Are you doing your part to support the "trades"? Mild rant...

[HotRod82]

I guess my best public response would be, would you rather make $250k with $50-75k in expenses, or $125k with no "expenses" but the exact same hours worked? Every tradesman needs transportation. If you are a rig welder getting paid rig check, your transportation is now a write off, so is all your fuel. So are all your tools, on the truck and in the garage. So is that skid steer you bought to lift your welder in & out of your truck. So are all those materials you bought, the leftovers of which you used to build your rock crawler, the spare wheels, tires axle shafts, etc. Can't do that as just a W2 earner. Yes, you have more expenses, a bit more headache & responsibility maintaining equipment, but I've seen it work well for guys that want it and understand how to play the game. I'm sure I'll get chastised for suggesting some of the tax write offs, but go to any play location in SoCal, look around, and I bet 90% of the toys & haulers are tax write offs paid for through businesses.

Great post.....the amount of "write offs" is a HUGE pay raise. I retired early and sold my Commercial HVAC shop after 20 years in business. I planned well and was prepared for the lack of income, what I miscalculated was the lack of write offs and actually having to pay for fuel, insurance, car registrations, travel, , etc., with personal, POST TAX dollars. It sucks!
I really don't know how young families make it these days unless they are in the "C Suite" or self employed.

 

[BHC Vic]

Great post.....the amount of "write offs" is a HUGE pay raise. I retired early and sold my Commercial HVAC shop after 20 years in business. I planned well and was prepared for the lack of income, what I miscalculated was the lack of write offs and actually having to pay for fuel, insurance, car registrations, travel, , etc., with personal, POST TAX dollars. It sucks!
I really don't know how young families make it these days unless they are in the "C Suite" or self employed.

I think about this often. I’m not going to go on a rant but the sacrifices that I’ve made to make sure my family is good are crazy. I’m not mad about it, but I do wish I had more time to do the things that I love and not the things that I have to.

 

[bk2drvr]

Are women candidates for any of the trades? Watched some instagram videos of women electricians being interviewed. Sounded legit. Just curious.

 

[Bobby V]

I was in the fire sprinkler trade for over 40 years. They are taking applications in May.

Become an Apprentice — Sprinkler Fitters U.A. Local 709

Apprenticeship

www.sprinklerfitters709.org

 

[Bobby V]

Are women candidates for any of the trades? Watched some instagram videos of women electricians being interviewed. Sounded legit. Just curious.

See my post #54. They hire women all the time. I worked with a few.

 

[NicPaus]

100% @Sportin' Wood

New construction not worth the liability with the 10 year warranty CA implies.

I need to let it sink in majority are out to fuck me so why should I do them any favors. My regular customers are great. A few new ones every year remind me that they will fuck you over 50 cents. I was just at my realtors house talking about it. She telling me to fire that customer and move on. Getting nickel and dimed on jobs is a fucking joke I don't need to deal with. Chasing money and having people ad extras thinking it should be free.

Have to remind myself this is business and profit is only thing that matters. Do it for the money not worthless "Thanks"

 

[rmarion]

should be teaching all the trades in High School...

 

[dezertrider]

The trades have been a blessing to me and so many others I’ve met over the past 33 years. I still keep in touch with a handful of guys I started with back in the ‘90s, and it’s incredible to see how successful they’ve become—solid careers, thriving families, the whole deal. As a business owner, I’ve had the privilege of training countless people in the HVAC trade, taking them from zero experience to absolute rockstars. Reading this thread got me reflecting on all those folks who began their journey with me and are now out there crushing it, building lives they’re proud of.
At Mission Accomplished, our approach to hiring is simple: find good people and train them right. I’m not interested in bringing on another tech with bad habits picked up from one of the local outfits—those habits are tough to break, and every company around here seems to breed them. That’s why we got lucky recently when two highly experienced guys walked through our door. They’d just moved to the area, and their resumes were gold—each with over a decade in the game. It’s a perfect fit for us because everyone at Mission Accomplished brings at least 10 years of experience to the table. We’re building something special here, one skilled worker at a time.

 

[Done-it-again]

I have quite a few W2 people pulling that amount.

600k year, really?

 

[2Driver]

You have quite a few W2 employees making 600k+ a year ? What are they doing, and are you hiring?

Replacing AC capacitors for $350 a pop.

 

[Sportin' Wood]

100% @Sportin' Wood

New construction not worth the liability with the 10 year warranty CA implies.

