19 and Looking For Work

[79FordEsky]

Well, It has been around a year since I have finished school and have been just been doing some jobs here and there but I am looking at getting into the workforce. I have qualifications from Tafe for Mig Welding and just finishing up Stick and Tig welding. I have rebuilt cars and love doing fabrication and working on cars and can do about anything on a cars. From panel and paint to engine rebuilds. I am very good working with my hands and I have been thinking of getting into the welding/fabrication industry. I am quite good at welding.

I am wanting some advice on what to do. I am very much up in the air at the moment on what I want to do and just want to know what's out there for the welding/fabrication industry and welcome any other suggestion on what you think I should do.

Cheers

[zilo]

You're in for a hard slog mate.

Wish you all the best, my young bloke just got his first job and he's 21.

Took him along time.

[cs123]

If there aren't many jobs going locally then have a think about starting your own business. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Maybe mobile welder?

You could also look to see if you could restore car parts and sell them. Buy a clunker, wreck it and restore and sell the parts.

At least if you do this you are having a go and can't hurt your employment prospects.

[Simple6]

Hmmmm I know you've got those qualifications but will working in the industry kill your enthusiasm for your hobby?

Back when I was finishing school I spent a fair bit of time working in an Auto Electricians workshop. Obviously a car enthusiast and thought working on cars all week would be fantastic, but in the end I found that after working in everyone else's car - I just couldn't be bothered with my own (not even for an oil change!). So working in the industry, which was also my hobby, absolutely killed it for me.

I'm now in a completely different career and my car hobby is thriving (to my fiancés and bank balances detriment).

On the other hand, welding can obviously not just be automotive so if you're deadset on welding I'd recommend steering clear of automotive work if that's a personal passion of yours.

Now I don't have any knowledge of the welding industry at all, so the above is just more hoping that you'll think about your work/life balance options.

[supershifty]

Geez mate, most of the pre xmas rush hiring is over, then there's the wind down after xmas as everyone is broke until things pick up in March.

It's pretty hard to pick up a full time job these days, I've just been getting casual work doing anything I'm capable of, supplemented with Newstart - $530 per fortnight doesn't travel real far.

I've seen a few factory full time fabrication jobs for fitters and the like in Brisbane. As zilo said it's a hard slog. There's so many people looking for work, you might be the ideal person for the job, but with say 500 applicants the prospective employer isn't going to have the time to look at all of them. They probably take the top 20 off the pile and choose from there.

Best place I can suggest you start is registering with employment agencies like Manpower (there's others but I can't think of them right now) You're young and fit so take on whatever they give you - knock too many jobs back and they'll stop calling you though. Best of luck to you. It's tough out here.

Cheers!

Edit: I recently did letterbox pamphlet delivery for 4hrs/day for 4 days, picked up $507 for my effort, not interesting, but **** me, I'll do it again for that much coin!

[Ford_The_Win]

Originally Posted by 79FordEsky

I am wanting some advice on what to do.

Any work you can get. My advice is don't be fussy - you can't afford to be.

[_Ben]

Try get into retail coming up to Christmas. Try supercheap, autobarn etc. Working at supercheap is a pretty good gig (I only go 10 - 20 hours a week), but its a good job and people think you're smart for reading the packaging :P

[calais]

Join the ADF.... Best job security you'll ever find. Mind numbing work for 90% of the time but its a constant salary. As a reservist its even better... You can walk away when you've had enough.

[ford man xf]

Forget about doign your "dream job" for now, otherwise you will be wasting your time, my advice would be to get a job doing anything that you find half decent, even if its a factory job or retail, at least that way your in the workforce and earning money, then you can start looking for your dream job and if something comes up you can take it and if it doesnt at least your in the workforce making money.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Simple6

Hmmmm I know you've got those qualifications but will working in the industry kill your enthusiasm for your hobby?

Back when I was finishing school I spent a fair bit of time working in an Auto Electricians workshop. Obviously a car enthusiast and thought working on cars all week would be fantastic, but in the end I found that after working in everyone else's car - I just couldn't be bothered with my own (not even for an oil change!). So working in the industry, which was also my hobby, absolutely killed it for me.

I'm now in a completely different career and my car hobby is thriving (to my fiancés and bank balances detriment).

On the other hand, welding can obviously not just be automotive so if you're deadset on welding I'd recommend steering clear of automotive work if that's a personal passion of yours.

Now I don't have any knowledge of the welding industry at all, so the above is just more hoping that you'll think about your work/life balance options.

+1

I did an apprenticeship as an auto electrician and its killed my interest in working on my own cars pretty much.

I'm slowly working on it here and there but nothing like I used to.

[79FordEsky]

Thanks everyone for their advice and help much appreciated.Will take it onboard and start searching around. Just a general comment.

