Charles discussed how his father would charge a service call fee. This is a fee service providers charge for visiting the site to look at a repair job. This is common among trade service providers. When the customers use the same service later, the amount paid as the initial fee gets deducted from the bill. Some trades service calls charge the service call that day and will not apply their fee if you call them back later. They usually want a customer to accept their price at that moment after they access the job.
So, when choosing a trade service, you should choose the one you hired the last time. This way, you can save the service call fee and pay only for the work performed.
A common practice among general contractors is taking three bids to do the same job. They consider the top three service providers (painters, electricians, HVAC, drywall, roofers, and framers). They choose the lowest bid, sometimes the second highest bid, and offer the service to the client at a price offered by the highest bidder. This is how a contractor profits from a construction job.
The homeowners and realtors can adopt the same strategy and save their money. A homeowner should call three to five different plumbers, electricians, HVAC, drywall, painter, or roofers and take their bids. This will allow them to compare prices and choose one most affordable.
Some tradespeople make a significant profit on the prices of materials. It’s no secret that plumbers, electricians, HVAC, and many other businesses avail discounts on supplies. They acquire the material at a discounted rate, but charge the customer market rates.
Exploring the market to get the best-priced material isn’t as easy as it sounds. It’s hectic and sometimes even exhausting. This is why most customers ask the service providers to purchase the material and complete the repair job. When it comes to minor jobs, a customer could buy the needed material and then maybe seek a lower price for just the labor to finish a job. Charles, while discussing this, stated, “I saw contractors get upset, because a customer knew what they were doing by cutting them out buying their own materials. I have seen where contractors would use customer materials, but on receipt said they could not warranty the material, because they didn’t buy it.”
People worldwide believe that a college degree is essential for acquiring success. They think it is their ‘ticket’ out of financial stress. Throughout their lives, people focus on their academics, striving to score good grades, believing this will help them gain financial stability in the future. They fail to identify the opportunities surrounding them, only to come across the reality the hard way.
Getting a college degree is indeed a way forward in life, but acquiring higher education isn’t that easy. The world knows that college education is expensive, which is why there’s a thing called ‘student loans.’ While this financial assistance increases the chances of a student acquiring a degree, paying them off can become a challenge. Student loan debt can cripple one’s financial standing and take away their chance to live a successful and carefree life. The result is that most of their earnings are spent on paying off the loans.
Aspiring college students can join trade school and enroll in an apprenticeship program that teaches these skills. This will not only help increase their chances of employment during college, but, also give their student loan repayment process a head start.
The best thing about trade schools is that it is way cheaper to study than traditional degree programs. These schools aim to help people develop skills and graduate without accumulating huge student loan debt.
Besides this, people can work part-time with a tradesperson and acquire skills. It is not difficult to land such a part-time job as many opportunities are available in this field. It is proven that most people learn more on an actual job than in a classroom. Working on real projects and dealing with customers can add to your professional profile. The experience you can gain here will undoubtedly prove beneficial in the long run.
Regardless of how an individual chooses to acquire these skills, it will benefit them in the future. Not only will it allow one to live ‘smartly,’ but it, also offers them a chance to set up their own business. While Charles has discussed the importance of trade skills for college students in his book Chawick’s Cultivated Circumstances Experience is Sometimes priceless. This book was featured on-line 2022 Reader’s Digest.
It’s a cliché and somewhat tragic fact that people with experience on their resumes tend to receive more interview calls than those with only academic qualifications. Perhaps, this is a major reason why most young graduates find it hard to land good jobs. Of course, academic qualifications matter, especially when looking for growth opportunities. However, academic qualifications alone can’t get you anywhere in your professional career. At times, experience matters more, and academic brilliance can be used as a cherry on top. However, suppose you don’t have the skills and expertise to convince the hiring manager already interviewing candidates to find that “one perfect candidate.”
Additional experience would give you a competitive edge over other candidates. But the real question is, “what can a young college graduate or high school student do to acquire other experiences?” That’s where Charles Chadwick comes into the picture. His books, Cultivated Circumstances Experience is Sometimes Prices ( 2022 featured in Readers Digest) and College Checklist (2021 featured in Advisor Perspective), is a definitive guide for high school/college students and parents who wishes to gain additional experience before they commence their dream job. Further, this article also shares that more experience means more choices to earn a good income. Let’s elaborate.
The entire organizational experience comprises two kinds of experience: workplace and employee. Workplace experience is a holistic approach to developing an optimal environment experience for the employees to work in harmony with colleagues. The concept is designed around three parameters: people, space, and technology. The results can range from productivity processes and talent acquisition to employee engagement. That’s how you create a peaceful yet productive workplace experience, improving employee retention and outcomes.
However, one point out is that workplace experience relies heavily on cross-functional collaboration between various departments, such as IT, Operations, and Human Resources. Team members from different departments work together to elevate the workplace experience and make the office a place that could attract more professionals to work towards a common goal. Because, as things stand, most professionals search for organizations with a better workplace culture to apply. They might compromise on perks and benefits, but they want to work in an organization that acknowledges their efforts and protects their self-respect.
Affordable CollegeLike workplace experience is essential for professionals, employee experience is important for organizations. Companies don’t rely solely on academic qualifications to hire an individual. Although a lot depends on your field and how far along you are in your career. If you’re a recent graduate, your degree will be a ticket for you to land an entry-level job in the field of your choice. However, Charles Chadwick suggests that you can get a better job in a workplace and organization by acquiring the right skillsets. Your employers know that you’re young, enthusiastic, and willing to learn with different experiences, so your chances of landing a job might multiply.
