Knucklehead97 Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 Howdy guys. Been a few months since I got on this forum. In the past few months I've managed to get promoted into management with Publix and just haven't had much time to be on my phone on the internet. But, with that being said, I need some help with a big life decision. Since I got promoted I realize I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. So I'm looking into a trade and I want to know everyones opinion on which trades I should look at. I was thinking HVAC or welding. So throw out some opinions! I'm obviously stressed about such a big decision because I already make a good bit of money and I'm sure I won't start out making what I do. But this career isn't the life I want to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jtrux Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 I have a friend who does HVAC and said that it's not worth it. All my welder friends love their jobs.Sent from my LGLS992 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 Look 20 years down the road. Publix is a good company, if you are already moving through management, you'll make good money. Longsighted people fair much better than the shortsighted. Trust me, 30 years of your life will escape you like a summer's breeze. You can only afford so many mistakes. Live your dreams on your time. Learn to weld first, if welding becomes your life's work, you'll find yourself there naturally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 Opportunities are pretty limited where you're at Knuck....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexia Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 Learn welding and fabrication then call up Blue Torch Fab in Birmingham to see if they are hiring. When it comes to following an ambition be prepared to move to a new place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddFoot Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 I do HVAC and electrical. If your in the southern States you can make ok money but being on call is what sucks. Crawling into an attic at 2am to change a fan motor or cap is not high on my list. Ive been doing HVAC for 3 years now and make about 45k year but I'm honest if I was like others I could make 80+ a year but then your a salesman and not repairing anything. I worked at Publix for a few years wasn't for me so I delivered pizza and eventually bought my own Domino's Pizza with a partnership and was doing great. But had to start over because of that business partner. Lost just about everything I worked for. There's good decisions and bad just do what makes you happy and money isn't everything I made 80-120 year when I had my Domino's but I'm happier now with the company I am with and have time for friends family and most importantly my jeeps. Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted September 16, 2017 Author Share Posted September 16, 2017 5 hours ago, Jeep Driver said: Look 20 years down the road. Publix is a good company, if you are already moving through management, you'll make good money. Longsighted people fair much better than the shortsighted. Trust me, 30 years of your life will escape you like a summer's breeze. You can only afford so many mistakes. Live your dreams on your time. Learn to weld first, if welding becomes your life's work, you'll find yourself there naturally. I know it's a great company with great benefits and very good money. But you have to become a salary manager to have a career with them and they expect you to work 60 hours+. My grocery manager currently averages an 80 hour work week with an hour drive home and is soon to be divorced due to never being home. I just don't want to do that and not have a family life or friend life. I'm going up to the trade school when I'm off Monday and seeing what all my options are. As far as calling up Blue Torch Fab I thought about going for welding and then calling him or the guy that owns Motobilt. I'm only 20, so I'm glad I'm making this decision now. And yeah, Hornbrod, I definitely have noticed that my options are limited... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 I think you would do well in the military Knuck. You seem like a sharp hard-working kid who has his head screwed on straight. Not saying make a career out of it, that's entirely up to you. But you would make good contacts there, get into a good career field, learn a trade you like and/or get a great education, then name your salary when you get out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 save your pennies. all you can. changing careers can take time and having a fallback buffer can make all the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 I'll save you my life story....... At 19 I went to work for national crane company as a painter, I hated it. The shop for crane company was leased from Bob Gorby, Gorby offered me a job as his kept boy, hated that too. Besides mowing his lawn and taking out his trash, I had to dust off his Corvette collection (one for every year at that time) and wax his Cigarette boats. After a time he let me work on his race car, 67 Camaro. Quote Doing some history search on a 67 Coupe I just bought. Previously owned by a SCCA racer, Bob P Gorby, Saint Petersburg, Florida. Would like a contact number, or find someone who knows him https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c1-and-c2-corvettes/3867109-bob-p-gorby.html Interestingly, I just found this thread, that 'coupe' is likely the 67 Camaro that I worked on more than 30 years ago. One of Gorby's racing buddies used his shop to prep for the 1985 St Pete Grand Prix, I got to work on a Cam Am car, for that I got pit passes, it was a big deal at the time. The point of my abbreviated story? I was a 19 year old idiot, I could have worked my way into a Formula 1 crew or at least be associated in some way with a racing team. But no, I had my head up my @$$. I have a similar story with Jim Walter Homes, Mrs Walter offered me a job as a caretaker of her homes (world wide), I was 34 then, I could not handle the job and I knew it, I walked away from her offer. You only get so many mistakes to make. Don't be me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kook911 Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 One choice that you might want to make is truck driving. I am not talking about the OTR stuff but local, home everyday. It is a skill that will always be in demand and you can make some serious money while doing it. Very easy on the body and do the job till 65 plus. You can do the 40 hours a week or you can push 70 hours a week. If you decide to get into this field I would go and try to get into heavy hauling. I got drivers that make gross 2k a week every week. Concrete drivers make well over 1500 a week here