Problem is there are very few people that have the varied skill set that I require. Most of my applicants say "I'm a welder". