If you could change your career

[ByronBlack]

HI JFC

That sounds interesting. I've always though i've missed the boat when it comes to carpentry/joinery, so I would appreciate if you could point me in the right direction

 

[Anonymous]

I've always though i've missed the boat when it comes to carpentry/joinery

What are you Byron, early thirties? No way have you missed the boat in woodworking if that's what you want to do!

I bet there are plenty of small cabinetmaking firms and one-man bands in your neck of the woods who would love some extra help if the right guy walked in off the street.

I, for one, would much rather take on a more mature bloke with enthusiasm and a little life experience than a spotty kid who wants Radio ****in' 1 on all day long!

As for formal training and qualifications - in the big corporate world these may be important, but at a small business level nobody gives a jot! You can either do the job or you can't. So you're either in or you're out.

Money? You'll not get rich, but I would have thought that 20-25k was achievable with application and hard work.

And then, when the boss wants to retire, buy him out.

Hey, come & work for me! :lol:


Crucial thing is though, Byron, is this what you want to do? If it is, then be that guy who walks in off the street. And that's the hardest part.

Good Luck
Duncan

 

[ByronBlack]

Duncan

Thanks for the encouragement, much appreciated! 20-25k would be extremely comfortable for me so it's definitly worth me looking into to. I've tried for the last couple of months to get in touch and spread my CV/cover letter etc around the small firms without much success at the moment.

But i'll keep looking and talking to business owners and wth a bit of luck something might come up. (I'm 27 by the way).

 

[Anonymous]

Byron, if you wanted a job at my place I would want you to be knocking on the door on a regular basis, showing me what you have made and asking for a trial.

So in my opinion I think you need to be a bit more forceful in your approach, if I recieve a CV I generally toss them in the bin.

At 27 there is no problem with age, far from it, mature enough to have a good work ethic but not to set in your ways.

A tip I would give you is not to say to much about your future aims (if this is the case), i.e. setting up on your own as a cabinetmaker, mainly because it means you intend to leave once you have learnt enough and also eventually you might be competition to me.

if you can put across your enthusiasm and skill, someone will give you a go.

 

[Anonymous]

Byron,

Senior's dead right.

CV's, letters, phone calls are all a total waste of time. You need to get out there knocking on doors, showing enthusiasm, pleading for a month's trial at minimum wage to show what you're made of.

If you're ever going to sell any furniture you've got to sell yourself.

Duncan


PS

If anyone did ask for a CV I'd edit it down a little! 27 yrs old and 11 careers behind you already might suggest to some a slight 'grasshopper' personality!

 

[ByronBlack]

Thanks for all the suggestions guy's, i'll definitly take them on board - just need to get some nice example items built now

Duncan - with my CV I probably only have about 5 positions listed on it (the longest ones, rather than the short 3-6month ones that ive 'tried' out).

 

[mr]

Are you not interested in doing more freelance web work?
Mike

 

[JFC]

Byron ,
I will give CITB a call and ask if you like ? They used to pay the collage fees for students but you would need to have one day a week to go .

 

[Matt1245]

I, for one, would much rather take on a more mature bloke with enthusiasm and a little life experience than a spotty kid who wants Radio ****in' 1 on all day long!

Well i was gonna pop over with my coffee table and dazzle you into giving me a job but if you don'e like my radio choices, then your loss :lol: :lol:

I do listen to radio 4 as well tho.

My wife thinks i'm odd.

Matt.

 

[Anonymous]

My wife thinks i'm odd.

Matt.

Matt,

It's five o'clock on a Sunday morning and you are in a chatroom talking about woodwork.

I think your wife may have a point! :lol:

Duncan

PS I would have used Galaxy as my example of a bobbins radio station, but the non-Mancs out there might not have understood what I was talking about. We switch between Radios 2, 4, & 5.

Unfortunately just as The Archers is about to start, my collegue always seems to need to use the table saw, the planer, and the thicknesser simultaneously!

Radio 1 died when Mark & Lard left!

 

[OPJ]

I've stepped in to the world of Bench Joinery and right now, I can't honestly say I can think of anything else I'd rather be doing. My specific job and the company I work for isn't ideal (very basic, limited work, very repetitive) but that'll hopefully change in 2007.

I've always been very passionate about football, so I'd have to say an alternative career would lie down that route somewhere. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do when at school. I was very good at most subjects but nothing seemed to interest me enough.
I like to say I could play football for a living, but even for that kind of money, it appears it can be awfully cruel at times.

I've always enjoyed talking about and discussing football and at one time I thought of going down the old journalism route... But then, I remembered - I HATE the media!

 

[mel]

big dunc
radio one died when , dave lee travis and steve wright moved on
i listen to galaxy now :shock:

 

[Shultzy]

Ah - DLT, his phoneless cord, and his pub quiz gotcha - memories

 

[mel]

dont forget the
WHACK WHACK HOOOOPS

 

[Anonymous]

Made a major change 7 years ago and though I really liked my old career, my new one is perfect for me and I couldn't imagine changing or leaving where I work.
As an aside, I found that promotions and increases in salary came from simply enjoying what I do and being prepared to work hard at it

Once you know what it is you REALLY want to do (realisitc goals please), the rest is easy(ish)

 

[Scrit]

If I could change my career?....... Easy, really, I've always wanted to be the chief test pilot...

...at Guinness! :wink: Do you think I have a chance?

Seasons Greetings

Wenslascrit

 

[ByronBlack]

Thought i'd update this mini-adventure.

Its been a crazy xmas for me so far. Basically, I've managed to find a new job. It's a lot more money than my current role, with a company vehicle and fuel-card and i'll be my own-boss managing an optical lab for a group of independant opticians!

So, it's in the same industry that I was trying to get out of, BUT the role is so different and varied that it feels like an entirely different beast altogether.

So, I wanted to wish you all a merry new year celebrations, and thanks for all the advice and information that you all kindly contributed to this thread

The best thing about the job, other than providing me with funds to equip and finish the workshop, is the excellent hours that comes with it, which means more time in the workshop working on actual projects, and it also gives me time to study for an open university degree which is what i've been wanting to do for a while

 

[promhandicam]

Congratulations BB and all the best for 2007. I hope that the new job works out for you and that you get to do the things you want to be doing.

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

So who the hell was that bloke who came into the workshop last week and bullied me into giving him a month's trial? :lol:

Seriously though Byron, best of luck in your new job. Oh, and go easy on the fuel-card for the first couple of months at least!

Have a great new year

Duncan

 

[Paul Chapman]

That's good news, BB. Good luck with it.

Cheers :wink:

Paul