I need to let it sink in majority are out to fuck me so why should I do them any favors. My regular customers are great. A few new ones every year remind me that they will fuck you over 50 cents. I was just at my realtors house talking about it. She telling me to fire that customer and move on. Getting nickel and dimed on jobs is a fucking joke I don't need to deal with. Chasing money and having people ad extras thinking it should be free.

Have to remind myself this is business and profit is only thing that matters. Do it for the money not worthless "Thanks"

My wife bought me a simple gift to remind me, and I still need to be reminded all day every day.

Its an unassuming handmade copper money clip with a stamped message. It says "Fuck You Pay Me"

Yet I still don't learn.

 

[evantwheeler]

I have been looking into getting my cwi and going into inspection. Thanks!

One upside to that route is you can stay local 12 and continue to build your pension as local 12 covers inspection & testing in SoCal, but that doesn't really solve your free time or having to commute issue.

 

[4Waters]

Can't blame them, when the burger flipper at In-n-out is starting at $22.50 . . .

The entire minimum wage scale shift in LA has completely fucked the labor market beyond belief.

It really has. I have a class A, drive a dump truck and move equipment, I'm the back up heavy equipment operator, and right now I am acting heavy equipment operator. When I'm not driving or operating I have my nail bags on and I'm setting forms. All for 36 an hour.

 

[hallett21]

600k year, really?

Has to be a sales guy who takes home a base W2. No one in a work van is pulling that lol.

Edit

 

[mesquito_creek]

Kids in the trades will still be swimming upstream against automation.

House framing already shows up on a trailer with the walls complete and the truss pack gets assembled on the ground and craned in place

Plex plumbing goes in a a fraction of the time copper did.

How much longer until all the electrical and plumbing is in the walls on the flatbed trailer… plug and play

Nailer used to have hose and compressors, now they have a battery.

Tough sell to ask a 18 year old to commit to a 35 year trade under constant pressure to be eliminated.

 

[MARCYTECH]

One upside to that route is you can stay local 12 and continue to build your pension as local 12 covers inspection & testing in SoCal, but that doesn't really solve your free time or having to commute issue.

I’m willing to leave the union to solve those issues. Been thinkin about gettin the cwi and working for a company a few years to learn the ropes then go off on my own. I own a business also so I’m not a stranger to bookkeeping and such.

 

[Roosky01]

You have quite a few W2 employees making 600k+ a year ? What are they doing, and are you hiring?

OnlyFans?

 

[Done-it-again]

Has to be a sales guy who takes home a base W2. No one in a work van is pulling that lol.

Edit

View attachment 1490228 View attachment 1490229

That’s what I was thinking.

 

[Roosky01]

I have half an inkling to start an HVAC company or similar and build it for 5 years or so and sell it and walk away. Or go big and do a civil and piping contractor business and do the same.

I’m 52 and don’t really want to do it, but it’s like Emily Ratajkowski spread eagle right in front of me…

 

[NicPaus]

102.6 hours a week is Hard work. I was putting in 100 hour weeks. But it takes it toll. I am getting to old for that shit.

Definitely a commission position to make that money. I have been asking around different plumbers to see what they expect for pay. Most are base pay around $35-45 a hour. With commission in the 20-40% range. If the commission numbers hit a certain amount they don't get the base pay. So say they sell a water heater for $4800 they get around 1200. 2 a day and they are getting 2400 before tax.

 

[Riverbound]

Replacing AC capacitors for $350 a pop.

lol. If it were that easy we’d charge $450

The people making the big money in the trades aren’t changing caps

 

[Riverbound]

102.6 hours a week is Hard work. I was putting in 100 hour weeks. But it takes it toll. I am getting to old for that shit.

Definitely a commission position to make that money. I have been asking around different plumbers to see what they expect for pay. Most are base pay around $35-45 a hour. With commission in the 20-40% range. If the commission numbers hit a certain amount they don't get the base pay. So say they sell a water heater for $4800 they get around 1200. 2 a day and they are getting 2400 before tax.

Yup. The guys making the big money are putting in all the hours. I’ve got guys grinding 7 days a week. Taking every call they can pick up any shift that someone doesn’t want to work. Etc etc.

Those guys hustling day in and day out have massive W2 at the end of year.

I have a buddy who estimates for an asphalt company he’s going to pull in 7 figures in bonus. and was close last year as well. I thought we did good plumbing and hvac.

