I should probably get a job in my trade again, even at a lower wage, and then keep my own contracting to side jobs to do on weekends or whatever vs. just do my own thing as renovation work is slowing down. We'll see how things go. Might go back to my union apprenticeship working on commercial buildings. Biggest con is the super early AM start times.. that and most likely paying for parking downtown or wherever work is. But there's consistent full time work, and then if someone wants some small stuff done I can still make it happen on a weekend, maybe some evenings.. but hard to work around the clock and not just be super burnt out, so a lot of guys that do side jobs don't do evenings, only weekends.
My trade is Taping (drywall finishing) so there's always someone with a wall to patch or bathroom/basement/garage to prep for paint. It's hit or miss sometimes whether there's good money in it or not.. with renovations and residential construction about to stop due to high interest rates stopping the flow of money, there's going to be a lot of guys out of work who will work cheap to make ends meet, and people have widely varying expectations of quality.. so, if they want a fast cheap sh***y job they can find it from someone - and that someone else can do it lol sometimes the pay offered is so low it's not worth the gas to go ply my trade; I'd make more money at a part time job somewhere else.
But yeah, I can move semi-liquid material around with trowels & knives and make jagged walls & ceilings look butter smoooooooth. I've been fortunate enough to work with several contractors that have been transparent about their pricing so I'm learning ever better how to charge for my work. Some guys I've worked with charge far too little - almost charity prices.. and then complain they don't make any money. Uuuuh.. the other guy that did a terrible job you fixed charged twice as much and the customer paid it, we went and fixed it properly for half the price = wtf? Stupid. Oh well. At least I know what people are willing to pay and will charge accordingly so that when I do more of my own jobs I'll get paid properly for them. If people don't want to pay, ok fine, DIY or hire someone else.. but I'm not gonna drive to your house 3-6 times to just earn enough to pay for materials & gas.
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No
for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.