I could not do retail to be honest or working in a office, I have done many work experience's and just not my thing. Also I have been thinking about the suggestions of doing a factory job and I will look into it will look for something to do with welding.

Originally Posted by cs123

If there aren't many jobs going locally then have a think about starting your own business. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Maybe mobile welder?

You could also look to see if you could restore car parts and sell them. Buy a clunker, wreck it and restore and sell the parts.

At least if you do this you are having a go and can't hurt your employment prospects.

I have also considered at starting my own specialised business to do with older classic/vintage cars but just looking at the finance aspects at the moment and looking to see if there are any local industrial units or facilities available.

Originally Posted by calais

Join the ADF.... Best job security you'll ever find. Mind numbing work for 90% of the time but its a constant salary. As a reservist its even better... You can walk away when you've had enough.

This was also another option I have been considering seriously with joining the ADF - (RAEME). Are you apart of the ADF if I may ask?

[MattSAU2XR8]

When I was at uni I did furniture removals. Pretty easy job to get - just open the yellow pages, start at the first listing and ring 'em all in succession, cold calling. I only had to ring about five to get a job. Reasonable pay although its hard work at times. So easy to get because not many people want to do hard work - just make sure you don't injure your back by working too hard or lifting too much. And fairly recession proof - in good times people are moving to bigger houses, hard times to smaller houses. The other good thing is that you meet your customers for a day at a time and sometimes if you get talking and they see you are hard working and then find out what you are interested in they may have some leads for you. I saw a few guys get better jobs by meeting customers this way. The hard work thing probably also looks good on your resume. Not your dream job obviously but puts money in your pocket while you plot your next move. At 21 what you probably need to do is just get employed, remain employed, and get a better job at least once a year hopefully.

[ebxr82nv]

In my opinion you can't beat a trade in the building industry, but doing any sort of trade is dependent on you being able to put up with the crap money for a couple of years. Then you can always pick up some small jobs working on a car or too on the weekends and it will still feel like fun.

[TheSneakiness]

If I had my time again I would have joined the ADF.

During and after school I was interested in IT and enrolled at TAFE in a Diploma of Information Technology. After seeing what was required with textiles and equipment which I didnt have and couldnt pay for and no way were my parents going to pay for it I dropped out after 4 weeks, being a combination of the above along with the ABSOLUTE nerds that used to be in my classes and not being able to get along with any of them.

I bludged for nearly 12 months after that just living rent free and off Centrelink youth allowance. That is easily the worst decision I made after school, looking back on it I should have spent that time getting fit and joining the ADF or QPS.

Luckily I picked up a cert 3 traineeship in business with a garage company and have grown my skills from there.

Now with experience behind me and some more qualifications actually trying to move up is even harder. I get the odd email from SEEK with statistics and for the area I'm interested in on average 8 new jobs are created or needed each week with around 55-60 applicants per job.

Its not easy as been mentioned, the only piece of advise I can give is at your age is don't be picky. Go for whatever comes up.

[MattSAU2XR8]

Only other thing I'd add is try to get into some sort of 'skilled' trade, profession, industry where the average guy on the street is not allowed to do your job, and the job can't be exported because it needs you to actually be present to do it, eg:
- Plumber, service/building electrician, refrigeration mechanic all have 'tickets'
- Own business with steam cleaning, backhoe etc. means only you have the equipment, in this case it needs to be a decent sized piece of machinery so its not too easy for others to move in on you
- Any hands on 'profession', eg. doctor, nurse, paramedic, vet. teacher, lawyer means you actually need to be present. But be careful of universities which offer way more places than there are jobs, eg. paramedic as opposed to nursing
- By comparison a computer programmer or welder (large production runs) can be off shored fairly easily
- What I was saying earlier about a removals or other 'hard working' jobs is still an excellent stepping stone but in the longer term there will probably be more and more people competing for these jobs as manufacturing and intellectual services (finance/banking/computing) get transferred overseas

That said you still have to do something now and anything is pretty much better than nothing. \so just find something reasonable and start climbing the ladder. If your resume has a list of different employers who liked who you are and what you did then this will make it much easier to move on to bigger and better pastures.

[ILLaViTaR]

Sounds like a lot of hard, honest, back breaking work for a driven young man only to have the spoils of wealth go to his bosses who only want more and more for less and less at their tired age, you will unfortunately bear the burden of this being in a trade at entry level.

A panel shop is a risky investment, property is not risky at all and beats the 4% inflation in a term deposit, expect at least 10-15% capital growth annually in an investment property. Once you have built enough equity you can invest in a commercial shop with a strong enough buffer to sleep at night in the current economy.