 

[whiteworks]

Accidental skill sets, one day you wake up and realize you know some shit.

I don’t know who all these guys are that are supposedly making all this big money in the trades as workers, because I sure as fuck have never seen it. I think a guy can make a living wage in the trades as a worker, if he’s smart and socks away some dough for a rainy day he might not have to eat cat food as a subsistence strategy in retirement

The only dudes making real coin in the trades are pimping out workers, at that point you’re no longer a tradesman, just a paper pusher assuming liability and baby’s sitting landmines.

I’m happy when I work, I’m getting back into working on shit again and it’s good for my soul. Running businesses is a different skill set, I really enjoy pure construction, fuck all that bureaucratic bullshit and fuck all the people that are not worth a fuck LOL

 

[Sleek-Jet]

I just hired a new apprentice lineman... We had 90+ applications. I honestly couldn't believe it, so at least the word is out in some places. And all these kids will be on the books somewhere by the summer, but they have to put in the work to make it to Journeyman, getting hired is the easy part.

 

[island time]

Union pipefitters have to be the biggest douchebags out there. I’d encourage any young kid not to become one.
Zero issues with any other union trades .

Lol. What did they do to you?

 

[CLdrinker]

I was a 3rd generation tin knocker. My dad got me a job with the company he worked for. Did that for a while and bounced around to a few other outfits.

Dad started his own thing around 2004. I went to work with him and things were good but we weren’t balling. Shit went south in 2008 and Dad retired I could have took over but I was 27 still pretty fucking immature to be honest, not to mention I didn’t have the capital to bank roll a business in that economy.

A buddy got me into a SCE contracting gig and the rest is history. I do very well but the drama and pansy asses I deal with make me miss my tool bags.

 

[Riverbound]

Are women candidates for any of the trades? Watched some instagram videos of women electricians being interviewed. Sounded legit. Just curious.

Yes they are. One of my executives is female. Many of my top managers are female. I have a female installer, we are onboarding a female technician . 2 females sales (1 is top woman in the country)

 

[Riverbound]

I was a 3rd generation tin knocker. My dad got me a job with the company he worked for. Did that for a while and bounced around to a few other outfits.

Dad started his own thing around 2004. I went to work with him and things were good but we weren’t balling. Shit went south in 2008 and Dad retired I could have took over but I was 27 still pretty fucking immature to be honest, not to mention I didn’t have the capital to bank roll a business in that economy.

A buddy got me into a SCE contracting gig and the rest is history. I do very well but the drama and pansy asses I deal with make me miss my tool bags.

There are many days I look out my window and see people working on roofs and wish I was back in the field.

 

[Bigbore500r]

OnlyFans?

OnlyWelders

 

[BHC Vic]

OnlyWelders

There’s some female welders that seem to do ok with the Instagram and tik tok thing. They get a bunch of cool sponsors too. I may give welding In my speedo a go here pretty soon.

 

[dezertrider]

102.6 hours a week is Hard work. I was putting in 100 hour weeks. But it takes it toll. I am getting to old for that shit.

Definitely a commission position to make that money. I have been asking around different plumbers to see what they expect for pay. Most are base pay around $35-45 a hour. With commission in the 20-40% range. If the commission numbers hit a certain amount they don't get the base pay. So say they sell a water heater for $4800 they get around 1200. 2 a day and they are getting 2400 before tax.

I did those long hours in my 20's doing supermarket refrigeration. It kicked my ass!!! By the time I was 30 there was no way i would work those hours. I would have to take full days off to sleep and recover

 

[Flying_Lavey]

I did those long hours in my 20's doing supermarket refrigeration. It kicked my ass!!! By the time I was 30 there was no way i would work those hours. I would have to take full days off to sleep and recover

Ahhh man... the days at Source! That is a single man's honey hole right there. I worked with a guy that got into Source young and worked his way up in the field to where they were flying him around the country to emergency troubleshoot and repair racks and controls. By the time he was in his 30's he was set pretty well but was done with the crazy hours.

When I was living in Paso Robles I was working for them as a remote tech. Pulled in really good money working for them but the hours were horrendous! Quite a few 16 hour days and then would have to pull over on the way home and nap for an hour or 2 in order to drive safely. All the while having 2 babies at home with one having substantial medical issues.

Sometimes I miss the OT checks, but times like this week when I can make my own schedule and work remotely...... it makes up for it. lol!

