A distinct shortage of .....?

[Nimster]

Afternoon

Humour me. I'm having a mid-life crisis. I appear to be stuck in a pretty-much deadend job, that I really don't enjoy. I've been toying with the idea of retraining to do something more practical/enjoyable/ useful/productive but can't decide where my future lies.

Does anyone know if there's a distinct lack of any particular trade specialisations at the moment?

I've been looking at doing a course on stained glass, with a view to moving towards restoration in the future (I like being able to "make" things and to be able to say "yes, I did that" and having something to show for my efforts other than another piece of paper in a file). Would these be a feasible career or are there thousands of unemployed glass specialists out there? Have you ever thought "I need a X" and not been able to find an X anywhere?

Any suggestions on what I could do/think of doing would be gratefully received. I make wedding/celebration cakes part time, so that's another option, but I really fancy something arty and worthwhile.

Thanks
Nimster

 

[plumbers mate]

Don't become an IT Help Desk Technician in a University ... especially not at hand-in time :-(

 

[Nimster]

The thought of working on any kind of IT help desk makes me want to chew my arms off. As does having any contact with rodents, sorry, students.

I want something practical that produces an end result that people will look at and think "wow" -hence why I like doing the cakes. I'm not sure I could make a living from cakes alone though, so need some other kind of creative outlet.

 

[Manny]

There's always a shortage of what I would call 'traditional' skilled labour, i.e. bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers, plasterers, gas fitters, electricians, etc. You won't be out of work if you learn any of those trades (which is why half the workforce in the country doesn't speak English, even if you include Irish as 'English').

If you choose to do something more specialised like stonemasonry, you may find a limited number of people to work for and find yourself moving around a lot to go where the work is.

 

[another_richard]

I would suggest doing a city and guilds in carpentry and joinery and specialise in traditional methods of building.

I have the carpentry qualification, but lack the ummmph to drop this salaried job (I look at old maps and documents every day for rigths of way) and go back to manual labour.

I stopped working with wood in the late 80s owing to getting drunk one night and reading Ovid and his tale of Baucis and Philemon. I had just chopped down two intertwining trees. It was a terrible discovery and I vowed never to make it my life to work with wood again.

 

[NT]

I think thats the first part of the challenge, finding a business plan that will fly. And it can take a fair while too.

Full time cake decoration sure isnt any such a beast. AFAIK the market for stained glass is miniscule.

NT

 

[Penners]

getting drunk one night and reading Ovid

It takes us all different ways. Some get maudlin, some get happy, some get sexy, some vomit.

But that's the first case of dysfunctional Ovid reading I've ever heard of.

How about retraining as a careers advisor? Then you'd be able to find out what's really the best career for you.

 

[alice]

Good carpenters are gold. Fine carpenters and cabinet-makers are mythical beasts that emerge once every 17years, covered with sawdust, who look at you squinty-eyed when you describe that special bespoke cabinet you want and then perform the Miracle of the Wallet Emptying.

I teach 17-19 year old students computer graphics and animation. It's a pleasant job that's creative and gives me the opportunity to go to a teenager and say..."Ahem, the computer would work a lot better if you plugged it in."

alice

 

[middi]

The secrect of success when contemplating a life/career change is having the abilty to choose any alternative with commitment and passion and treat it as adventure. You only live once.

The commitment is just work that anybody can apply themselves to.

The sense of adventure is genetic to human kind.

The stambling block is the passion side of things, very personal to the individual. A lot of passion indicates little stress and a clear mind to achieve, what appears to be, impossible to others.

Search for your passion in life and persue it.

( dont forget the "trivial" matter of having to survive financially whilst you are getting too passionate about a bright future ! ! )

 

[Penners]

Search for your passion in life and persue it.

Last time I did that I nearly ended up on the sex offenders' register.

 

[Nemesis]

Myabe worth contactiing some conservators and find out if they are on the breadline and how they got to be conservators...

http://www.conservationregister.com/carestainedglass.asp?id=4

 

[middi]

Well, I did say passion is very personal for the individual Penners.

Lesser mortals just end up with 15 kids to to share and look after, not try to pass the responsability on someonelse's wife :wink:

 

[DaveBrigg]

A distant relative has just finished a course on ceramic restoration. I optimistically offered some of our chipped crockery for practice, to be told that she had a long waiting list of rather more expensive pieces to work on. Some is insurance work, but money can also be made on buying damaged pieces and restoring for resale.

If that fails, there's always the trade in buying replica antiques, burying them in your garden for a few months and offering them for sale on a well known internet auction site... 8)

 

[Nemesis]

From Heritage Link:

ICON's new opportunities for training in conservation

On 1st May the Institute of Conservation (Icon) will advertise the second year of its innovative scheme for broadening access to careers in heritage conservation and diversifying its workforce. Icon offers 12 work-based internships starting this September as part of the 4-year scheme supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Many of these placements are aimed at new entrants to conservation from arts, sciences, crafts or wider heritage-related backgrounds.

Venues include private and public sector conservation workshops across the UK, offering experience in the conservation of ceramics, books, stained glass, stone & sculpture, frames, carpets and architectural details among others. Information on all placements and details of eligibility will shortly be posted on the Icon website at http://www.icon.org.uk Closing date is June 8th.

I've posted also as a separate thread.

I do agree about ceramic restoration - good ones are hard to find!

 

[chuckey]

Stained glass restoration? Sounds great to me. Are you going to erect your own scaffolding and take the old panels down? Or on a more lowly note, chip away at 100 year old putty to get a panel out of a door. Have you sources for matching coloured glass?

The more I look at these craft type jobs, the more I realise that it the dross that goes with them that puts me off starting out on my own. Also can you find the customers who are prepared to pay the going rate, lots of people just want the cheapest price and are not interested in quality or longevity.

I suppose that in a way I am jealous, best of luck with the leadwork (or icing).
frank

 

[Nemesis]

Well plenty of people seem to enjoy the work:

http://www.williamsandbyrne.co.uk/html/restoration.html


http://www.lead-windows.co.uk/


http://www.stained-windows.co.uk/


http://www.peacocksstainedglass.co.uk/


http://www.stainedglassrestoration.co.uk/


That's a tiny selection...

And it's been around a long time:

http://www.cvma.ac.uk/