People are still making a million dollars a year untaxed in Balwyn/Glen Waverly simply by purchasing old homes, demolishing them and building massive new homes in their place. Whilst living in those mansions for 6-12 months to dodge CGT. Block and home 1.3mil, new home 400,000, sell for 2.8mil+ and you've made a million untaxed within a year. This is because these suburbs are Chinese havens and the Chinese are restricted by the FIRB into buying only new homes, meaning they need the Australians to buy these old places and build new homes for them enabling them entry into those particular ridiculous suburbs.

A good broker will find you a loan vendor that will suit your situation, you may possibly be eligable for 200k now which would get you something like this http://house.ksou.cn/p.php?q=Pakenham&sta=vic&id=406575. An instant money maker buying below market value, or unrenovated, sub-dividable etc. (You can access equity for the sub-division simply by renovating the front home/painting it then getting it re-evaluated by a bank manager, no additional capital required).

Then once you have built enough equity and have a steady income you can play in areas with bigger capital growth potential ie http://house.ksou.cn/p.php?q=Berwick&sta=vic&id=28013

340k within 24 months untaxed. Whilst you get to live in a historical mansion with a conservatory etc that entire 6-12 months while you renovate it/dodge CGT. 170k a year untaxed to live in a nice home isn't worth working to be frank. Work can be horrible, money means nothing compared to trying your best and getting nothing for it forever, not even compliments from the very boss that doesn't mind rorting your labour beyond your hourly rate. My point is no amount of money is worth the emotional drain/effect work can have on you perception of life, permanently. It's not worth risking your happiness for the sake of a job. Get enough cashflow/equity and don't break yourself over hard work that is never rewarded until you're long out of an apprenticeship or have ea 100k HECS debt! Once you have enough equity then you can safely enter any industry you like as your own boss, without the emotional abuse most young people and people in entry level positions have to endure.

I was halfway through an engineering course going to major in power until all 3 of my other engineer friends failed to find solid work, not a single position in this country,and I found it's generally the case atm, even the seniors are struggling to get employed (the ones in demand, young people have no chance unless they accept mere 40-50k graduate wages), the companies are grooming a generation to fight hard over low wages, and becoming more selective... basically they want a masters as well because people with them will work on post-grad wages.... I will take no part of it. Pawn and cog industry.

People have to live somewhere and people have to eat the way I see it. Choice property and restaurants will eternally have demand whilst everything else goes up and down in cycles in respect to the economy.

[Juan Loco]

Originally Posted by 79FordEsky

Well, It has been around a year since I have finished school and have been just been doing some jobs here and there but I am looking at getting into the workforce. I have qualifications from Tafe for Mig Welding and just finishing up Stick and Tig welding. I have rebuilt cars and love doing fabrication and working on cars and can do about anything on a cars. From panel and paint to engine rebuilds. I am very good working with my hands and I have been thinking of getting into the welding/fabrication industry. I am quite good at welding.

Forget anything to do with cars.
Keep it as a hobby, and you'll love it. There's no money to be made unless you're into ripping people off. Too much competition and the margins are too tight.
There IS a market for high-quality, all metal, speciality restoration work, but its small. I know of a few guys that do it, and its not a great money spinner, unless you have business with a great name that has been going for 50 years.

The most lucrative industry for highly skilled welders is piping construction. Predominately Oil and Gas, but any sought of processing plant requires some of it. There's not much going generally in WA, however I think the LNG project in the far north & NT will still be hiring.
On your side of the world, the CSG operations would be your best bet.
You'll need to be "coded." Not 100% sure but I gather that is a system of examination and qualification.

What you need to aim for are the highest skills and qualifications you can manage. General small-scale fabrication is rapidly dying in Australia. Whatever you can make, the Chinese can make more, cheaper. However there is a requirement for top-shelf QA'd work.
Also the great thing about piping is that a lot of the assembly welding HAS to be done insitu. You could look for work with a general piping contractor, although I think a company that specialises in construction and maintenance of plants would be more interesting.
Sorry, I don't know many of the companies over East. UGL is one that springs to mind because they are national. (I worked for them in WA.)

[supershifty]

Esky, I'll echo what Juan and a few others have said - keep cars as your passion and hobby.

I loved cars so much that I wanted to be an auto electrician/mechanic when I was 16. Scored an auto elec apprenticeship but got sick of that, loved the math involved but was too fat to be hanging upside down under a dash doing wiring - had to pull the seat out so I could get my fat *** up under the dash!

Went and got myself a mechanical apprenticeship which I did 3 1/2 years of - **** mate but I'd hated cars by then. The saying "never buy a car of a mechanic" rings true.

I left my trade, never completed it and became a crane driver, not so easy nowadays for you young blokes, but my passion for cars returned - I enjoy my cars now, just can't afford it.

Cheers!