Replies

1. 
   Greg_Brown | Dec 27, 2001 06:17pm | #1

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   before I started building cabinets & other wooden goodies I was in junior high school- never was into anything but carpentry/woodwork. Started out making tables & bookshelves for relatives & friends parents while in high school & taking on any project I could get my grubby little paws on, before long I had figured out how to build just about anything. Worked for myself off & on ever since. Finally got licenced/legal a couple years ago- don't think I could go back to workin for someone else ...

1. 
   allen_schell | Dec 28, 2001 02:12am | #2

   *I was a fork lift driver in an ice cream freezer, not much of a future but the snacks were great....ummmmm a box of drum sticks!It was a step in the right direction from log homes to stair building, 20 years of learning. It was a struggle until I found out there was such a thing as "stairmen", then I new that was the niche for me.

1. 
   phil_eves | Dec 28, 2001 04:18am | #3

   *I was a mechanical engineering technologist in the sawmill/pulpmill business; it died around me(40 companies in the Vancouver/B.C. area, died down to about 10), and started doing drywall jobs/reno's and other stuff, got into more and more framing, then finishing, then cabinets, then boat interiors and some boatbuilding, (time for a breath),THEN got into aircraft interiors(private jet stuff),and timber framing and stairs.Phew!

1. 
   splintergroupie_ | Dec 28, 2001 04:35am | #4

   *I was a bored housewife.

1. 
   Stan_Foster | Dec 28, 2001 04:45am | #5

   *I was a farmer until 1986. I was lucky to get a job with a contractor that built some awesome homes.

2. 
   Stephen_Hazlett | Dec 28, 2001 06:35am | #6

   *Industrial Hard Chrome Plater.Stuck in a dark filthy dangerous shop----covered in lead oxide and breathing acid fumes all day----working with people I hated.roofing is safer,cleaner,and allows me to provide better for my dependents.plus I am a joy to work with. I enjoy the battle with the elements and the buzz from finishing a job JUST as it starts to rain.

3. 
   Sandy_Winfrey | Dec 28, 2001 01:43pm | #7

   *Worked in a restaurant for awhile. Also worked on a couple of shrimp boats. The restaurant closed and the boats sank.....leaving me no other choiceHappy New Year .........SW

4. 
   Jim_Walters | Dec 28, 2001 02:58pm | #8

   *>Also worked on a couple of shrimp boatsSandy.....female? I presume. One of the greatest girls I ever knew worked alongside me on a boat in Alaska. It sunk, too.I was a working bum for a number of years and one day decided to be a carpenter. Went to the library, got a framing book, studied it and talked some guy into hireing me. The first cut on the job, I cut a 4x12 beam to short and ruined it. It's been all uphill since.

5. 
   pat_white | Dec 28, 2001 04:49pm | #9

   *I was a commercial fisherman in alaska for 10 years.when the fishing wasn't great I would work for a residential builder in the winter to make ends meet. Now I is one.

6. 
   splintergroupie_ | Dec 28, 2001 08:11pm | #10

   *i One of the greatest girls I ever knew worked alongside me on a boat in Alaska. It sunk, too.Laughed so hard i cried, Jim...thanks!

7. 
   Ken_fisher | Dec 29, 2001 12:34am | #11

   *I worked in beer sales as a route driver here in Florida until about 1989. I gave it up when some of the distributorships were sold to northern owners, who thought Florida was a paradise without union wages. They destroyed what was fun and now everything is cut to the bone.Knowing some retailers as friends, they wish it would go back to the old days when you'd see a familiar face every week for years. Now the turnover is so high, one would be lucky to see the same guy after six months of workI guess that's progress but I do miss those days, especially the Legions, Elks, Moose and what not of Pine Island, Florida. Those old timers wouldn't let you go unless you sat down and had a few with 'em, which would make it hard to finish your day.Oh geesh, I forgot about the tittie bars. It's good those days of "looking the otherway" in regards to drinking on the job are gone, otherwise I'd probably be dead.You'll have to consider as a route salesman I drove the truck(120 miles/day) and had an established weekly route with an inventory of 400-1000 cases depending on the day. It wasn't easy work by any means, but had it's share of fun. I could go on endlessly with stories, and I was rarely tired after the end of each day...cept for Monday, but I planned that day as light as possible. BUT...but I was in my 30's then. Couldn't do it now. I still have dreams about those days and nary a few with the trade I'm in now. What gives?

8. 
   piffin_ | Dec 29, 2001 03:50am | #12

   *I was making things with my hands as long as I can remember. And I was in business for myself selling pony rides starting when I was about twelve. Holiday weekends put so many quarters in my pockets that I could hardly walk. Part time, I've been teacher, reserve cop, preacher.Most demanding and satisfying job has been fatherhood.

