Looking for Career direction insight and advice

I have spent almost 20 years in the same field. Worked from the very bottom all the way to the very top. It’s what I had wanted to do, and was my drive to push successfully towards the top. A few years ago, I had made it to the top of a residential/commercial construction company. The owner in his 70’s wanted to desperately retire. I was poised to take over the business, except the owner didn’t know how to retire. He didn’t know how to live without working and having control over people. He micromanaged all the employees from under me and continuously changed all my material orders without my knowledge. He was costing his own company hundreds of thousands of dollars and refused to acknowledge it. After a couple years of that, and me finally realizing that he will never truly retire, I parted ways.

I then partnered with a guy that had a small shop doing residential construction, and he wanted to push into commercial, which was my strong suit. After completing a couple jobs, he decided he didn’t want to do that anymore, took the money from the jobs we finished, then split town, leaving me with huge material bills for those jobs, and no money to pay them.

Since then, I have been subcontracting myself out and just not going anywhere. I used to absolutely love my job. I can’t stomache it anymore.

I need a new career direction and have spent the last 6 months trying to think of anything, but just can’t envision anything. The couple things that are on the plate right now: Go back to school for architecture. Or start a pro handyman company (girlfriend is office manager for one and wants us to do that)

I am looking for ideas. Anything that you have done or have friends/family in, that they love and make good money at. Maybe something if you had the chance to go back and do, you definitely would. I can easily go back to the union and make 70k a year, but I wanted a job where I could clear 100k if I desired. I have about 30 years till I retire, so I figure if there’s a time to try something different, it would be now.

I’m looking for anything to research into. I can go back to school for pretty much anything if needed, I excel at learning and ace every test I take. I just want a job I enjoy again, and can use my intelligence to make me money, not just my physical attributes. I produce efficient high quality work in everything do, but the last several years, I’m finding people want quick and cheap and will sacrifice quality for price. That is not something I want to do. I pride myself on my work, and I can’t do subpar in anything I do.

I apologize for the length of this post. I will put this message in a few other forums I frequent, hoping to get more responses, feel free to comment an anyone you see. I will actively stay on top of these.

Thanks

You didn’t mention where you live.

Being self employed is the way to go if you can. Being self employed and making money is even better! Being a builder or re-modeler if you want to make money you need to be where the money is. Look for high end suburbs or lake / vacation areas. Build a web site strong on photos of your work and testimonials from real people. Trust me there are many people willing to pay for quality work. You just must provide what you are charging for.
Other then that get into government contracts. It’s a bidding process where minority or a female partner would definitely help land jobs.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

I live on Lake Wisconsin, near Madison, Wisconsin. I prefer to be self employed, but am running into the problem in my current field where it’s all price wars. Majority of the other companies can not match my quality or use quality materials. In fact I get called to fix other companies mistakes, and the home owner feels sheepish for going with the cheaper guy and finding out the hard way.

I am looking to possibly move out of the construction field altogether. Not fond of competing with hundreds of people that have a van, or pickup truck and use menards material and tools. I use highest quality tools and materials. So I would like to do something that only top quality people are into, and below average joe’s do not want to bother trying to do. If that makes any sense.

Architecture regularly features on lists of WORST career choices. There is an oversupply, pay is low relative to education, competition for jobs is high, and growth of the industry as a whole is non-existent. Not saying don’t do it if you love it, but like any career choice, you’re betting a LOT of your own money so go in with your eyes wide open.

Honestly, I really like the Pro Handyman idea. I’ve been on the customer side of this and finding ANYONE to do this type of handyman or small project construction is almost impossible. Both my sister and my mother in law live in townhome complexes and there are handymen who basically are camped in these complexes and they just go from job to job within the same complex. Replace a toilet here, fix a garage door there, replace screen door over there, it just goes on and on.

It may take a while to establish word-of-mouth clients and repeat business, but once you do, I’d think that this kind of business would be low stress and have a good average hourly rate.

Best wishes on this. It’s never easy to make job/career changes.