 

[dezertrider]

Ahhh man... the days at Source! That is a single man's honey hole right there. I worked with a guy that got into Source young and worked his way up in the field to where they were flying him around the country to emergency troubleshoot and repair racks and controls. By the time he was in his 30's he was set pretty well but was done with the crazy hours.

When I was living in Paso Robles I was working for them as a remote tech. Pulled in really good money working for them but the hours were horrendous! Quite a few 16 hour days and then would have to pull over on the way home and nap for an hour or 2 in order to drive safely. All the while having 2 babies at home with one having substantial medical issues.

Sometimes I miss the OT checks, but times like this week when I can make my own schedule and work remotely...... it makes up for it. lol!

It was a meat grinder. A few people I still know that work there have done well as long as they made it to management

 

[NicPaus]

I did those long hours in my 20's doing supermarket refrigeration. It kicked my ass!!! By the time I was 30 there was no way i would work those hours. I would have to take full days off to sleep and recover

I burned myself out last week. Slept all Sunday. Still not 100%. Good thing my current jobs are on stucco and drywall. So all I have to do is buy materials and deliver with dump trailers. Getting caught up on my estimates and resting the last 2 days. Need to slow it down. But have several projects I need to fund. So it's not easy to take it to easy. Was trying to power through 10 more years to get where I want to be. My to do list is crazy long.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Yes they are. One of my executives is female. Many of my top managers are female. I have a female installer, we are onboarding a female technician . 2 females sales (1 is top woman in the country)

Oh dang! I'll need to let Bre know about that.

 

[n2otoofast4u]

We are an MEPF complete subcontractor and have in house design and engineering with a national footprint, offices in the PNW and Phoenix, who currently employs about 500 people, with about 91% of those being in the field as tradesmen and tradeswomen! The trades are not what they were even 20 years ago when I got in. The safety programs and regulatory stuff that goes with that has take a LOT of the back breaking stuff off the table and the amenities are MUCH better than years gone by. Is it still hard work, for sure, but the trades are more open and available to women now than every and they THRIVE in the skilled trades where it takes more thought than "how hard do I hit this nail"..... Some of our best Electricians and Plumbers are female and we have project foreman in both trades who are female. If your son or daughter is interested in the trades, there is $ to be made and if they are smart, they will move to the top quickly!

As for the $ side, its all about what you/they put in. Are you going to buy a new DCB pulling Romex, probably not, but you will be able to support your family and put food on the table and a roof over their head. But you work your ass off and move up the ladder and eventually out of the field and into management things open up even more.

Not everyone is cut out to run a business, especially on the Western Seaboard, these 3 ocean touching states are A FUCK SHOW to work and operate in!

 

[Havasu blue label]

I'm speculating here because I have chosen the single life, but I suspect when you're working 12+hour days in a high production environment making really good money, you want to focus on the work and not get roped into dealing with BS at home in addition to your 4 hours of commuting a day. I've watched guys miss out on tens of thousands of dollars (probably hundreds of thousands over multiple years) in income because they have needy wives that are incapable of surviving without them home daily. I've watched young men absolutely change their lives financially sacrificing time away from home with newborns and wives/gf's that are strong and understand what it takes.

I can't get into the specifics of guys paychecks on a public forum, but I'm not stretching the truth or lying. These individuals are definitely outliers, and are reaping the rewards of a decade of effort honing skills and saying yes to everything. I guess you could pull outliers out of any industry like Riverbound did and everyone will balk and say that's not possible for the common person, and you're right. The folks making this kind of money are not common. I've seen employees that get $20k in their bank account and think they are rich and start turning down work. Those guys don't get opportunities like the guys that are "company men".

Cool story

 

[Havasu blue label]

Replacing AC capacitors for $350 a pop.

Selling customers shit they don’t need

 

[hallett21]

Volta Contracting Ltd on Instagram: "Anyone else seeing a generational gap?! . . . #voltacontracting #generationalgap #bluecollar #bluecollarlife #electricalcontractor #electrician #trades"

4,045 likes, 17 comments - voltacontracting on March 16, 2025: "Anyone else seeing a generational gap?! . . . #voltacontracting #generationalgap #bluecollar #bluecollarlife #electricalcontractor #electrician #trades".

www.instagram.com

 

[mash on it]

My daughter went to a trade school.
EEG tech. About 8 months.
Following her grandmothers footsteps.
PCH for a dozen years.
Mayo for a handful more.
You or I don't wanna know the trauma she's seen.
PCH is 18 and under.
Shaken baby syndrome, horrible.
Some of them made local news.
Pass/fail for a seizure patient, on getting a driver's license.

