If you could change your career

[gwaithcoed]

Brilliant BB.All the best in your new job.

Alan.

 

[RogerM]

Well done BB. It's usually the case that your best earning potential is doing what you are trained to do. It is always a risk going for a complete change - not just for you but for your new employer as well! It would appear that you will be making use of your experience and training whilst having the benefits of a complete change. Result!

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Good luck BB.

All the best,
Neil

 

[Colin C]

All the best BB with the new job

 

[Shivers]

After 23 yrs in various aspects of woodworking/cabinetmaking,i wish i had been able to continue at industrial design school,i initially had the chance--but it would have been a 6 yr course & i just couldn't go a further 6 yrs with next to no money,i love woodworking as a trade,but find its now a severely undervalued craft(not all members of public understand quality),everybody wants quick shoddy work,& small cabinet shops cannot afford to pay good wages.

I'm now having a complete rethink as towards the future(being46yrs),i'm considering working with animals/wildlife ect, in my region average cabinet shop wages are £9 per hr,whereas working as a lidl's cashier pays £7.50 per hr.---I've spent thousands of pounds on machinery & tools in the past yrs,had project management experience,bidding estimating exper,own shop for 9 yrs,foreman,supervisor.Non of this helps when the commercial end product is shabby, my woodworking career has just become my hobby,LOL.



regards.

 

[RATWOOD]

Good luck with the new job BB

 

[Good Surname or what ?]

BB,

Glad to hear of the new opportunity. Best of luck for 2007.

Phil

 

[Shadowfax]

I am really pleased to hear that, Byron. Best wishes for the future and I hope the new job works out the way you expect. It sounds like a good move to me.
Cheers.

SF

 

[Shultzy]

Best of luck BB, and I'm glad that your new job will allow you more time in the workshop.

 

[Anonymous]

After 23 yrs in various aspects of woodworking/cabinetmaking,i wish i had been able to continue at industrial design school,i initially had the chance--but it would have been a 6 yr course & i just couldn't go a further 6 yrs with next to no money,i love woodworking as a trade,but find its now a severely undervalued craft(not all members of public understand quality),everybody wants quick shoddy work,& small cabinet shops cannot afford to pay good wages.

I'm now having a complete rethink as towards the future(being46yrs),i'm considering working with animals/wildlife ect, in my region average cabinet shop wages are £9 per hr,whereas working as a lidl's cashier pays £7.50 per hr.---I've spent thousands of pounds on machinery & tools in the past yrs,had project management experience,bidding estimating exper,own shop for 9 yrs,foreman,supervisor.Non of this helps when the commercial end product is shabby, my woodworking career has just become my hobby.

Welcome to the forum, Shivers.


You will find here a whole bunch of enthusiastic hobbyists interspersed with a few pros. Many of the hobbyists seem to aspire to becoming pros while many of the pros, I am sure, secretly share your jaundiced view of the trade.


I set up as a cabinetmaker 2 years ago after the pine furniture trade, in which I had been involved for many years, finally collapsed. My initial plan was to be commissioned to design and make beautiful heirloom pieces from fine solid hardwoods, and indeed from time to time this is what happens. This is the most satisfying part of my work and when I'm in the middle of one of these jobs I can't wait to get into the workshop in the morning.


I am delighted to say that my order book is currently full until Easter. On looking through my orders, however, I find 2 kitchens, 9 bedrooms, 2 studies, 2 alcove units, a bookcase and half a dozen pine cabinets. With the exception of the pine, every one of these jobs involves a degree of fitting and is to be made from either veneered MDF or painted MDF. I am sure that this is an experience shared by cabinetmakers across the land (and probably the whole western world).


With the influx of cheap but perfectly well made furniture from China and the Far East getting greater every year the professional woodworker's scope for making a good living does not necessarily diminish, but changes. The perceived value in the public's mind of say, a coffee table, is in perpetual decline. A couple of forum members have recently posted lovely examples of coffee tables that they have made as first projects.


Unfortunately, neither of them would sell commercially for much more than about £200. This is no reflection on the skill involved, time spent, quality of materials etc, but simply that the general perception of the value of such a piece among the general public is very low.