Grouse

The way the Machining trade is coming full circle and employment opportunities, I would get a machining degree, purchase a mill or 2 and start small making part’s “xy & z” for Cat or whoever and expand from there. Welding is too dirty for me, that’s another one taking off again.

Machining had interested me. I could get some equipment and some employees and go that route. From what I have seen happen in the past, as my dad was maintenance in a machine shop, was taking on too big of projects. I currently do not know much myself about it, so I will start researching that.

To work so long in the construction field to leave when its getting good again is a tough choice.

So hard to find quality subs. Seems like everyone who’s worth anything is busy enough, leaving the bottom of barrel for new GCs.

I’ll echo what’s been said, find that niche of the 1%ers and shoot for those jobs. It ain’t easy breaking into it, but once you do work can be extremely lucrative. Be prepared to offer what no other company offers.

I have had that problem of finding quality employees because of the union taking anyone and everyone, since the field is picking up like you stated.

Are there any union HVAC jobs? A 2 year program with your intuition and drive could put you in a job like that. Almost everyone and every company requires HVAC technicians and the job can’t be outsourced so it offers stability for people of your caliber. Union benefits may be what is needed for a mid-life career change to make it worth the schooling costs. (All assuming a good union is available in the area)

I work in the landscaping and construction field. I am self employed and I too feel many go for price over quality. I don’t want to be the cheap guy I want to be able to do a quality job and it costs money to do that. However I am very successful by sticking to those fundamental ideals. I’m not saying things can get you down. I have come to realize that those who seek price over quality are not my customers and I really don’t want them either. I have found there are many customers who truly care about the work and are willing to pay for it. I just need to market myself differently. I can’t tell you what I do differently because I’m not you. All I can say is if you can differentiate yourself over you competition you will be extremely successful. I would be happy to give you some tips just pm me. Good luck. Mike

Go union. They should give u credit for your experience and start u out at a decent rate. It’s a walk in the park compared to self employment. Show up, work, and go home. Great peace of mind. O.t. pay, retirement, health insurance…

I did work in the union and got both of my brothers in, who are still there. A lot of guys there are poor workers, but bodies are so badly needed, they get to keep their jobs. I worked circles around those guys, but got the same pay. Not to mention, unless you were good buddies with the top guys, you were laid off when it got slow. I don’t work and converse or talk the top guys up like my brother does, so they never were my friends and I was always laid off. They want me back, but I prefer to go my own, where I’m in control of my work load. I will go back as a last resort, if needed though.

Have you looked into BNI? It is a networking organization world wide. I have been involved in it for 11 years. I have found it to be the best form of marketing and word of mouth is by far the best. I rarely don’t get the work when I am referred out. You can find a local chapter an visit to see what it is all about. I recommend visiting a few before you make a decision. I have done over 700,000 in business in the past years. Last year I had a connection from BNI that made a new commercial client that has grossed me 170,000 alone just last year that has been great and they will continue to use my services and they understand what I do is different then others.

raynestorm wrote:

I did work in the union and got both of my brothers in, who are still there. A lot of guys there are poor workers, but bodies are so badly needed, they get to keep their jobs. I worked circles around those guys, but got the same pay. Not to mention, unless you were good buddies with the top guys, you were laid off when it got slow. I don’t work and converse or talk the top guys up like my brother does, so they never were my friends and I was always laid off. They want me back, but I prefer to go my own, where I’m in control of my work load. I will go back as a last resort, if needed though.

not saying there aren’t union downfalls, but typically employees are kept based on quality of work and the ability to work with others. Talking with the “top guys” on a job simply puts you on their radar, if they make decisions of who to keep just consider them like a normal BOSS of any company you will work for. If the boss knows who you are it obviously helps, especially if they like you. Either way I would really look into HVAC, if your ready for a little schooling as you say, it should be a fairly easy transition bud. If your as driven as you say, head to HVAC school, get a job and a few years experience and open your own 2-3 man shop in the future. HVAC can NOT be outsourced…. almost everyone NEEDs it too. UNION in most cases would help with benefits, but in the “right to work” state you now live in it will make getting profitable jobs much harder.

