small shop or big shop?

[spymoocow]

Is it better to work for a small shop or a big shop? Ive been laid off a few months from a larger company and had a local smaller shop call me today needing help. should I wait it out and go back to the bigger shop (unfortunately that wont be until spring) or immediately go back to work for this new shop?

[neophytes serendipity]

Lemme see if I understand...

You have a bona fide job offer, and you want to wait it out for the other shop that let you go?

That is stupid.

The job is never a go until the gangboxes and materials are delivered to the site... and even then it can be questionable. Lots can change between now and spring.

I am still waiting for the call from a shop that told me they were expecting work just after last Thanksgiving (as in 2007)......

[skoonen]

Well lets see its September 30th and spring is 6 months away... id say go to work for the small shop. Who knows, maybe you can become their top guy. And if not, its still work until the spring when the big shop is hiring again.

[spymoocow]

im not gonna turn it down anyway. was just seeing what ya guys thought. it seems ive spent more time laid off since getting into the field then working. :mad:

[21degrees]

[QUOTE=spymoocow;2004129]
I have worked for both and found the bigger shops are less personalable and they don't care too much about employees, the bigger shops usually have benifits. The smaller shops usually let you take truck home. Pay is about the same.

[acmech06]

why would anyone still be waiting to work for a company that let go in the first place ? oh by the way we're very sorry to let you go cause work is slow come back next summer when we are busy :mad:! screw them man!!! go work somewhere else that treat you better and value you, if you work for them again what's gonna happen next year ? this has not happened to me cause I was the top tech :D always on time and get the job done.

if smaller company needed you go for it they will treat you better (hopefully) :D, if not.. wait for another opportunity to come while making some money better that nothing for months to me that's a very long time.

I used to work for small GOOD company I worked on everything and anything that the company did, but now I work for big corp. no more running around like a chicken I enjoy my job and relax.

Good luck man if you try hard enough and be patience opportunity may come knock on your door.

[channelislands]

I have worked for small and large shops the best for me has been the small companies. The small shops have let me take my truck home, had better pay (less mouths to feed) and for me more personal. The trade off your thrown in front of any type of equipment and expected to know how to work on it and fix it. It seems like with a small company im all over the place. But for me I prefer it feel like their is more job security. The only down side that can be frustrating is the lack of a 40hr guarantee no work I go home. I guess its all in what your use to and prefer. Right now the economy is in the can, best advice find a company with a large customer base, their fleet (trucks, vans) paid for and their building paid for. Their are trade offs anywhere you go, bullsh!@ anywhere. Get licsensed and get qualifide on everything you can. Hope this helps.

[pinholeleak]

Holy crap! What is it about hvac techs? Most of you can't spell profishintly, or put together a komplete sintance. It's no wonder folks think they can look down on us. You make us look like a bunch of rubes. :rolleyes:

[neophytes serendipity]

...The only down side that can be frustrating is the lack of a 40hr guarantee no work I go home.

They never seem to send the office people home, though.....

[acmech06]

They never seem to send the office people home, though.....

office people are normally on annually paid not hourly :D.

[neophytes serendipity]

office people are normally on annually paid not hourly :D.

Yes, and when the tech isn't bringing in any work, there always seems to be enough money to pay those in the office... and provide those vacation days.

The instant the hourly guy is "out of work", he is sent home without pay, and likely has no sick days or vacation to draw upon.

:)

[Skip 2 my lou]

Not to get 2 far off topic, it must be much more difficult to find work in the mid-northern states. I (knock on wood) have never been laid off, and usually get more than 40. The average time here to find a job, when you get ready to change, is 1 day. That could be a result of our very warm climate and the need for a/c 11 months of the year.

Finding the place that you want to work, making the money you want to make, with some glimmer of a future and retirement....that's not easy to find.

[channelislands]

well first thanks for the insult pinhole leak about my grammatics and spelling. Where I live the h.o. isnt concerened about your grammatics, their concern is that the job was repaired properly the first time and that there will not be a call back. Not to insult others, you think Im bad go to the ghettos of bmore and I guarentee you they dont give a rats a#$ about your spelling there just glad to find a tech that has the balls to come in the area and repair there system. Honestly I dont give a sh$5 about my spelling Im concerened about my knowledge of systems and how to repair them properly.

And yes it can be hard to find work in mid atlantic area. But if you have the experience certifications, and knowledge it makes it easier. Our work loads vary so much on the weather, and recently the winters and summers have become shorter, with more in between seasons times.

[spymoocow]

Shoe in for the job. Start tomorrow at 830 AM. They pay on a flat rate system. Never worked with it but I hear its not that bad. Also, he says he has never laid anyone off in the past 5 years. So we shall see how it goes. Thanks for the advice guys.

[pinholeleak]

well first thanks for the insult pinhole leak about my grammatics and spelling. Where I live the h.o. isnt concerened about your grammatics, their concern is that the job was repaired properly the first time and that there will not be a call back. Not to insult others, you think Im bad go to the ghettos of bmore and I guarentee you they dont give a rats a#$ about your spelling there just glad to find a tech that has the balls to come in the area and repair there system. Honestly I dont give a sh$5 about my spelling Im concerened about my knowledge of systems and how to repair them properly.

And yes it can be hard to find work in mid atlantic area. But if you have the experience certifications, and knowledge it makes it easier. Our work loads vary so much on the weather, and recently the winters and summers have become shorter, with more in between seasons times.

Apologies channelislands. I'm going to be laid off and stress is eating a hole in my stomach. It's not about spelling.:o

[acmech06]

Shoe in for the job. Start tomorrow at 830 AM. They pay on a flat rate system. Never worked with it but I hear its not that bad. Also, he says he has never laid anyone off in the past 5 years. So we shall see how it goes. Thanks for the advice guys.

hey man Congratulation!!!! :D

always be on time get the job done efficiently! you'll never be laid off again ;) hope everything will work out for you.

[Ammonianite]

"They never seem to send the office people home, though....."

I've never understood that. The front-line tech/moneymaker gets laid off because things are slow but people who are ostensibly in a support role remain on the payroll. Doesn't make much sense. You would think that layoffs would be across the board. I guess it goes back to that time-honored American business tradition: Management protects its own.

[flange]

There are many functions of an office that need to be accomlished whether you have ten men or eight working. Payroll, accounting, A/P and A/r just to name a few. These do not stop. In order to maintain an office you need personnel to do their jobs. When times get tight, you look to clean up any old messes, try to get new work, finish existin projects and get them billed etc. Usually, the office would be the last to go, and hopefully it doesnt get that far.

[spymoocow]

As a all around guy. I work on everything! second day on the job and ive already redone 6" roof flashing and pipe! 3" from a pellet stove to the outside, 4 furnace tuneups, a refrigerator, a ice machine, a washing machine, capped off a gas line.

Holy hell. this is more work in 2 days then I ever did at the last place I worked at! Im loving it. In the next 3 days I receive my van and then I get to stock it to my liking. gas card, contractor cards, part houses lists, uniforms. This small shop is so much more efficient then any of the other shops I have ever worked at.

Now im just happy to be back in the field...it was beginning to look bleak for me. :cool: