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TryingAllThree

@TryingAllThree

Career switcher · 1 year · Middlesex County, NJ

Licenses, credentials and experience are self-reported by members and not verified by Home Fixr.

40, left a call center, trying to get into the trades. Scared of the pay cut, more scared of staying.

10: answers
3: followers
0: active mentees
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Recent answers from TryingAllThree

Replied to “Ride-along update from the 40-and-undecided guy: leaning HVAC after startup day”

For anyone wondering about plumbing: the repipe day was good and the guy was great, my knees just weren't. I didn't light up the way I did on startup day. Maybe that's unfair to plumbing.

1 helpful · Sep 30

Replied to “Ride-along update from the 40-and-undecided guy: leaning HVAC after startup day”

> ask that shop what their July looks like The owner said almost the same thing. His words were "come back in July if you still want it." I'd rather not wait that long, honestly.

2 helpful · Sep 30

Replied to “Customer wants the old oil tank left in the basement after the gas conversion”

We're in the middle of our own conversion and tank removal was in all three quotes. Reading this, I'm glad it was.

1 helpful · Sep 29

Replied to “Update: did a ride-along in all three trades. Here's what happened”

Appreciate everyone. Not deciding yet: the HVAC startup day last Saturday threw me, more on that in its own post, and I'll look at the low-voltage side once I know what I'm doing. edit: two interviews set up already.

2 helpful · Sep 28

Replied to “Update: did a ride-along in all three trades. Here's what happened”

For anyone wondering if they let you do anything on these: mostly watching. On the electrical one he had me land a couple of breakers with the power off, after he tested it, him standing right there. Probably why I liked it lol.

4 helpful · Sep 28

Posts from TryingAllThree

TryingAllThree · Career switcher · 1 year · Middlesex County, NJ · Oct 5

Question

Rung cracked on the homeowner's old wooden ladder during my ride-along

Quick one from the electrician ride-along. Our ladder was on the other truck and the homeowner insisted we use her old wooden extension ladder from the garage. I went up first to look at a soffit light and a rung cracked under my foot. I caught myself, nothing happened. The electrician just said "that's why we don't use customer ladders" and moved on. Is that an actual rule people follow, or did he just say it because I almost fell?

1 reply 10 helpful

TryingAllThree · Career switcher · 1 year · Middlesex County, NJ · Sep 29

Discussion

Ride-along update from the 40-and-undecided guy: leaning HVAC after startup day

Update from the 40-and-undecided guy. After my first round of ride-alongs I leaned electrical, but Kash said to do a second day in whatever I was least sure about, so last Saturday I went out with an HVAC shop doing boiler and furnace startups. The HVAC day was the one where I didn't check my phone once. Ten houses, every one different, and the tech explained everything while he worked. My knees were fine in the basements. An attic in August would probably be another story. For people who picked HVAC: what made you sure? And is the heat-season-then-AC-season thing as brutal as it sounds?

5 replies 31 helpful

TryingAllThree · Career switcher · 1 year · Middlesex County, NJ · Sep 17

Discussion

Update: did a ride-along in all three trades. Here's what happened

A while back I posted about being 40 and unable to pick a trade. Kash has been mentoring me since then, and he helped me line up a ride-along in each trade, so here's the report. Plumbing: a day on a repipe in an old Colonial in Metuchen. Loved the problem-solving, hated my knees by 2pm. HVAC: a changeout in a split-level in Edison in August. The attic was brutal, but the diagnosis part was interesting. Electrical: a service upgrade in Highland Park, panel swap, PSE&G had to come out to pull the meter. That was the one where I lost track of time. So I'm leaning electrical, and maybe the low-voltage side later because of my knees. Two questions: did anyone else pick partly because of their body? And is it crazy to plan around knees at 40?

7 replies 21 helpful

TryingAllThree · Career switcher · 1 year · Middlesex County, NJ · Sep 9

Question

Three conversion quotes, three different answers on the chimney

Different kind of question from me. We're finally converting our own house in Piscataway from oil to gas: split-level, oil boiler with baseboard, hot water off a tankless coil in the boiler. Got three quotes and they disagree on the chimney. Quote 1: new gas boiler and a new gas water heater, both into the chimney with a new liner. Quote 2: high-efficiency boiler vented out the side wall in plastic, new water heater into the existing chimney, no liner. Quote 3: high-efficiency boiler out the side wall, a separate sidewall-vented water heater, chimney not used at all. Quote 2 is cheapest. Quote 1's guy says Quote 2 is going to cause problems. Who's right, and why does the chimney matter so much? Appreciate it. Kash told me to get more than one quote, so here we are. Still doing ride-alongs too, so this is half for the house and half for me.

4 replies 6 helpful

TryingAllThree · Career switcher · 1 year · Middlesex County, NJ · Aug 20

Discussion

40 and haven't even picked a trade yet. Am I kidding myself?

So I'm 40, Piscataway, been managing a call center for a long time. I like working with my hands, I fix everything at home, and I'm tired of spreadsheets about other people's work. Problem is I can't decide between electrical, HVAC, and plumbing, and every week I change my mind. Also the money: I make decent now and I know the first year or two is a big cut. And my knees aren't 20 anymore. For anyone who switched later in life, how did you decide, and how bad was the first year really?

3 replies 14 helpful