No$$, no credit, but electrical work is my passion

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flappert

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Sunrise,FL, USA
I've been approved to take my unlimited state exam. I owe child support, have no credit, and no money in the bank. What are my options to work legally in the electrical trade. Obviously making good money so I can work toward my unlimited. I would really like to be able to be selfemployed, even if it requires just hanging fixtures or doing maint. I guess my overall question is are there other licenses(cnty,state) that will allow me to operate an electrical comp. legally,. Residential, Lighting maint, etc. I love electricity. Im terrible when it comes to charging people, I always short myself. Any suggestions or criticism would be much appreciated.
 
flappert said:
I've been approved to take my unlimited state exam. I owe child support, have no credit, and no money in the bank. What are my options to work legally in the electrical trade. Obviously making good money so I can work toward my unlimited. I would really like to be able to be selfemployed, even if it requires just hanging fixtures or doing maint. I guess my overall question is are there other licenses(cnty,state) that will allow me to operate an electrical comp. legally,. Residential, Lighting maint, etc. I love electricity. Im terrible when it comes to charging people, I always short myself. Any suggestions or criticism would be much appreciated.
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I believe cash & credit are a thing of the past. I know they used to require it in Florida but I belive it changed 10-15 years ago. As to the child support, it's my understanding that it nullifies any professional licenses, but I don't have first hand experience with it. If it's only a matter of paying child support, take your test, get a high paying job, pay it down, and get that license active. You'll need to purchase your insurance before you can pull a permit.
 
Find a job, pay attention, go to work every day, on time. Pay your bills, all of them. Starting a business without any of the skills you acknowledge you lack will only put you further behind. Back child support? Fix it. Very little sympathy for that problem. I'm done.
 
Smart $ said:
You'd think states would have at least a little bit of sense. They want persons to pay their child support... but when they get behind, the state screws with their potential to earn income. :(
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My wife's Ex owes thousands apon thousands in child support. The law would have his drivers license and have him incarcerated. This is not the case. The judicial system will continue to give him opportunity after opportunity to do the right thing. Whenever it's crunch time he manages to make a payment ($60) or 2. and avoid the legal consequences of being a total dirtbag. He also only works off the books to avoid being garnished (he used to be a union carpenter).


So my wife and I raise and support his 2 kids along with ours. The "Karma" of it is that as his kids got alittle older they decided (completely on thier own) that they wanted nothing to do with him. It's really all just "sad but true".


To the OP......PUT YOUR CHILDREN AHEAD OF YOURSELF. CLEAN UP YOUR PAST. THEN AND ONLY THEN CAN YOU MOVE FORWARD IN LIFE.


Good luck.
 
mjf said:
... The law would have his drivers license and have him incarcerated. ...
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Another prime example...

Take away their driver license and/or put them in jail. Just what kind of reasoning deduces that'll get them to work to make the money to pay the child support???
 
Smart $ said:
Another prime example...

Take away their driver license and/or put them in jail. Just what kind of reasoning deduces that'll get them to work to make the money to pay the child support???
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Don't know if you have any real life experience with the whole child support "thing".

The courts do differentiate between "not paying" and "willfully not paying".

To you, how many YEARS of WILLFULLY not paying child support constitutes time for some real consequenses?

The wife's ex has a car, cell phone, bluetooth, guitars, marijuana, works steady, dines out.

His facebook pictures are great..... his cruise to Peurto Rico, grilling shrimp and steaks, etc, etc, etc.

He made them, he should support them or eventually face some real life consequences....don't ya think?
 
mjf said:
Don't know if you have any real life experience with the whole child support "thing".

The courts do differentiate between "not paying" and "willfully not paying".

To you, how many YEARS of WILLFULLY not paying child support constitutes time for some real consequenses?

The wife's ex has a car, cell phone, bluetooth, guitars, marijuana, works steady, dines out.

His facebook pictures are great..... his cruise to Peurto Rico, grilling shrimp and steaks, etc, etc, etc.