also. It all depends on what you want to get into. But best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knucklehead97 Posted September 18, 2017 Author Share Posted September 18, 2017 Went and talked to the college today. As well as a couple of HVAC companies and the welding teacher at the college. The college would be way too much for me to spend and the HVAC companies said that their hours are even worse than the managers at Publix. And the welding teacher said that there isn't a very high demand at all for welders around here. Basically both of the trades I was considering would end up being a mistake for me. Next position up at Publix for me is a 45k-55k position which sounds nice considering I just got a call from the district manager saying he was working on getting me into that position soon. I think I know what I'm going to do, though. I'm going to keep working for Publix due to the benefits they give me (stocks, insurance, 401k) and I'm going to change my mindset on how I work. I've got to stop letting myself get so overwhelmed and stressed from things. It's a grocery store. I've had this mentality for the past couple days of work and everything has ran much smoother. With that being said, I am looking into trucking and have been for awhile. It's my backup plan for if things continue to suck with Publix. I do save money like crazy because I want to always have a cushion to fall back on if anything happens. And Hornbrod, I honestly have considered joining the Navy. And I definitely would be in the Navy if it wasn't for my mother needing me around to help with rougher chores and bills. Can't leave her alone though, ya know? Gonna work this until I see the perfect chance to get into trucking, most likely. Or something even better. New things open up each day. Thanks for letting me vent and giving me some more peoples opinions on the subject! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 1 hour ago, Knucklehead97 said: Went and talked to the college today. As well as a couple of HVAC companies and the welding teacher at the college. The college would be way too much for me to spend and the HVAC companies said that their hours are even worse than the managers at Publix. And the welding teacher said that there isn't a very high demand at all for welders around here. Basically both of the trades I was considering would end up being a mistake for me. Next position up at Publix for me is a 45k-55k position which sounds nice considering I just got a call from the district manager saying he was working on getting me into that position soon. I think I know what I'm going to do, though. I'm going to keep working for Publix due to the benefits they give me (stocks, insurance, 401k) and I'm going to change my mindset on how I work. I've got to stop letting myself get so overwhelmed and stressed from things. It's a grocery store. I've had this mentality for the past couple days of work and everything has ran much smoother. With that being said, I am looking into trucking and have been for awhile. It's my backup plan for if things continue to suck with Publix. I do save money like crazy because I want to always have a cushion to fall back on if anything happens. And Hornbrod, I honestly have considered joining the Navy. And I definitely would be in the Navy if it wasn't for my mother needing me around to help with rougher chores and bills. Can't leave her alone though, ya know? Gonna work this until I see the perfect chance to get into trucking, most likely. Or something even better. New things open up each day. Thanks for letting me vent and giving me some more peoples opinions on the subject! For whatever reason, someone thinks you are sharp, real sharp. My aunt spend some 50 years in retail, last 20 or so at Publix, she retired there a couple of years ago and did OK. She never wanted management. We finally got 2 Publix stores here, I'm happy now. Dude, you are 20 years old, guys your age don't get 45K offers, hell, most guys my age don't. I'm glad to see you got your answers straight from the horses mouths, I could have told you the same. You won't make any money in the trades unless you specialize and you won't get there for another 20 years. Trades are tough, real tough, and you are only valuable as long as you produce. I've been in the trades for 36 years and I'm just now cutting out my niche, I fix what others F-up. I was not going to map out your career for you, none of my business. That said....... Bust your @$$ for another 8 years and you'll have your own store, do that at 6 figures for another 10 years and you can retire from Publix at 38, live your life right- you'll be worth $2M. Life does not end at 40, and fun and frolic is highly overrated, especially when you only got $20 in your pocket after your bills are paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluenotenick Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 While I don't have any sage advice on a career path, you only get to be in your 20's once, so be happy now. I live in a place where people have unbelievable amounts of money, yet they are often the most miserable. Don't wait to be content with your life, no matter what the circumstances. I will add that I think Publix is a good bet and with the way things are changing, you might find your company owned by Amazon one day... but people won't stop eating any time soon. If you really can't be happy there, for whatever reason, use it to springboard you to the next thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Knucklehead, Most jobs suck at one time or another in one way or another. You did good going to the instructors to ask about working conditions. Lot's of good thoughts in this thread. I do like the way you worked thru your issue right now. Good thought process. That kind of logical process will serve you well. Remember, when life gives you a bunch of lemons: Make Lemonade!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertRat1991 Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 http://corporate.publix.com/careers/why-publix/tuition-reimbursement Talk to your boss about tuition reimbursement. Sign up for some business classes. Get your degree, then the sky's the limit for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whowey Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Up north places can't hire enough good welders... lots of stick holders out there, not enough good ones. Speciality welders can pull down 6 figures if they like travel. Especially underwater welders. Truck driving? You can make a living, but being only 20, you can't drive OTR and most places don't hire rookies for local stuff, that goes to the crusty old bastards.Sent from my SM-S327VL using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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