And so much more. More isn't good.
I don't know how she sleeps at night.

I'll stick to 7018 and not be a welder. Or dragging people's junk on and off the highway.
And adopting wayward jet bötés.

Dan'l

 

[endobear]

I've had my own small Painting business for 27 years. Ran 7-9 guys back in the early 2000s when i was younger and on the hustle. Had a lot of contacts for help from my start working for a commercial painting company. Had lots of older guys working for me and training the youth. Most are dead now. One was with me for 18 years. A couple for 10 years.
Was running 4-5 guys up until covid. At the time, I was booked out for almost 2 years, and they all quit, but 1. I've been trying to rebuild my crew since. It's always been a challenge to find decent painters/human beings. It's impossible nowadays. I've had to jump back in and sling paint to keep up. Which sucks for me sometimes (but life is definitely less stressful) and really makes it hard to find guys that live up to my level of expectations. Especially when we are working side by side.

Guys want 35$ per hr and I don't think they can finish wiping their own ass or do a good job. And I definitely wouldn't want them painting in or on my own home. Hired and fired a lot of over paid you tube painters over the last 5 years. It's been such a waste of time.

My twins want to go to work with me starting this summer. I have mixed feelings. I've done ok for a dumb painter, and they see that, but I don't want them doing it for a career.
I will teach them, though. Dude I apprenticed for always told me it doesn't have to be my career but you can always make a living at it.

 

[bonesfab]

Trade schools should be mandatory out of high school. Learn something that can support yourself. Then if you don't like what you are doing, You can put yourself through higher education.

 

[Your ad here]

Trade schools should be mandatory out of high school. Learn something that can support yourself. Then if you don't like what you are doing, You can put yourself through higher education.

They should offer trade classes in high school and tell teachers to keep their fucking mouths shut on pushing college and saying anything less you'll never be anything. The education system is a big reason why the work force is the way it is. From the start students are told no college you're nothing and that's what these young adults have become because they believed that bullshit.

 

[mash on it]

Trade schools should be mandatory out of high school. Learn something that can support yourself. Then if you don't like what you are doing, You can put yourself through higher education.

Military service for 2 years after high school. Both male and female, ha

Most 18 y/o's today don't even have a driver's license. And expect them to know what trade they want for the rest of their life? College is no different. Sports/athletes are the exception to the rule.

My brother had ROP welding in high school, and has been welding since. Hasn't had certs in 25 years.
He can sure hot glue iron together.
Without certs, he's not a welder .

I shoulda went to bartending school.

Dan'l

 

[attitude]

This sounds wild, have any of you in the trades seen this?

Gary McCreadie HVAC/R Tech/Business Owner on Instagram: "What you guys think? #hvac #hvacbusiness #hvaclife #hvacsystem #hvacjourneyman #hvacr #refrigeration #hvacmonopoly #hvacustomer #skilledtrades #hvacrental #hvacsales"

9,011 likes, 616 comments - hvacknowitall1 on March 28, 2025: "What you guys think? #hvac #hvacbusiness #hvaclife #hvacsystem #hvacjourneyman #hvacr #refrigeration #hvacmonopoly #hvacustomer #skilledtrades #hvacrental #hvacsales".

www.instagram.com

 

[Roosky01]

This sounds wild, have any of you in the trades seen this?

Gary McCreadie HVAC/R Tech/Business Owner on Instagram: "What you guys think? #hvac #hvacbusiness #hvaclife #hvacsystem #hvacjourneyman #hvacr #refrigeration #hvacmonopoly #hvacustomer #skilledtrades #hvacrental #hvacsales"

9,011 likes, 616 comments - hvacknowitall1 on March 28, 2025: "What you guys think? #hvac #hvacbusiness #hvaclife #hvacsystem #hvacjourneyman #hvacr #refrigeration #hvacmonopoly #hvacustomer #skilledtrades #hvacrental #hvacsales".

www.instagram.com

Seems like a good business model right up until a savvy entrepreneur/good dude learns to exploit the hell out of it and make all of those bought up companies worthless.

Appears to be the absolute perfect environment to start up and kick ass to me!