He made them, he should support them or eventually face some real life consequences....don't ya think?
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Yes, I have real life experience... but that was many years ago. Laws have changed, and I'm not fully aware of those changes. In the midst of my experience, the courts did not differentiate between not being able to pay vs. being able to pay and willingly not paying.

Another issue is the circumstance(s) under which the non-custodial parent actually became a parent. I don't want to get into any great depth on the matter, but in most cases, the man does not have any options in the decision to be a parent or not. A woman can decieve a man into contraception (I know this one from experience, but let's not get into the "it takes two to tango" debate). Not only is this hard to prove, but AFAIK, in the eyes of the law, it don't matter. A man can be a sperm donor, the woman artificially inseminated, and there are no legal ties to the man. But if it happens naturally but without consent, the man is bound by law. A woman can opt to give the child up for adoption, and the man has no say if they are not married (it wouldn't surprise me if he had no say when married), and the best he could do is attempt to adopt the child through the legal system.

But all-in-all, my main gripe is when courts impose a "penalty" which is self-defeating. And talk about compounding a problem, I have even heard nowadays a "deadbeat parent" is billed for time incarcerated!

Aside from that, this discussion is way off topic for the general forum. If you wish to further embellish on the matter, I suggest starting a new topic on the Campfire Chat forum...
 
flappert said:
I've been approved to take my unlimited state exam. I owe child support, have no credit, and no money in the bank. What are my options to work legally in the electrical trade. Obviously making good money so I can work toward my unlimited. I would really like to be able to be selfemployed, even if it requires just hanging fixtures or doing maint. I guess my overall question is are there other licenses(cnty,state) that will allow me to operate an electrical comp. legally,. Residential, Lighting maint, etc. I love electricity. Im terrible when it comes to charging people, I always short myself. Any suggestions or criticism would be much appreciated.
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I would sure hope all that matters to work electrical legally is that you met eligibility requirements, passed exams, and received proper licensing.

Though owing child support is nothing to just brush aside, what does it have to do with being legal to practice any kind of business? As has been mentioned, that is a very poor reason to keep someone from possibly having an easier time coming up with money to be able to afford making their child support. If the state thinks having no work, or taking away the potential to have work or possible better pay, will make it easier to make the child support payments... I don't even know where to continue with this:(.

Bad credit, no money in the bank? Those are poor excuses to grant someone a license also. Those things very well may give you other hardships in operation of a business but should have nothing to do with acquiring a license, as long as you do come up with any fees associated with the license.
 
iwire said:
Debating the merits of the laws will not help the OP.

Lets try to stay on topic.
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Well then I guess he has to move to a place where the law favors him more then.

I don't know if he has problems with what was mentioned or not, he seems to think maybe he does. Chances are he just has a few extra hurdles than some may have but is not totally hosed.
 
mjf said:
My wife's Ex owes thousands apon thousands in child support. The law would have his drivers license and have him incarcerated. This is not the case. The judicial system will continue to give him opportunity after opportunity to do the right thing. Whenever it's crunch time he manages to make a payment ($60) or 2. and avoid the legal consequences of being a total dirtbag. He also only works off the books to avoid being garnished (he used to be a union carpenter).


So my wife and I raise and support his 2 kids along with ours. The "Karma" of it is that as his kids got alittle older they decided (completely on thier own) that they wanted nothing to do with him. It's really all just "sad but true".


To the OP......PUT YOUR CHILDREN AHEAD OF YOURSELF. CLEAN UP YOUR PAST. THEN AND ONLY THEN CAN YOU MOVE FORWARD IN LIFE.


Good luck.
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Mike that is one of the best bits of advice I have ever read on this forum, your a stand up guy, never change!
 
