Bob im talking retirement from this mortal coil;)Quote:
Originally Posted by echnidna
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Bob im talking retirement from this mortal coil;)Quote:
Originally Posted by echnidna
Hi Garell
It really is a hard decision to make about the future.
These are my thoughts:rolleyes:
You obviously love your woodworking and there is probably a future for you there if thats the direction you wish to go. Unfortunately you have 4 kids and a wife you must adore and need to support so that adds much stress to any decision. Being 27 there is a while for you to jump in.
You also dont have any recognised trade skills so any employer will only offer the most basic of wages in the industry despite any great skills you may bring.
What about putting a plan on paper so that you have a solid base to go from.
If it was me I would do this;
1. Keep my current job. Stability is good for the soul.
2. Do as much woodwork courses as I can.
3. Start a small woodworking business where you sell at markets, shows etc. Maybe build a trailer that opens up to display all the goods. Get used to talking with people, have a pictorial of your larger pieces.
4. Do a small business course. Get the book "the E-myth revisited" which is about small business and why many fail, particularly if the business is something that is also a passion.
5. Build some nice stuff to sell and work out what it costs to produce each piece, what sells and what doesnt.
6. Make stuff the others dont. (One day we wont be able to drive down the road for all the damned coffee mills being made:p )
7. Get used to BAS and all the other small business crud that is not actually building the stuff.:p
My plan would be on a timetable so that I have gained valuable woodworking/business skills between now and when all the kids are at school. This would free mum up to go back to work, even if its only part time while the kids are at school, to supplement the family income.
Now even if you decide that the small business side is not for you at least you now have added skills that an employer would want.
"you can do BAS:p , you know about tax:p ....get in here:D "
Anyways thats how I would do it.
Good luck mate
dazzler
Hi all
Dazzler you are right, it is not a bad idear, I have thought about building projects and taking them to markets, was going to do toys mostly. Thats what I like to make (haven't been able to any for a while). The ony trouble with the job I am in, is that, yea its secure but that does not outway the treatment I recieve from my employer. I am hoping to be as lucky as Tom and score a job, using a portfolio of projects. I spent all day yesterday ringing every one in the local paper, from carpenters to cabnetmakers, I almost had some luck but its quiet at the moment. I have some mate's looking for me also.
Trouble is I have been asked to re-apply to the local council that I left from a year ago. I had thought of going back, there are new people on the crew so it might not be as bad as when I left. Its very secure, and I can get as much timber as I like. That way I can do the woodies stuff on the RDO's and weekends. Use it as a steping stone.
So I think that if I cant get a job after ringing around then I might have to bide my time till council advertise agin which is this month, and do it just for the interum.
I am so dam confused what to do. Torn from the love of trees and timber, the outdoors and the shed. But its a definate to get out of the private garden I work in at the moment. I am not happy there the way I thought I might have been and I dont get very good treatment. You never think that you are doing the right thing, because they are never there. When they are its no bells and whistles let me tell you.
Any way I can only see what happens, It will sort itself out in the wash.
Nice thought, to wake up and enjoy going to work, havent had that for a long time, maby I will get it back. I like the weekends, lots of shed time, and family.
Got that if my chest. :D
Jamie
Talkin councils and all.:rolleyes:
When I was an apprentice on the council my job at 8.45 was to boil the billy with an oxy torch.
Once it was boiling the head mechanic would come over and put in the tea....billy tea that is, and we could only drink it black.
The boss thought to help things along he would install an Electric Urn.
I thought it was cool until I saw it go tumbling down the driveway followed by the 'workers' who wouldnt come back until the billy came back:rolleyes: .
Ahhhhh councils:D
dazzler
"Its getting harder to change carears in this day en age."
Ha! Try changin' ponies at 54. :(
I've worked the past 20 years - until March 2005 when I retired - in industrial relations and politics. ;)
When I left school I wanted to do be an apprentice cabinet maker (in those days it was a respected trade) but there were none avaialable. :o
Now I've retired, I'm finally working with wood :D . I love it. And I'd love it if had to do it for a living. Trouble is, my work background and age precludes me from working in the trade. :o
If someone offered me 3 days a week in the industry, at 18 bucks an hour nett, I'd snap it up. ;)
Cheers
Okay, here's a hypothetical for you lot -
Me.
I've built a couple of boats, but I'm still a rough carpenter, not a fine carpenter.
No trade qualifications.
Never worked in the wood trade.
age - near enough to 50.
Could only work two or three days a week.
Any hope of a job in the woodies world? If so, what sort?
Richard
Of course, there's always the chance that someone will publish me with a huge advance:D I've two new novels about to hit the market trail that redine the word 'haunted' :eek:
"you are spot on Matt, it baffles me why it is this way..
It's got to be the lowest paid trade these days:(<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->__________________
cheer's Martrix."
My son will qualify as a chef next month at a xxxx star resort on the Gold Coast and will then go onto a salary of $490 [gross] a week. Like furniture making, it's the love of the trade, not the reward that keeps the dedicated going. His brother works as a carpenter on a wage and brings home almost twice that amount with just 4hrs overtime a week.
Wayne
How many hours though?Quote:
Originally Posted by attie
Minimum of 38 Matrix. They do not get paid for anything beyond that, they get time off in leau but must take it within three months or loose it. As he is still an apprentice he doesn't get overtime because they would have to pay it, that is covered by those on a salary.