The perception of the value of fitted furniture, however, is much higher. The big top-end kitchen and bedroom manufacturers charge sky-high prices... because they can! They are China-proof.


I am trying to make two points.


Firstly, that there is plenty of scope out there for a woodworker to make a good living at his craft. One may just have to stray a little from the course that one would ideally like to follow. At the present time, for most of us, this involves getting involved in building fitted furniture in less glamorous materials.


Secondly, the question of quality.

I try to take just as much care over an MDF wardrobe as I would over a solid walnut chest of drawers. The quality of workmanship and finish should be identical, in my mind. In my experience, the customer does appreciate this degree of quality - indeed they expect it - and if delivered further business and referrals will follow.


I am sorry that you are disenchanted with your woodworking career, Shivers. Mine is still in its early days, and despite having a full order book and no real debt, I am not yet earning a proper living out of it. Without my wife's salary we'd be sunk! I do retain a (niave?) optimism about the future, however!


I too, am 46!

Regards
Duncan

Incidentally, I recently completed a set of solid cherry pieces commissioned by a youngish couple for the living room of their new home. It was exactly the kind of job I had set up in business to do and I quoted what I thought was a very profitable price.


In truth, I lost money on it. I spent 3 weeks on a job worth £3000 and involving £700 worth of materials. A £3000 veneered MDF bedroom would have taken a week and made good money!

 

[wizer]

very well done BB, not jealous at all... not one bit :wink:

 

[ByronBlack]

Thanks to everyone for all their nice messages, much appreciated!

WiZer - didn't mean to rub it in mate, i'm sure if you start looking around you'll find something interesting, this particular job came out of nowhere for me so it shows that there are interesting positions out there, by the way, how's the workshop coming along?

 

[Shivers]

Big dunk wrote
truth, I lost money on it. I spent 3 weeks on a job worth £3000 and involving £700 worth of materials. A £3000 veneered MDF bedroom would have taken a week and made good money!

thanks for the welcome dunk,i've tried 4 jobs since moving back 2 1/2 yrs ago.including 2 kitchen fitting jobs(one on the books /one self employed),both involved doing to me below standard work for companies whom wanted nothing more than to crash in on very expensive kitchens.

Bottom line --told i was too slow(not sure about this as i was invariably given 40-50 hrs to fit a 12-15 grand kitchen),the allowance is invariably £1500-£1600 fitting,@ 40-50 hrs- me and the lad's expenses would be £1475,but the owner wanted £250 towards his wages(which made absolutely no sense to me as he was permanently in the showroom selling the fitted furniture & to me his wages should have come off sales),
This gave me a percentage budget of 8-9%,which in my experience works for rough slap it in work but not for high end custom(more like 15%).

Other jobs inc --remedial man at other fitted furniture co,doing this from car,this ends up doing full installations out of car,again not fast enough(no wonder full installations out of car is impossible).

Conservatory work(wooden),£8 hr paid everymonth,any overtime month after ie:- takes 2 months to collect overtime pay,jacked this in for obvious reasons.

Other jobs--cabinet shop,same bullshit,paid per month(overtime month after that)+ overtime is classed as piecework(more pineapples). No bench space,--8 guys shoved in 15 x 30 ft room with table saw in there as well,16 guys total working in 1 space industrial unit(nightmare),got injured(shoulder),told let go because still in trial period,but can still offer me piece work(unbelievably low class boss),jacked in for obvious reasons.

So yes i'm pretty upset at the state of the trade here,greedy owners,unorganized,no estimating skills,unrealistic targets.I'm fedup with these ramshackle companies.

As apposed to the states where i was on top money,Overtime is all time/half ,had responsibility,was allowed a good budget for manu/installations.Everywhere i worked i made the company money,even with the projects in the link below.

http://s64.photobucket.com/albums/h194/eds1000/


bit of a rant i know,but after 23 yrs in this trade you'd think i was worth something--or is it i'm picking the wrong companies --i don't know,what i do know is that i've spent thousands on tools over the yrs --to only be offered £9 per hr,whats going on.?


thanks again for the responce,

happy new year---- shivers.