"Busy On Kev?"
When you go into the builders merchants you get asked this question around where I grew up. It's a mixture of "You busy?" and "Got much on?".
Since becoming a stay at home dad and in turn going part time with my work, my order book has been really full and I'm struggling to fit it all in. This is a nice situation to be in, I'm ending up working a few evenings a week preparing wood and building things and then working every Saturday and all the school holidays to fit it. It's been working out really well and the work keeps rolling in.
So much so I've invested in a large planner thicknesser to make sure I can do all of my jobs in house rather than having to get a joiner to make things for me to fit.
The long term plan being to work more and more from home so I can cope with the school run and still work when the girls are older.
I can honestly say that getting a trade behind me was one of the best things I ever did and time and again it's proved it's worth. Not only does it enable me to earn a good living (and be part time if I want) but it also means I can do more for myself and enables me to live my lifestyle more and more. Not to mention the fact that I love it!
Who else is thankful of their profession or trade?
That's the way to go Kev:) Having a trade skill is invaluable...more so these days! Happy for you... and stay blessed:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Annie, although I know I fell into it, to take it seriously when I did was a good decision!
DeleteI think it's brilliant that you have a trade and that you love it, are obviously very good at it, and can manage to still work AND look after the girls. I think there's far too many people going to university these days, doing useless courses in psychology, media studies, art etc who apparently are doing these courses with no particular goal in mind, don't know what they want to do, and find themselves unable to get a job at the end of it all. We need more people like you Kev, builders, carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers and the like. My cousin in Canada is a carpenter/builder who has a bit of real estate dealing going on on the side, and he makes far more of a living than his brother who spent years and years studying to become an architect and at age 30 still hasn't got a job! If I was starting out again I'd definitely become an apprentice carpenter or plumber or something but unfortunately in my day girls didn't do those jobs, we were shunted off to do needlework and cookery at school, whilst the boys did woodwork and metalwork, which sounded far more interesting. Good on you Kev!
ReplyDeleteDon;t get me started on useless degrees! They then assume they're over qualified and when they do get a job they have to start at the bottom anyway. The only reason I've ever considered doing a degree is to prove to myself that I could. Now with rising costs there is no chance of that!
DeleteI'd take you as an apprentice Sue and it's never too late to learn a trade (there's a a big market for females in the building if you advertise right).
Pity you live so far away, I'd take you up on that, not as a job but just as a learning experience. (Stand by for lots of local apprentice requests now Kev!) But anyway, we both retired early last year (don't reach pension for another 4 years) as we both decided we'd like to enjoy a bit of freedom whilst we're still on the right side of 65 ...hope the savings last long enough!
DeleteI've often thought about taking an apprentice on but it won;t be until the kids go to school now as I don't work the right kind of hours to train an apprentice. I was very lucky with who trained me and it put me in good stead for my future, so I'd like to do the same with someone else.
DeleteWe used to have apprentices on the biig sites when I was a deputy manager, but they weren't anywhere near trained by the time they were out of college, if they had a bad manager they'd hardly be with a carpenter at all, instead being used as cheap labour to sweep up and keep the place clean. Not a good start in a trade and I should imagine it made it hard to do anything other than "house bumping", learning on a large variety of properties like I did was ideal, although it doesn't earn as much as the big sites.
I have a variety of craft skills I can turn to, it helps me earn a few pennies, hubby has a trade as a scaffolder but he he is learning a new skill the other year I got him some lock picks and he has be teaching himself lock picking and next month he is going on a course as he fancies being a call out locksmith.
ReplyDeleteI've looked at lock picking but things are so busy at the moment I can only just keep up so no chance at the moment. Also I think I'd be too soft as a locksmith and end up doing it cheap if they cried!
DeleteI'm glad it's working out for you. It's always nice to have your own equipment.
ReplyDeleteMy tools are my most loved possessions, there aren't many things you can own that can enable you to earn a living.
DeleteAfter a chisel to the palm of the hand at school, woodwork was off limits.
ReplyDeleteI am an ok cook. I cant make cakes as I cant stick to the recipe. lol
I trained as a secretary, people dont seem to need those now. so I have been a project managers assistant for about 4 years. I am at college retraining, having only just decided what I want to be when I grow up.
What skills do I have? I can grow decent cucumbers, beans and squashes. I can keep a tidy house. Maybe I should be a house keeper?
I excel at reading blogs and commenting lol
Spreadsheets are my friend! lol Apparently I run my house like a business. I think it was meant as an insult when someone said that. I took it as a compliment. If more people ran their houses like a business they wouldnt be in so much debt.
I remember being banned from the sewing machine as I nearly broke it at school! Gardening is the other area I'd like to work in but for the moment I'm happy to keep that as a hobby (an all consuming one at that!)
DeleteNice machine Kev. Saying things around here are a bit slow would be an understatement.
ReplyDeleteThings seem to be moving well at the moment but you never know how things will go so I'm trying to make the most of it.
DeleteHi Kev, I am a new follower of your blog and wanted to pop by and tell you that my grandaughter has made your Amazing Cookies today and they definitely live up to their name. Thank you for sharing :-)
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them! I'm addicted to them! I make them every week and can't get enough! Thanks for coming over to the blog!
DeleteWish to hell I'd learnt a trade. Jack of all trades, master of none!
ReplyDeleteYou have a trade and a great one at that! One not to be taken likely, bomb disposal is an ability to have that far outweighs cutting up bits of wood!
DeleteI think that running a smallholding efficiently needs skills such as yours, and well done you for taking the plunge and buying that machine.
ReplyDeleteMy carpentry skills (and tools) are forever coming in handy on the homestead, I remember when I started learning and thinking how useful all this knowledge would be!
DeleteIt's good to have a trade you enjoy, and have lots of business. I'm retired and I'm thankful for that though. 40 years of working was enough for me.
ReplyDeleteHopefully retirement is a long way off.
DeleteCan't go wrong having a skill and trade to fall back on or make your own hours with. Actually the way things should be and what we will go back to after the reset. This pass the buck pension system is doomed to fail before to long and many will wish they had a trade like yours' to fall back on I imagine. That and children to take care of us in our old age is all we can really ask of life.
ReplyDeleteMaking my own hours is key at the moment, with when I can work. Hopefully my wife's pension will keep us as I don't have one!
DeleteWe are very thankful for Lovely Hubby's professional qualifications, studied for and earnt during his time at sea with the Royal Navy.
ReplyDeleteWithout his specialist engineering skills he wouldn't be earning the money he does and enabling us to set up our way of life ready for early 'real job' retirement.
No it sounds like you've got it sorted, but through hqrd work and planning. This works for us at the moment but who knows what will happen in the future and what opportunities will present themselves.
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