Should I go back to roofing or get an office job again?
They changed my schedule at work again and it is horrible. I hate working graves and weekends; it is not good for my social life.
In any case I have a choice of going back to doing roofing and finishing my apprenticeship or looking for a managerial office job to make what I am making now (17/hr).
The office job will take me longer to find. The roofing work is easy to find cuz I have a truck, my own tools and experience. I could go become a foreman at $30/hr eventually too, the only downside is that it is dangerous and the cold/rainy weather 1/3 -1/2 the year blows.
On top of that I am in school for BS in Business Admin and should go back into the office world to make use of my degree once I graduate. On the other hand I hate to throw two years of apprenticeship in construction away when I am so close to finishing it.
I know that the office thing is easier, but I have this gut feeling that the roofing is a good move, what to do?
+ I am proud to know a trade. My friends work at temp agencies and low end jobs. I like the fact that I can go in at 17-20/hr and have a skill. When people ask me what I do, I am proud to tell them I am a roofer. I am not proud telling them what I do now even though the money is good.
Thanks, I am going to law school to become an attorney after undergrad but I need something that pays until then.
How about starting your own business?
If you keep yourself confined to the worker mentality, forever shall you be merely a worker, not an owner.
you really answered the question for yourself. sounds like roofing to me. good roofers are really hard to find. if you’re good at it and have the integrity and quality to develop a clientele, why not pursue it seriously–develop a business and recruit a select group of good roofers and expand. spend the cold and rainy weather inside watching your roofers do the work and earn you money.
have you considered moving to a place that doesn’t have cold and rainy weather 1/3 of the year? because that’s the only true downside that you mention. that and the dangerous part.
My boyfriend works as a roofer (Decker) and he loves his job and enjoys going to work everyday. I feel so bad for him when its 12 degrees out but he says the 30 an hr is worth it. He plans on slowly starting his own company. I would go do the roofing and see if you still enjoy it. You will always have your degree to fall back on. If you take the office job you’ll just wonder if you made the right decision.
You don’t list the employee/apprenticeship benefits of roofing. Ideally, you want good health coverage and a 401k plan to help you save for retirement.
Also, if you break your arm and work in an office, you can still go to work and not lose any pay. If you break your arm as a roofer, you’re out of work without pay for several weeks. As you age, physical labor will become more stressful on your body.
It sounds like you really enjoy roofing and are attracted to the pay. Maybe try to do a little roofing as a side job, but stay with school and white collar work. If you work hard and seek good opportunities, you’ll be making much more than you would with roofing and financially (health counts) you’ll be in better shape.
Trust me. The roofing thing is a bad idea. Give it up. Go for the office job. In the end the benefits of the office career will far outweigh any the roofing job has to offer.
That’s not only what I believe (retired office worker) but also what that office worker in a wheel chair told me a number of years ago. He tried to save a few bucks by doing his own roof. He slipped and fell off the roof. He’s doomed to be in a wheelchair the rest of his life.
As I’m sure you can understand, I didn’t ask him how his love life was. So, if you think the office job is currently putting a cramp in your love life, please think again. As you move up in your office job, your social life schedule will improve. Also, needless to say, please don’t plan to do your own roof (because you know how to do it). That’s what the man who fell off the roof and ended up in the wheel chair did.
My advice is walk away from roofing. Sell your truck, buy a car. In other words, cut the cord, burn the bridges, hang it up.
I wold hate to think that a smart and intelligent person like you (who can be extremely successful in the office) would choose to gamble with his future by continuing in a profession as dangerous as roofing.
Please walk away from that. The odds for a good life are much greater in the office. . . .
Take a look at where you’ll be ten years from now in both career paths. How about twenty years? What will be your quality of life at those points? You really need to decide where you want to be later in life, then decide the best way for you to get there.
Sounds like you really like roofing, and while it’s a profession you can be proud of, there are some things about your situation that would worry me. First, your location doesn’t allow you to work year round… not good. Second, what physical condition will you be in at retirement age? If you’re going to pursue roofing, do it, and eventually go into business for yourself… if you’re going to bust your ass, bust it for yourself.
The office route will definitely not be as physically taxing, and will give you more opportunities in life. Business might take you in a positive direction you never thought it would take you. Roofing is always going to be roofing.
Good luck.