Super User HoosierHawgs Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 Dies anybody on these boards (I'm assuming there are at least a few), make a living in the skilled trades? If so, what is your trade and how did you get started in it/learn it? All tradesman feel free to chime in! Quote
tipptruck1 Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 Glorified button pusher. AKA CNC machinist. My dad had a welding/machine shop when I was a kid. Of course me being a teenager. I wanted nothing to do with his trade. I would work for him time to time, but I wanted nothing to do with his trade. No they are not bad trades. I just wanted to do some thing else. 12 years later I am back in the trade. Why am I back in it? I needed a job that pays well. Quote
Leonidas Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 Commercial HVAC. Used to be an archeologist for the USFS, then a school teacher. Woke up one day realizing I didn't want to teach 5 more minutes let alone the rest of my life. A friend suggested HVAC and it turned out to be a good match. Been mixed up in it for over 20 years now. 1 Quote
Molay1292 Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic, the rest is a long story. 1 Quote
Super User gulfcaptain Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 Merchant Marine would be the best way to put it since I'm a Coast Guard Licensed Captain and work in the offshore oil and gas industry. How did I happen into this. Well my love of sportfishing on the West Coast I spent A LOT of time on the boats, loved to be on the water, took a test to get my license, got married, expected a child and well the sportfishing world didn't pay year round so ended up working and running crewboats which then somehow landed me into the Gulf of Mexico. Been doing it for the past 10yrs. Not quite what I pictured when I got my license. Was thinking more of a yacht in Cabo fishing. 1 Quote
Super User HoosierHawgs Posted October 19, 2015 Author Super User Posted October 19, 2015 Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic, the rest is a long story.I'm sure it's interesting too, do tell! Quote
Super User clayton86 Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 Good thing you put skilled infront of trades other wise raider would chime in..... I went to school for automotive did that for several years and then taught as a teachers aide in a vocational school diesel and agricultural mechanics. Then I deployed and came back and said k couldn't go back to making that little as a aide and did commercial roofing which lasted maybe 6 months before I decided I didn't want the weather forecast to determine my paycheck. Now I work in a fiberglass shop making generator huts, ADA stairs, sports benches, metering manholes, flumes, car and train parts. 2 Quote
tipptruck1 Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 Good thing you put skilled infront of trades other wise raider would chime in..... I went to school for automotive did that for several years and then taught as a teachers aide in a vocational school diesel and agricultural mechanics. Then I deployed and came back and said k couldn't go back to making that little as a aide and did commercial roofing which lasted maybe 6 months before I decided I didn't want the weather forecast to determine my paycheck. Now I work in a fiberglass shop making generator huts, ADA stairs, sports benches, metering manholes, flumes, car and train parts. You could say the same thing about my trade. All I do is load another part in the machine. Then hit a green button. Not a whole lot of skill there. Quote
Super User slonezp Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 Journeyman pipefitter. Spent most of my career doing commercial and industrial refrigeration and hvac. Got hurt and now sit behind a desk. My motivation to get into the trades was, i was alwaus mechanically inclined and driving a truck wasn't paying the bills. There is currently a shortage of hvac techs around the country and the shortage is projected to increase. 1 Quote
quanjig Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 Locksmith- didn't want to sit behind a desk ( no offense pencil pushers ) and always enjoyed dismantling things. Got to thinking, there is a lock on everything, built in job security!! Do mostly commercial and access control. Electric release, magnetic locks, electrified lock bodies, create and maintain master key systems. Quote
Super User gardnerjigman Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 Commercial Maintenance. Always mechanically inclined. Didn't want to be cooped up inside doing the same thing every day. Love what I do now. I also went to school for welding, and keep my certification up to date. Quote
Evan K Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 I ran a CNC plasma cutter and did steel fabrication and welding for about 5 years. On my 5th year now as mechanical designer at the same company. I liked the shop work well enough but the design is more up my alley. Quote
Super User HoosierHawgs Posted October 19, 2015 Author Super User Posted October 19, 2015 Journeyman pipefitter. Spent most of my career doing commercial and industrial refrigeration and hvac. Got hurt and now sit behind a desk. My motivation to get into the trades was, i was alwaus mechanically inclined and driving a truck wasn't paying the bills. There is currently a shortage of hvac techs around the country and the shortage is projected to increase.Does anyone know the average income for an HVAC tech? Quote
Jtrout Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 Collision technician im 28 been doin it for 11 years in the same body shop. can handle all the train wrecks the boss throws at me. Hit a tree i can fix it hit a gaurd rail yup can fix that too. I always knew i wanted to work on cars now cant stand looking at them lol i also do constuction on the weekend with my dad he owns a construction company and can do all that to! I make pretty good money just bought a house a new truck got two german sheperds and a fiance lol Quote
