crossthreaded
11-05-2011, 12:21 PM
Greetings,
Long story short...
I am a 35 yr old recent graduate of a HVAC/R program in Maine. My experience in the trades started at age 10 in my Dad's sheetmetal shop and while I lived in the West(Summit County in both UT and CO) I spent about two and a half years working for two mechanical contractors installing heating and snowmelt systems in some of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen while failing to be a ski bum. After a dozen years or so years I found myself back in Maine with little job opportunity and a poor wage base. I decided to further my knowledge in this trade and here I am. Due to my prior experience in the field, I was unsatisfied with what I got out of the program for the coin my generous parents spent(thanks folks) and talked the school into providing me with the resources and testing for my NATE certs and two additional gas endorsements on my Maine Gas License(have the NATE waiting on the CETP). Three months later I finally get my license in the mail and the following day get a killer job offer(it was my week). A real estate developer who I have done a few very small jobs for offers me a job taking his HVAC headaches away. The job was offered to me at 6 dollars more an hour than I would have asked for and if I would work as a sub he'd provide me with my liability insurance and pay an additional 6 dollars an hour. What is realistic for someone like myself to be charging? He understands a lot of it will be a learning experience for me and is fine with that. His 40 plus commercial properties are spread over a nearly 300 mile range. I definitely would like to be self employed but should I first let him pay for my mistakes or jump into it head first? I'm not an idiot and am good at numbers my organizational skills on the other hand could use a bit of honing. What do you think?
Thanks in advance,
Crossthreaded
Long story short...
I am a 35 yr old recent graduate of a HVAC/R program in Maine. My experience in the trades started at age 10 in my Dad's sheetmetal shop and while I lived in the West(Summit County in both UT and CO) I spent about two and a half years working for two mechanical contractors installing heating and snowmelt systems in some of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen while failing to be a ski bum. After a dozen years or so years I found myself back in Maine with little job opportunity and a poor wage base. I decided to further my knowledge in this trade and here I am. Due to my prior experience in the field, I was unsatisfied with what I got out of the program for the coin my generous parents spent(thanks folks) and talked the school into providing me with the resources and testing for my NATE certs and two additional gas endorsements on my Maine Gas License(have the NATE waiting on the CETP). Three months later I finally get my license in the mail and the following day get a killer job offer(it was my week). A real estate developer who I have done a few very small jobs for offers me a job taking his HVAC headaches away. The job was offered to me at 6 dollars more an hour than I would have asked for and if I would work as a sub he'd provide me with my liability insurance and pay an additional 6 dollars an hour. What is realistic for someone like myself to be charging? He understands a lot of it will be a learning experience for me and is fine with that. His 40 plus commercial properties are spread over a nearly 300 mile range. I definitely would like to be self employed but should I first let him pay for my mistakes or jump into it head first? I'm not an idiot and am good at numbers my organizational skills on the other hand could use a bit of honing. What do you think?
Thanks in advance,
Crossthreaded