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Looking for work as Carpenter Helper or Apprentice - Boulder

Original Post
nickmarcucci · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 51

Just thought I would put this out to the community first. I have minimal experience as a carpenter but want to make a commitment to learn the trade. I am based in Boulder, hard working, and have my own truck. If any Carpenter/Climbers are out there and seeking help please shoot me a PM and we can talk!

Thanks so much, Nick

Thomas Beck · · Las Vegas, Nevada · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,025

You sure you want to be a carpenter/woodworker? I got 35 years in the trade some awards etc. A skilled woodworker/joiner/carpenter was once a proud and respected trade. 25 years ago I could go to any town I chose (climbing of course) and get a job within days.

Now it's low skills and a dying trade. Everything now is connect the blue dot to the blue dot unless you are working out in the hinterlands where expertise is still in demand but there's no money in it. Most customers can't afford to pay a livable wage. Or you could work for a contractor in a high end ski area who's raking in the majority of the profit and paying you shit and no benefits, maybe not even workman's compensation if you get hurt...

And Colorado in the Winter? Your are taking semi brutal.

If you are determined though, it's a process of walking up on the site, figuring out quick who the foreman is, looking him or her in the eye, know how much to ask for in wages and talking to everyone who could give you a job. Your first job likely involves getting acquainted with a shovel. P.S. Check out how the workers are dressed and dress the same..not above them or below them.

Should you get hired do not walk onto the site with tools in a bucket or something shiny and brand new like tool belt. Get yourself a metal tool box from a pawn shop or the like or better yet build a tool box and always act like you deserve respect.

nickmarcucci · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 51

Hey well thanks for the advice Thomas. Do most budding carpenters do a work/study apprenticeship or can one still just jump into the workforce and make a career that way?

Garrett Miller · · fort collins · Joined Dec 2008 · Points: 0

I say go for it! You can definitely jump right into the work force and learn the trade as you go, especially because there is a shortage of skilled/ reliable labor in northern Colorado.
You definitely have to like to be active and hard working, which means a lot of days you might come home too tired to go climbing in the evening.
I think the key is to find a small custom home or remodel company that has a good work life balance mentality. With a small company it is easier to have a more rounded work experience so you go from framing to casework and finishes, rather than just on to the next framing job. And that way you aren't just slapping up tract homes.
If you wanted to learn timber framing there are courses and a guild you can join, but timber framed custom homes are beyond most peoples means so it might be tough to stay busy.? Also, cabinet shops could be a good place to start if you want to learn some basic joinery. If you ever end up in the Fort Collins area I know a lot of people that are short on good help.

nickmarcucci · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 51

Hey thanks for the info and motivation Garrett, I am hoping to find work as a carpenters helper soon enough in the Boulder area!

nickmarcucci · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 51

Any new opportunities abound this year? Still searching for work in carpentry. Cheers!

Dustin B · · Steamboat · Joined Jan 2006 · Points: 1,275

Nick,

While I can't speak for Boulder, you should be able to easily find a job in the mountain resort towns. The rich in this country are doing just fine, and the construction of gigantic 'custom' homes is reaching a pace reminiscent of the mid 2000s. Get some before the bubble bursts! Good help is a rarity in your generation, and if you are honest, a good worker and show up to work when you are expected, you should be able to to just fine. From my experiences the trades are much more competitive on the front range, harder to get a job and they don't pay near as well.

Now, wether or not carpentry is a good trade is debatable. Thomas obviously has a lot of experience, and I cannot refute what he has written. If you go to a ski town, you will be starting working for a contractor who makes most of the money, pays little benefits...etc. Workers comp should always be a part of the equation, just don't get hired as an 'independent sub-contractor' unless you want to handle your own insurance, taxes etc...

There is another side though. Learn the trade, commit to quality over quantity and you can take the skills you learn in many different directions. Some of my ambitious friends moved to town at age 20, got a job as an apprentice builder, and by the time they were 30 they had their own company building many projects every year, working 70 hours a week and making a ton of money. My main climbing partner is a finish carpenter, and he makes great wages, has as much or little work as he wants, gets months off every year for climbing and gets to take on projects that are intriguing to him.

So there you go, Thomas' advice about getting a job is spot on. Look for the cranes, or the plywood constructions, go find the boss and look him in the eye and shake his hand.

Good luck.

-edit-Oh yeah, you will be working in colorado, outside, in the winter...we build...Toughen up...

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Colorado
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