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[clayton86]

Well this commercial roofing biz ain't working out. I like the job I do enjoy it and with only a 3 year apprenticeship program before journeymen it's a short track to make good money in a union but these rain days are killing me.

I'm a single father now and got my two boys to support plus all the bills I got stuck with that are in my name when she ran off that I have to pay for and try and get the money back in court later I can't ignore utility bills and truck payments in my name it would screw me over in the long run.

So I'm back to looking for a steady minimum 40hr week job. I went to two different union halls today after driving a hour just to get sent home due to a rain storm coming. Both gave me the run around I suppose one only accepts applications on the 1st Tuesday of every month and only between 9am and 11am the other only on Mondays 1pm-3pm. One was a pipe fitter, plumbers, HVAC joint union my BILs neighbor started at in march and is making 16.50/hr and gets 40hrs a week then OT if she wants to work weekends. The other was just the laborers union.

I kinda wanna stay in the trades it's good money and benefits lots of opportunity for side jobs for extra money I just can't make it with these rain days my last paycheck was only 180$ because we got rained out so much.

[slonezp]

Pipefitter is a good trade to get into if you can make it in the door. Guaranteed work it is not. The better quality work the shop does, the more hours you will work. Service guys work more than construction, and refrigeration service guys generally work more than anyone else in the trade.  I'd imagine journeyman's scale in NY is similar to here in Chicago $45-$50hr on the check with another $20-$25hr on the back end. As far as the application process, they were not giving you the runaround. In Chicago, once the application is accepted, they sign you up to take the aptitude test which is given once a year, and something like the top 5% or 10% are accepted. Your other options include getting hired at a union shop as a parts driver or similar to get in the door or get experience at a non union shop and apply at a union shop having them sponsor you in. Good Luck bud.

[Root beer]

HVAC.My cousin is one and he stays busy year round rain or shine.

[clayton86]

Pipefitter is a good trade to get into if you can make it in the door. Guaranteed work it is not. The better quality work the shop does, the more hours you will work. Service guys work more than construction, and refrigeration service guys generally work more than anyone else in the trade. I'd imagine journeyman's scale in NY is similar to here in Chicago $45-$50hr on the check with another $20-$25hr on the back end. As far as the application process, they were not giving you the runaround. In Chicago, once the application is accepted, they sign you up to take the aptitude test which is given once a year, and something like the top 5% or 10% are accepted. Your other options include getting hired at a union shop as a parts driver or similar to get in the door or get experience at a non union shop and apply at a union shop having them sponsor you in. Good Luck bud.

Like I said my BIL neighbors daughter fresh out of high school started working there she's only a few months in making 16.50/hr to start out. They have a $100 buy in to get into the union as an apprentice as opposed to the 600 I'm payin out of each check now.

I've thought about going for iron workers or electricians but then I'd be like raider.......lol

[derekxec]

most of the people i know that have roofing businesses also do other kind of contractor work too...maybe you should go that route to keep busy on the rainy/dead days or weeks

[Raider Nation Fisher]

Like I said my BIL neighbors daughter fresh out of high school started working there she's only a few months in making 16.50/hr to start out. They have a $100 buy in to get into the union as an apprentice as opposed to the 600 I'm payin out of each check now.

I've thought about going for iron workers or electricians but then I'd be like raider.......lol

Raider makes a fortune with his trades though.

It takes a special kind of crazy to connect steel and weld structure. Ain't no rain outs either. Least there wasn't for us. Can't be afraid way up there. There is a big difference between 20 feet up and 160 feet up. Things look smaller from up there.

As for the electrical. One flash and your gone. One dropped screw in a switch gear, and kaboom. One skint wire can turn a 2in condulet body into a grenade. Don't take but one bad trip on 277 to kill you. It DOES NOT let go either. For the most part though it ain't bad work. Long as you know what your doing. The pay is good, and at least now the work is getting more mental than physical. I got my licence so the helpers get to have all the fun now.

Welding is welding. I weld pipes and structure. Pipes all the way up to 72in stainless steel air lines. It pays good and is fun. Gotta travel a lot though. Also a steady hand helps.

Keep your head up homie. Something will turn up. If nothing else go rat, then apply to the union after you got some more experience.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

I can try an call some friends if you want. There might be some working up your way.

[clayton86]

Yup days like today was just the final nail in the coffin. Drove a hour to the job site in a thunder storm after calling the weather up date and the foreman since its thunder and lightning and just down pouring asking if we were really working and being told yes just gonna shovel the gravel off the roof. Well drive the hour in my truck get to tr job site job gets pushed back a hour to see how the weather turns out, half hour later "hey go home it's not letting up I'm calling it off"

Really we called you at 430 and you say green light were working in the rain get there and you say uh it's raining go home. Thank you for making us waste our gas driving out there when every site got shut down but ours because you said we could work in the rain then change your mind. The foreman lives 15 minutes from me too its not like he lived in the city and only drove a few minutes he had just a long of a drive. So it just cost me close to $20 to drive out there and back when he could have called it off with the other 14 jobs that got shut down today.

Gander is looking for a fishing sales associate its part time but it will help on these rain days.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

If you are serious about the Gander Mountain thing, shoot me a message. It's not union work for sure, but the discount is nice and affords you the opportunity to make some good hunting/fishing connections.

[clayton86]

Pm sent.

I'm registered in the helmets to hard hats thing to that's supposed to help get construction jobs I read some thing also on the program that lets you use your GI bill to supplement extra money for being an trades apprentice. That would help out a ton extra money in my pocket.

[craww]

If your not afraid of heights tower work is booming for the foreseeable future...there's a shortage of hands right now. Whether or not you travel or stay local depends on the outfit, but you can go in green and pull in over 60k a year right now with overtime. Some carriers are paying the crew 5k extra on a 1 day job just to get crews.

[clayton86]

No fear of heights here

[craww]

If u lookup the groups "tower climbers of America" and "tower hands" on Facebook, there's companies recruiting nearly everyday. You may post something mentioning your looking for work (mention your military background). You can also check out sites like wireless estimator.com

Feel free to ask me if you have any questions.