Fl is strict about licensing and business. I hold 2 state certifications in Fl and they now require $10K in cash or assets AND at least a 670 credit rating...you can take the test regardless but activating the license is when you have to meet these requirements. There are almost always solutions to out smarting the system to support your family...I know that from my own experience, also Fl doesn't recognize any license other than a state certification, no more local city, county license. There's ALWAYS a legal solution to taking care of your family!!!
 
jahilliard said:
Fl is strict about licensing and business. I hold 2 state certifications in Fl and they now require $10K in cash or assets AND at least a 670 credit rating...you can take the test regardless but activating the license is when you have to meet these requirements. There are almost always solutions to out smarting the system to support your family...I know that from my own experience, also Fl doesn't recognize any license other than a state certification, no more local city, county license. There's ALWAYS a legal solution to taking care of your family!!!
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I really don't know why it is any business of the State to even look into what you have for assets or at your credit when it comes to granting you a license to practice any business. Are they concerned about your ability to pay taxes? Even if you don't pay your taxes they still have the ability to garnish your bank accounts, and they will do it to any account that has your name on it, even if it is jointly owned with other people.
 
$chool time

$chool time

So, Ive decided our(my son and I) best course of action is to go back to school. I've been stressing how I was going to pay for the books alone for the exam, $1200. Not including the prep seminar. And low and behold the man upstairs shut one door, and opened the pearly gates. I registered for 4 classes toward an electrical engineering degree, and received a grant. Ill have just enough money left after my classes and books to pay for exam books. Ive been studying my tail off, confident on technical, business Im working on. Ill take exam and then plea my case before the board, I also go to court 08-30 to try and modify/ credit my arrears for the time my son has been in my custody. Dept. of Rev. is still trying to suspend my license even though my son lives with me. Wish me luck, thanks for the time.:):angel:
 
flappert said:
So, Ive decided our(my son and I) best course of action is to go back to school. I've been stressing how I was going to pay for the books alone for the exam, $1200. Not including the prep seminar. And low and behold the man upstairs shut one door, and opened the pearly gates. I registered for 4 classes toward an electrical engineering degree, and received a grant. Ill have just enough money left after my classes and books to pay for exam books. Ive been studying my tail off, confident on technical, business Im working on. Ill take exam and then plea my case before the board, I also go to court 08-30 to try and modify/ credit my arrears for the time my son has been in my custody. Dept. of Rev. is still trying to suspend my license even though my son lives with me. Wish me luck, thanks for the time.:):angel:
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I commend your zeal and wish you the best of luck in your endeavors :happyyes:
 
kwired said:
I really don't know why it is any business of the State to even look into what you have for assets or at your credit when it comes to granting you a license to practice any business. Are they concerned about your ability to pay taxes? Even if you don't pay your taxes they still have the ability to garnish your bank accounts, and they will do it to any account that has your name on it, even if it is jointly owned with other people.
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In the case of a contractor, whether electrical, construction, or whatever, the state has traditionally had an interest in making sure that the customers of that business are protected against the consequences of either fraud or business failure. Hence bonding requirements, etc. If the state did not require assets and credit scores, that would just pass through the price set by the bonding agency or insurer.
For a general business license, there has not been this traditional expectation that state recognition provides some level of assurance to the consumer.
Would you be opposed to removing knowledge testing from the license too? Agreed these are two very different areas, but they are similar from the point of view of the customer's expectations of protection.
 
GoldDigger said:
In the case of a contractor, whether electrical, construction, or whatever, the state has traditionally had an interest in making sure that the customers of that business are protected against the consequences of either fraud or business failure. Hence bonding requirements, etc. If the state did not require assets and credit scores, that would just pass through the price set by the bonding agency or insurer.
For a general business license, there has not been this traditional expectation that state recognition provides some level of assurance to the consumer.
Would you be opposed to removing knowledge testing from the license too? Agreed these are two very different areas, but they are similar from the point of view of the customer's expectations of protection.
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And contractors are the only group out there that has some ripping off customers, failed businesses, etc?:( It happens in any business, whether the business is legal or not. BTW there are also customers that cheat businesses, but big brother doesn't look out as much for that, the business owners have to take their own action on this one.

A famous Paul Harvey quote "self government won't work without self discipline" is very true.
 
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