And also remember- UNIONS are NOT created equal…. some are GREAT and some are HORRIBLE.

I agree that every Union is different.

Mike Klein wrote:

Have you looked into BNI? It is a networking organization world wide. I have been involved in it for 11 years. I have found it to be the best form of marketing and word of mouth is by far the best. I rarely don’t get the work when I am referred out. You can find a local chapter an visit to see what it is all about. I recommend visiting a few before you make a decision. I have done over 700,000 in business in the past years. Last year I had a connection from BNI that made a new commercial client that has grossed me 170,000 alone just last year that has been great and they will continue to use my services and they understand what I do is different then others.

Sounds great!

raynestorm wrote:

I agree that every Union is different.

I have been in horrible and now in Great….. it depends on career paths and location. Either way my guess would be the union route would offer more secure benefits if you decide to switch careers mid-life.

I was in a BNI about 10 years ago…. as a car dealer/servicing. We had about 50 members in our group and “1” bought a car from us in 2 years of attending. The philosophy is to do business and referrals for your group members…. hardly worked for the car dealership. Seems like it worked great for a massage parlor or hair salon, not so much for bigger items.

I see a current shortage and a future major shortage in carpenters. The average age is fairly high and there are not enough younger people getting into the field. Yes, there are always going to be people that want the bottom dollar price. You will see that in any industry. Those people are not your target customer. From my experiences, most people want a “fair” price. They will pay for quality materials & workmanship if expectations are clearly set ahead of time and expectations are met in the end. Stay with it, learn from the past, find your niche, do honest quality work & you will be successful.

TripleA wrote:

Either way my guess would be the union route would offer more secure benefits

Wow, don’t want this to turn into a union vs private argument but I know several very good friends/family in unions and this is far from the truth in my experience. If you have found yourself a good one AAA that’s awesome, just not what I’ve seen, ever.

Some good advice here but much of it centers around what you’ve done in the past. If you’re serious about a complete career change including education, what are you passionate about? You need to find that answer so that work doesn’t feel like…..well like work.

Start by doing a self assessment of what you truly enjoy doing? Try to stay away from being too specific in the beginning and ask yourself instead questions like, “Do I enjoy doing things for myself, for my close friends/family, for others including complete strangers.” Then where do I like to spend my time, “inside, outside, in one place, or moving around from place to place.” Are you family oriented? Will you be ok with travel including missing important life events. Is Monday – Friday 8 -5 important or are you willing to spend time at night on weekends/holidays, etc? Are you willing to commute or working within a certain distance from home. Be honest with yourself. You’ve communicated the need to make a high salary. Then list these things in order of importance, lets say you have a list of 15 things. The most important to you gets a 15, the least of these 15 a 1. Then as you evaluate ideas, specific jobs or types of jobs, score each opportunity. You’ll be amazed as ideas come up, if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll begin to concentrate on the ideas that resonate and score high against your list. You’ll find jobs that pay well but don’t have many of the other items and you’ll be able to discard those that don’t truly resonate for you.

Good luck! But aim high and with 30 years left in a career, now is the time to try, fail, try again, until you find what’s right for you.

Eric

raynestorm,
I find this quite interesting as our paths have probably crossed a few times in the last 20-25 years. Like you, I had some events in construction that has just made me want to walk away. Over the last 20+ years around the north side of Mendota, Token creek, Franklin, and in the mountains of Colorado I’ve had the opportunity to design/build some incredible homes. I’ve survived an era of 18% construction loans, the Clinton/Obama Massacre, and hundreds of trunk slammers and low-ballers.