9. 
   Dave_Crosby | Dec 29, 2001 09:12am | #13

   *I was a fire/rescue specialist in the Air Force and later as a civilian. While training to be a supervisor I took some classes on building construction to be able to make informed decisions about procedures and safe operating environments.Turned out that the classes were fascinating, and I became intrigued with the art and science of construction (and demolition).Building always was interesting to me anyway, and making homes for people seems to be well within the definition of right livelihood.Besides, I've always liked the smell of wood.As for going into business, if you have the desire, do it. It's the only way you'll ever know.Dave

10. 
    Sandy_Winfrey | Dec 29, 2001 01:37pm | #14

    *Hate to dissapoint you, Jim.....but Im a guy.... .......SW

11. 
    Jim_Walters | Dec 29, 2001 03:28pm | #15

    *>Hate to dissapoint you, Jim.....but Im a guy....UUUUUUUHhhh well......geeeeee.....uuhhhhhhhhhhhhh

12. 
    Mike_Smith | Dec 29, 2001 06:42pm | #16

    *after the army, i went gi bill for const. technology & got into marine const..... building breakwaters and docks.. then the company moved me into water & sewer treatment plants.. then they went down the tubes..and i was on the bricks..moved into residential const. as a foreman,building solar heated homes..... then went on my own in '75... mostly new const. until '90...most of our work has been design / build....now all repairs and remodeling...still design / build

13. 
    Ron_Budgell | Dec 29, 2001 10:26pm | #17

    *I"ve been a newspaper reporter, ran a community newspaper for a while. I've worked offshore drilling rigs from Labrador to Brazil to Spain. I trained as a naval architect and worked at that for a bit. I always put on my tool belt when there was slack time at some other job.

14. 
    phil_eves | Dec 29, 2001 11:30pm | #18

    *Ron, where did you get your naval architecture training....Westlawn?

15. 
    piffin_ | Dec 30, 2001 12:27am | #19

    *Mike,"then the company moved me into water & sewer treatment plants.. then they went down the tubes..and i was on the bricks.. "Meaning that when the company went into sewers it went down the drain?LOL

16. 
    Mike_Smith | Dec 30, 2001 12:39am | #20

    *piffen... that's about it.. they were road builders.. started chasing all that Clean Water money the feds were throwing around in the early '70s...remember 85 / 15 funding? the towns put up 15% and the feds matched it with 85%...shoulda stuck to roads and breakwaters....those old road supers were quite the guys...

17. 
    Daryl(Newf)_Ferguson | Dec 30, 2001 02:01am | #21

    *...Some doctor hit my butt......Next couple of years was into the walk and talk thing......Too far back???............Peace......n...

18. 
    Pi | Dec 30, 2001 02:19am | #22

    *Hey, Newf, you gotta be more precise....

19. 
    Daryl(Newf)_Ferguson | Dec 30, 2001 02:35am | #23

    *...O.K. .....Day One.....What the f***???......Day Two......Oh... Day Three......Hammer...... Doh......n...(to be cont.)...

20. 
    brisketbean_ | Dec 30, 2001 03:36am | #24

    *was a tractor driver and then a proffesional dishwasher, ( I got all of the good leftovers that made it back to the kitchen), semi-pro drug dealer and drunk, truck driver and bum, took a couple weeks demolition work up in coffeyville kansas, and got addicted to tear out and demolition, people didn't want their properties destroyed without some improvements, so I had to learn to build back.

21. 
    Daryl(Newf)_Ferguson | Dec 30, 2001 04:15am | #25

    *...Hey bb, I'm trin' to tell a story, butt out............where was I ???......n...

22. 
    piffin_ | Dec 30, 2001 04:33am | #26

    *Newf,That's what I was wonderin'

23. 
    Daryl(Newf)_Ferguson | Dec 30, 2001 05:04am | #27

    *...Day 4...To present......yadda...yadda...yadda......bankruptcy......yadda...yadda...yadda......bankruptcy.....1st Floor ...Cape Breton Regional Hospital......Psychiatric Ward......Dec. 28...Price renovation job...

24. 
    allen_schell | Dec 30, 2001 05:23pm | #28

    *...hey newf........<be nice..........this board is eveybodys>........his reads better than yours anyway........you were nowhere.......come back BB.........a..............<...........>

25. 
    Ron_Budgell | Dec 30, 2001 06:28pm | #29

    *The school is now called the College of the North Atlantic and is in St John's Newfoundland. The program is an engineering degree program but I never got the degree.

2. 
   Rich_Watkins | Dec 30, 2001 06:28pm | #30

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   I am curious to know what some of you did before getting into the trades. If your self employeed what inspired you strike out on your own? Was it the right decision?