On the other hand, if you don’t have enough working experience, your probability of landing a particular job would reduce significantly. For example, most software engineers are proficient in different programming languages because they have studied a curriculum designed accordingly. But even with the technical expertise, most young graduates don’t have the experience and the emotional intelligence to deal with the pressure of a professional environment. This is one of the reasons why the experience of trade companies comes into the picture. Charles Chadwick, in his book, encourages young graduates to use trade experience to improve their professional opportunities. He shows us the difference between a “fresh” young graduate and an “experienced” young graduate, which refers to the trade Industry. There are other benefits of having trade experience. Let’s elaborate.
Today’s fast-paced organizational environments simultaneously enable us to be street smart and book smart. In other words, employers demand their potential workers to learn along the way and excel in their jobs. For some, this is an excellent opportunity to learn from real-world problems, which not only improve their problem-solving capabilities but also help them strengthen their resume. Let’s be honest; you can’t tick professional boxes when mowing your neighbor’s lawn, although that is a start to getting some type of experience.
With a trade career, apprentices quickly gain experience by working on projects and earning valuable certifications. Even if trade jobs aren’t what you’re looking for as a long-term career option, they can be a perfect pitstop for you on your way to amazing career growth. Further, you can also learn professional skills mandatory to survive and thrive in today’s organizational arena.
Communication is the most important component to survive and progress professionally, especially in a good organization. In the corporate world, your introverted personality will not help you anywhere. As long as you’re communicating proficiently, a good chance is that you might stay where you are for years to come.
A strong trade experience can help you improve your soft skills. Usually, trade companies work in large teams, where they have to resolve problems by contemplating tough decision-making procedures and finally making the right call. For an individual, a trade job enables you to thrive under pressure and work in a team to resolve more significant problems. You’d be working in a field to enhance communication skills, even if it’s irrelevant to your expertise. Charles Chadwick suggests that organizational experience can be of any kind, as long as you add it to your resume. Organizations want experienced professionals to work in their ranks, even if the experience is in a different department, while professionals wish to acquire experience to harness their true potential.
Did you know tuition fees have hiked to unimaginable levels in the last few years? This increase has made students consider student loans or enrolling in a public school. Furthermore, students working minimum wage jobs must work inhumane hours to pay off the expenses. The College Board reported that a public university’s average cost of tuition would be about $10,000 per year for an in-state student. International students must pay much more to enroll in an excellent public school. Also, approximately 40 percent of college students drop out without a degree, and, of those who complete their degree, 64 percent take more than four years to graduate, racking up even more debt. Less than two percent of students drop out of trade school.
Charles Chadwick suggests an alternative method to study and a way to earn an income, i.e., enrolling in a trade school or a community college. Leading by example, Charles earned his associate’s degree from a community college, but that didn’t stop him from receiving further education. He continued by taking some additional trade/construction courses. You can enroll in a community college with little or no debt to receive an Associate’s degree. So, don’t think that a community college isn’t a place to get a good education because you’re missing out on a great opportunity.
The best part about having trade skills is that you become more productive as you gain more experience. Trade organizations expose you to work under pressure, which helps you improve productivity. It will also open up opportunities to perform your job duties more efficiently, far from your comfort zone. So, as a young graduate, such an experience can do wonders for you.
Charles Chadwick suggests that if you join an organization without any prior trade experience, your work might take longer to be more efficient. He suggests that you won’t have the sense of autonomy and responsibility required to prove yourself. Also, on the first day of working in a skilled trade with no skills, your pay will start on the first day, because companies are willing to train you!
Probably the best part about working in the trade industry is that most jobs pay well. In the discussion before, we talked about mowing lawns. Although it’s a comparatively easier task, it adds little to your professional experience and doesn’t pay well. Some college students may tutor other students during their college days, which takes a lot more effort and time without a good income.
Trade jobs offer real-world employment experience and pay well while you do it. Teenagers with no tangible experience and lack of good academic qualifications can acquire much-needed experience to help them create a strong portfolio. So, it’s time you take the blue-collar versus white-collar dilemma out of the picture and work on strengthening your experiences.
Charles Chadwick encourages young individuals to take up trade opportunities before applying for their dream school. It will give them viable work experience and help them learn a lifetime earning skill. By having a real work skills before attending a university a person could avoid getting into a lifetime’s worth of debt/bills. Charles also understands that it may take longer than you wanted, but you wouldn’t be drowning in student loans. Over 44 Million Americans carry massive student loan debt. Do think about it!
It wasn’t too long ago that the world came to a standstill after it was hit by a deadly virus taking the lives of millions. The globalized healthcare sector had thought its system was invincible and its practices absolute until the virus exposed their vulnerability. What made matters worse is people lost their jobs due to downsizing or shutting down businesses. More than 300,000 thousand people filed for bankruptcy in the United States alone. Imagine what other countries would have endured. Perhaps, things would’ve been different if students had acquired the necessary trade skills. Why is that? Let’s look at it this way, some jobs won’t ever end, even with a deadly virus. For instance, HVAC, Electricians, or Plumbers must work all year, no matter the circumstances. Extreme weather? HVAC workers are here and will be needed more especially from a futuristic outlook on global warming. Deadly virus outside? HVAC repairers are here to stay. Roads blocked? Electrical linemen find their way to their clients.
