Anyone learnt a trade older in life?

[KrissKross]

My suggestion.

Learn 3D modelling and buy a 3D printer.

Everyone and anyone should be playing with this tech, it's still in its infancy, from printing toys, widgets to houses, manifolds in titanium to space ships, it's all going on...

[caterhamboy]

Evoluzione said:

caterhamboy said:

I retrained as an electrician 12 yrs a go, but i'm now at the point where it's taken it's toll on my body.

What?

It's a tough trade on your body.

climbing through lofts, kneeling on rafters, chasing out all day, in tight spaces fitting fuse boxes etc.

I've had cortisone injections in both elbows 3-4 times, a pinched nerve in my neck (agony, lost the use of my arm for months) and got arthritis in my knee. time to call it a day

A bloke i trained with (in his early 50's) and i kept in touch with lasted 1 yr


Does seem luck of the draw tho, was contracting before covid and one guy in his 70's did 2 days a wk.

[Tin Hat]

Tiling would be a good choice.

Most other trades take too long to learn.

It does remind you of your age though, lots of lifting takes it's toll.......

Good luck with it!!!!!

[mikeiow]

clockworks said:

I turned a hobby (tinkering with mechanical things) into a business.

I went into computers by accident 43 years ago at the age of 20 - got sent for an interview by the job centre after trying being a motorcycle courier and a bus conductor.
I stuck it out until I was 53, but had been looking for something else for about 15 years.

I wanted to find something that combined mechanical tinkering with model-making - basically putting a pile of parts together and making it work, while adding value by my efforts. I started repairing old, cheap, clocks from car boot sales, teaching myself from library books.

After a few years, I was repairing customers' clocks as a hobby.

I quit the IT job, went into business part time, along with a part time job that covered the bills.
2 years ago, I gave up the PAYE job, and went full time on clocks.

I'll never get rich doing it, but I mostly enjoy what I do now.

You are Steve from the Repair Shop & I claim my £5

Do you just do clocks, or do you service/repair watches too?
Sounds more fulfilling than IT....which I’ve been in for 35 years.....

[hyphen]

KrissKross said:

My suggestion.

Learn 3D modelling and buy a 3D printer.

Everyone and anyone should be playing with this tech, it's still in its infancy, from printing toys, widgets to houses, manifolds in titanium to space ships, it's all going on...

How profitable can a home 3d printer be? Can you expand further please.

[clockworks]

mikeiow said:

You are Steve from the Repair Shop & I claim my £5

Do you just do clocks, or do you service/repair watches too?
Sounds more fulfilling than IT....which I’ve been in for 35 years.....

The Repair Shop has been good for my business - quite a few customers watch it, and now appreciate what's involved in repairing a clock. Less of a shock when I tell them how much it will cost.

I don't do watches for paying customers, apart from batteries or straps. I struggle with really small stuff, as I can't get on with a loupe (eye glass).
Parts for watches can also be a problem. With clocks, I can make (or get made) any parts that I need..

I do repair barometers, phonographs, music boxes, etc. as well as clocks.

IT was a good job when you actually had to repair things. By the time I got out, it was mostly box-swapping and loading software - and lots of driving.

[KrissKross]

hyphen said:

How profitable can a home 3d printer be? Can you expand further please.

It really depends on how creative you are.

One example, there are people 3D printing uniforms/armour, add on parts for cosplay, then mass producing using silicone moulds, then painting, then selling to various groups of space nerds, gamers etc.

The first thing is spending months learning, making mistakes, more learning. before you could ever even think about making money.

Watch this: https://youtu.be/y9zMY3evMcM?t=40


Google says:
What is the current value of the 3d printing industry?
The global 3D printing market size is estimated to be USD 9.9 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach USD 34.8 billion by 2024.

[Frimley111R]

caterhamboy said:

It's a tough trade on your body.

climbing through lofts, kneeling on rafters, chasing out all day, in tight spaces fitting fuse boxes etc.

I've had cortisone injections in both elbows 3-4 times, a pinched nerve in my neck (agony, lost the use of my arm for months) and got arthritis in my knee. time to call it a day

I do think this is a good point. We work with electricians and even though it's not too tough on the body its still a physical job and bodies don't get stronger/more resilient with age...

[hyphen]

Frimley111R said:

caterhamboy said:

It's a tough trade on your body.

climbing through lofts, kneeling on rafters, chasing out all day, in tight spaces fitting fuse boxes etc.

I've had cortisone injections in both elbows 3-4 times, a pinched nerve in my neck (agony, lost the use of my arm for months) and got arthritis in my knee. time to call it a day

I do think this is a good point. We work with electricians and even though it's not too tough on the body its still a physical job and bodies don't get stronger/more resilient with age...

A lot also don't help themselves by not using knee pads etc

[chrisr29]

KrissKross said:

My suggestion.

Learn 3D modelling and buy a 3D printer.

Everyone and anyone should be playing with this tech, it's still in its infancy, from printing toys, widgets to houses, manifolds in titanium to space ships, it's all going on...

This is something I’d like to get into. Spent the last 10 years doing classic car restoration and some historic race and rally build/support.

Prior to that I was IT for about 25 years. Mixture of perm and contract.

I learnt 2d cad as I have a small CNC machine I make some bits and pieces on but 3D printing is clearly the way to go so have just started learning Solid Works. It’s an expensive piece of software BUT for £120 you can buy a student license which lasts a year and gives full access to all the tutorials so you can at least learn it for not a huge outlay - a lot cheaper than going to night classes anyway.

It runs ok on my old HP laptop as well.

[hotchy]

Took a guy I speak to about 1 year to retrain at college to fit heating systems. Potters around all day servicing them or fitting new combis. Imo plumbing has become easy aswel with push fit. Wont be long until that takes a year to become a retrained dodgy dave plumber.

[NNH]

OP - You may find that your professional experience helps you a lot with things like invoicing, accounts, and general management. I moved from consumer banking to property management 2 years ago at the age of 46, and I've found a lot of the skills transfer over like customer service, collections, and keeping track of changes in the law. It's also a huge competitive advantage to be much more professional than the average in this industry.
I got my motorbike licence 2 years ago as well, which helped my confidence in my own ability to learn new things. You might try something similar.

Edited by NNH on Thursday 5th November 20:14

[Buzzfan]

I've got quote a broad view of the design/construction/procurement industries and may have some suggestions - but can you narrow the field down ? You mention tiling - as a self-employed person doing individual househod projects, or working for a a tiling contractor as a salaried employee, or being a tiling contractor, employing or subcontracting to others ? There are other specialist areas (non-tiling) where your structural experence might help - (I can dm you if you change your settings to permit messages)

Edited by Buzzfan on Thursday 5th November 20:00

[ayedubya]

Buzzfan said:

I've got quote a broad view of the design/construction/procurement industries and may have some suggestions - but can you narrow the field down ? You mention tiling - as a self-employed person doing individual househod projects, or working for a a tiling contractor as a salaried employee, or being a tiling contractor, employing or subcontracting to others ? There are other specialist areas (non-tiling) where your structural experence might help - (I can dm you if you change your settings to permit messages)

Edited by Buzzfan on Thursday 5th November 20:00

hi i have tried to email you... not sure why i can't received DMs ?

thanks again

[davidd]

A very good friend of mine gave up being a software developer when he hit 40. Started baking, started selling some bread from the back of his van, now has a shop, bakes great bread for the village. It will help if you find something you have passion for.