Should I go to carpentry school? (Not the usual SA thread...)

I'm serious.

I earn my coin selling lumber at Home Depot. Today the store manager called me to the side. (Which, in many cases, would be a Bad Thing. Today it wasn't.) He wants me to go to the local community college's carpentry course starting this fall, then take the general contractor's exam. It's up to me; I'll be a department head before the end of the year anyway.

Good points:
* The Home Depot will pay for it.
* A lot of it will just be refresher stuff--I already know how to frame, roof, hang drywall and do insulation. And the stuff I don't know--masonry foremost among them--I want to learn.
* A general contractor's license is worth a lot of money to the Home Depot--people who have one start at $16/hour easy.
* Will move to contractor sales, hence will get some weekends off. Not all, but some.

Bad points:
* 16 hour days for two years.
* Contractors can be the most annoying customers.
* Will also be sent to cashier training, and being a cashier on a Saturday is no fun at all.

I think you should. The skills you get could be useful elsewhere, too. The thing that makes me think twice is the 16 hour day. That could lead to burn out if you're not careful. But I really think that anymore education you can get is a very good thing.

:-)

:hi:

I did go through a four year carpentry apprenticeship, but I was by no means necessary. All you have to do is pass the test. Knowing the subject helps a lot, but you don't need a formal education, and it sure wouldn't take two years of training. If you are really interested, then look into taking a class that will teach you how to pass the builders exam. Half of our test was legal stuff anyways that you won't be taught in a trade course.

He is, very bluntly, trying to completely stomp Lowe's out in this town, and he thinks having more licensed and knowledgeable tradespeople on the floor would do it. We already have two general contractors, a couple of electricians, two plumbers, three Certified Kitchen Designers, a flooring contractor, and a registered landscaper. He was trying to get a home inspector at one time, but that one kinda went by the wayside.

I'm good, but I'm self-taught, and he'd prefer the imprimatur that a sheepskin confers on its holder. Besides, as he says, this is free money.

More education and paid for?

It might be a pain for a couple of years, but in the end, you will be glad.

Carpenters cannot be outsourced. At least, I think they can't.