Super User slonezp Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 Does anyone know the average income for an HVAC tech? It varies around the country and if it's commercial or residential. Union or non union. Starting pay is between $11-$16 per hour and there are guys making over $100K a year. If I had to guess though, $60-$70k for a good tech with 5-8 years experience, with a clean background (if you're a felon you can forget about residential) clean driving record, (won't get hired with any DUI's or crappy driving record) etc. There are many different facets to the trade. Pick one and be the best you can be. I would recommend commercial service to start and then refine your specialty into another sub category. Work is based on weather. You may work 60-80 hours a week during the hot summer months and 20 hours a week during the off seasons. Residential work is more reliant on the weather than commercial work. Residential work is easier on the body. If you're stupid or lazy find something else to do. 2 Quote
Leonidas Posted October 19, 2015 Posted October 19, 2015 Does anyone know the average income for an HVAC tech? There are several websites that are pretty good at listing average incomes. A lot depends on the region and what the local population/economy is. In Virginia (at least the Roanoke area), commercial techs generally make more than residential techs. I don't necessarily agree with that, but that seems to be the case. Also, experience goes a long way in negotiating a wage. It's a good field, HH. Hope that helps some. Quote
Super User slonezp Posted October 19, 2015 Super User Posted October 19, 2015 I don't know where in Indiana you're at, but in NW Indiana 597 is the pipefitters local based out of Chicago. They have a state of the art school in Mokena IL. All the fitters at the BP refinery are from 597 1 Quote
long island basser Posted October 20, 2015 Posted October 20, 2015 Glazier (Union). My older brother had a friend in the union who got me in when I was 20, now 48 and only a few years till retirement. Good paying job with excellent benefits, great medical, dental, optical. With vacation pay, an annuity, and pension. Also any and all overtime is double time. Working on glass curtain walls, storefronts, mirrors, shower enclosures ect. If your afraid of heights forget it. 2 Quote
Super User HoosierHawgs Posted October 20, 2015 Author Super User Posted October 20, 2015 Collision technician im 28 been doin it for 11 years in the same body shop. can handle all the train wrecks the boss throws at me. Hit a tree i can fix it hit a gaurd rail yup can fix that too. I always knew i wanted to work on cars now cant stand looking at them lol i also do constuction on the weekend with my dad he owns a construction company and can do all that to! I make pretty good money just bought a house a new truck got two german sheperds and a fiance lol How did you get into body work? Did you learn on the job? I would love to work on cars in some sort of way. My buddy makes $9 an hour changing oil in a dealership right now, which is as much as I make as a ball field groundskeeper. Quote
Super User HoosierHawgs Posted October 20, 2015 Author Super User Posted October 20, 2015 It varies around the country and if it's commercial or residential. Union or non union. Starting pay is between $11-$16 per hour and there are guys making over $100K a year. If I had to guess though, $60-$70k for a good tech with 5-8 years experience, with a clean background (if you're a felon you can forget about residential) clean driving record, (won't get hired with any DUI's or crappy driving record) etc. There are many different facets to the trade. Pick one and be the best you can be. I would recommend commercial service to start and then refine your specialty into another sub category. Work is based on weather. You may work 60-80 hours a week during the hot summer months and 20 hours a week during the off seasons. Residential work is more reliant on the weather than commercial work. Residential work is easier on the body. If you're stupid or lazy find something else to do. I'm neither of those! Haha. I was just curious on some of the skilled trades guys on here. I've always wanted to to be a lawyer, but doing different projects around the house and working on the cars here and there I'm more interested in trades than ever, especially considering the price of school these days. Quote
Super User Senko lover Posted October 20, 2015 Super User Posted October 20, 2015 Unfortunately, my job isn't skilled. Along with two other guys, I worked 11 hours today unloading and planting 30 trees. They weighed 500 pounds apiece. But then I would hate to be stuck inside, so I guess I prefer the harder work. It's been good for me. 1 Quote
Super User gardnerjigman Posted October 20, 2015 Super User Posted October 20, 2015 Does anyone know the average income for an HVAC tech? Good commercial hvac techs in Kansas City make between $30-$45 per hour. 1 Quote
Super User bowhunter63 Posted October 20, 2015 Super User Posted October 20, 2015 Maintance in a bottle plant for Starbucks frap.Machines are old and way outdated so pretty busy all the time. Quote
Big C Posted October 20, 2015 Posted October 20, 2015 Unfortunately, my job isn't skilled. Along with two other guys, I worked 11 hours today unloading and planting 30 trees. They weighed 500 pounds apiece. But then I would hate to be stuck inside, so I guess I prefer the harder work. It's been good for me. If your'e the boss you have to have skills. Quote
Leonidas Posted October 20, 2015 Posted October 20, 2015 Sorry about that, slonezp. Didn't see your reply before I posted. Quote
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