative NVQ and going into groundwork. But yeah, any advice on becoming any kind of tradesman would be appreciated. Also if it helps I'm currently living in Didcot but am likely to be moving to Lancashire later this year. Cheers, Godric (clearly not my real name).
Hi godrik, follow your heart, I never had a chance at uni cos I was fic as jelly at school, the teechers told me if I did't buckle down I'd end up being a bin man or a plumber, So when i came to the juction in life straight after skool I tossed a coin and followed the plumber road, As it turn out i liked it but I have often wondered if I had have a better brain, would the world be rosier? I'll never know, I see people that use brain rather than musle drive better cars,live in bigger better houses, have more holidays and don't get dirty or wreck their bodies through physical overload, they get the fic low achievers do the hard graft and pocket the gains, It seems a waste to have something valuble and not use it but, its your life enjoy it and live with the consequences,
Godric, everyone i have met who is good at anything is because they have a real passion for it. i also know people who are only in it for the money and whilst we all work to earn a crust, if you dont like what you do i dont know how long you can do it before the money is irrelevant. as tom says, follow your heart. all the best from another career changer
I was a qualified accountant until I retired. I would not say that I hated every minute of but( I just have!) I always wanted to be an electrician from my early teens. I just scraped through my 11 plus exam and went to a mixed (girls & boys) secondary technical school where we had double periods of woodwork and metalwork. It was a rough school with teddy boys ! but it was grand. Then the government in there infinite wisdom (not) abolished Sec Tech schools and I had the option of secondary modern or grammer. With parental pressure I ended up in a single sex grammar school where I had the worst two years of my life and then five years training to be an accountant .Sorry for the life history but in those days I found it impossible to switch careers. Fats is spot on about doing what you have a passion for otherwise your heart will not be in it and whilst I made reasonable money for Blackpool I still live in a two up two down house where I might have ended up as an electrician as I am not ambitious enough. I may add I am very happy here, People are more important than money . So as Tom says follow your heart and do what you want to do but the sooner you make the switch the better. You spend a lot of your life working so why do something you do not like.
As said something you enjoy, I was with British Gas for 30 odd years used to enjoy it till the Bean Counters took over, took redundancy went self employed built up a good customer base as a handyman finally ditched the Corgi work had never been happier. I would not have gone back to BG for twice the money they were paying me. Mind you I was lucky and had the mortgage paid off by then. I would avoid jobs that are subject to interruption by weather like roofing or site work and stick to the inside trades, more chance of a regular income that way.
Were you making Bondage equipment at your school? Sounds a bit more interesting than the pin bowls and coffee table I made!
I thought it might be misconstrued. No girls as like playing netball, (without bondage equipment. I would not know what it was then - I am not very sure now but my wife wonders why I keep buying cable ties ), wood as in towel rollers and tooth brush holders. and working steam engines with a syrup tin as the boiler (without a safety valve!).
I'm in the same boat, just finished my degree in Computer Science last Monday, but I've always loved physical work. I started working doing odd jobs for a company over the road from uni that renovate houses, now I have a reasonable selection of kit and do some of the more basic joinery jobs where I can with some demolition and odd jobs to boot. If I go into a career in IT, I'll wind up as one of those ex IT plumbers that are dotted about. Your career could easily span 50 years. Do what you love, not what other people think you should.
Sadly, yes. Thanks to everyone who's commented so far, especially Gpierce. It's uplifting, if not depressing, to know where's more people in the same boat as me. Seems to me the easiest thing to do is start off as a groundworker through labouring and then save up to pay for a college course in my late twenties. I know several people around that age who are training as welders, plumbers and electricians. If not I can just be a **** shoveller for the rest of my life. My main issue is trying to find useful qualifications like NVQs (You hear that City & Guilds?) that I can afford and don't require me to be in college every day of the week to get, i.e. when I could be working to pay for said course. Cheers, Godric.
The great thing about a physical job is that it keeps you fit all your life. But keep it moderated. You don't want to risk a hernia. Though if like me you build up a good six pack it won't be a problem. My brother stopped physical work about 5 years ago and is now an overweight wreck due to over eating ,no exercise, marriage and middle aged spread. A large spread in his case. He doesn't get out of bed in the mornings until 8.30 and might arrive on site about 11.00 providing no physical work is on the cards. In many ways he's now disabled. What's very annoying is how he barks orders at his sons. He only has 2 workers. His son and me, who do the bulk of the physical work. Were in the concrete business. Formwork and concrete laying. He has about £300k's worth of construction plant though which was built up over the years. He had 10 men employed once but the machinery and modern equipment has replaced that. He has trouble getting into the digger and when he does get his arze on the seat he's usually there for the day. He has more money than me. But more worries also. Can't see him reaching his dads ripe ole age of 84 and still be fit as a fiddle and chasing women.
A welder bloke worked for my brother once. He specialised in welding and had all the qualifications. In his twenties he travelled to any site that paid the best money and worked round the clock. Had his mortgage all paid off in his mid thirties. Back in the eighties this guy would have been sending home a grand a week. Same as two grand now.
Another welder guy with his own business used to do some welding for us. Mostly working for farmers. So the money was obviously sh*yte. (no pun intended) He packed it in and started as an employee with Hyster forklifts welding components together. He ended up a production manager. The company provided him with a generous pension. Hyster export forklifts all over the world btw. And they were paying him so much he also could afford a hefty private pension. He's about 60 now and considering retiring as he'll be better off.
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