This recent epidemic of slime that low-balls allowances, lies, deceitful, …… was the final dooms day event for me. With the exception of a few lower levels and remods for IDO members, family, and friends my forte’ is the 800 -1.5mil homes. Needless to say, those are not a dime a dozen and it really is critical that opportunities go to contract. With a 12 to 16 month build out and building as many as 2 homes on a busy year…..loosing a home to a builder that low balled allowances, cut corners, and simply doesn’t understand the level of quality expected was too much. I had a 2 year span of working through conceptual designs, general budgets, and a lot of hand holding for 3 homes. 1 couldn’t get financing, and the other 2 went with (ironically) the same different builder. I get a call about 7 months later from each of them apologizing for not going with me and wanted to talk about firing their builder and having me finish the home. Not a chance in hell. I did that once and it cost me over 100K after all the legal crap. NEVER AGAIN!

Fortunately for me, I’ve always had the passion for Spring/Fall Sporting goods and have worked in doing tournaments, guiding, Prostaff, seminars,… In time, I’ve had a lot of manufactures approach me on repping their products. For me, it was a good fit and an opportunity to fill a void with something I love. Anyways, to shorten this up, becarefull in selecting your next career change. Some people need their hobby/passion to remain just that – their hobby and place to relax. Some can adjust to making it a career. Just because the tasks are different on a daily basis, it doesn’t mean the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Usually if you see lush green grass, there is a lot of $#!^ there that your over looking. Good luck in your quest and hopefully the right opportunity comes along for you

Disclaimer… I am not familiar with the contractor/construction business at all. However, by your description it would seem that you are probably really talented. So… have you ever thought about specializing in something that utilizes your building skills but gets you out of the contracting game? I guess I’m thinking of like selling specialty wares that you have made… such as homemade furniture, or wood carvings, welded sculptures or fireplaces or fire pits… the ideas are endless. But in that line of work… many people DO appreciate quality and will pay more for it, especially unique items.

I don’t know your financial situation and it would probably take time to get established to where you could make a reasonable income, but its an idea that I hadn’t seen anybody else put forward (maybe I missed it though I didn’t read every post in detail).

Good luck with whatever you decide.

It’s been a few years since I was involved in the commercial construction industry, but we were always struggling to find good mason contractors. As a matter of fact, the Mason’s association was working on adding special tech ed programs to get younger people to enter the field. I remember reading the average age of a mason in the U.S. was something like 52. It’s hard work and would require some training, but might be some opportunity there.
Good luck. It’s all about your risk tolerance and willingness to work hard.

One book I have found helpful in this process is called “What Color is your Parachute”. It has good information about career changing and job hunting. It is updated every year the information is current. There are free tests you can take to determine your interest areas, which may not be what you think they are today. Also a chapter on Finding a Life, which has an exercise on discovering what you came into this world to do.

Home Inspections? not sure about the pay or anything like that.

On another site he posted on he said he did commercial windows. I don’t know if he does wood construction or not.

I made a 180deg career change 24 years ago, I was 30 years old at that time. I left a spot in the family business, custom cabinet maker, and became a fireman for the city of Minneapolis. It has been very rewarding for me. I have promoted to the rank of captain and have held that position for the last 16 years. The job has it’s attributes and tribulations. The time off in 4, 10, 16 day stretches is common practice. I am not going to get rich, but I am able to live on lake mille lacs and my wife only works seasonal. Being able to live here in our 40’s and 50’s and really enjoy it rather than move here when we retired and are too old and our health might not be as good. The down side is some of the scenes we work on bummers, especially if kids are involved. You start to respond to the same person and see the digression and then finely pass away. The good out weighs the bad. I am about a year out from being able to retire and start the next phase. The plan was to live here on the lake until I retire then sell and find a 40 or 80 acre piece of land with a home. So far we are on schedule for that plan.

nhamm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TripleA wrote:</div>
Either way my guess would be the union route would offer more secure benefits

Wow, don’t want this to turn into a union vs private argument but I know several very good friends/family in unions and this is far from the truth in my experience. If you have found yourself a good one AAA that’s awesome, just not what I’ve seen, ever.

No argument needed, I’ve been in bad unions previously and I am positive I am now biased being in what I would consider the best union around currently. Hopefully he gets good benefits.