In need of a sanity check...
I'm considering starting as an EC, and was hoping you all might either encourage or dissuade me to do so. Here's the deal...I'm a licensed Master in VT and am currently working at a university as a Service Tech. The money is not the greatest, but the benefits are pretty hard to beat (vacation, sick, retirement, free tuition, etc). I get to do some electrical, but do a little bit of everything as part of the job (plumbing, carpentry, mechanical, etc).
This is a second shift position, and I work four 10-hour days and have three days off every week. My days off are during the week, and are Tue-Thurs. Now, I know a lot of people out there would love to have this job, but I feel like I'm wasting my abilities and work ethic here. I really enjoy the electrical field, and would like to be working for myself full-time as an EC.
I have been in the trade for 16 years, and have worked for universities, union contractors, non-union contractors, a controls contractor, a residential contractor, etc. So, I have a pretty wide variety of experiences, and I think that would benefit me if I go out on my own.
Over the last four years, I have built two houses start to finish completely by myself (except for foundation and trusses) while working full time. So, I am not afraid of hard work or putting in the hours to get where I want to be. If I decide to take the plunge, I will have roughly a year's salary (current job) in the bank to support the business.
For now, I'm thinking about keeping my job and testing the waters as a part-time EC. I know this is not ideal, as I've tried it before. That was quite a few years ago, and I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I made quite a few mistakes, but learned from them pretty quickly. I think at my age (38), and with my experience and work ethic, I could be very successful.
Any suggestions or comments to help me decide what to do? Thanks in advance.
I'm considering starting as an EC, and was hoping you all might either encourage or dissuade me to do so. Here's the deal...I'm a licensed Master in VT and am currently working at a university as a Service Tech. The money is not the greatest, but the benefits are pretty hard to beat (vacation, sick, retirement, free tuition, etc). I get to do some electrical, but do a little bit of everything as part of the job (plumbing, carpentry, mechanical, etc).
This is a second shift position, and I work four 10-hour days and have three days off every week. My days off are during the week, and are Tue-Thurs. Now, I know a lot of people out there would love to have this job, but I feel like I'm wasting my abilities and work ethic here. I really enjoy the electrical field, and would like to be working for myself full-time as an EC.
I have been in the trade for 16 years, and have worked for universities, union contractors, non-union contractors, a controls contractor, a residential contractor, etc. So, I have a pretty wide variety of experiences, and I think that would benefit me if I go out on my own.
Over the last four years, I have built two houses start to finish completely by myself (except for foundation and trusses) while working full time. So, I am not afraid of hard work or putting in the hours to get where I want to be. If I decide to take the plunge, I will have roughly a year's salary (current job) in the bank to support the business.
For now, I'm thinking about keeping my job and testing the waters as a part-time EC. I know this is not ideal, as I've tried it before. That was quite a few years ago, and I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I made quite a few mistakes, but learned from them pretty quickly. I think at my age (38), and with my experience and work ethic, I could be very successful.
Any suggestions or comments to help me decide what to do? Thanks in advance.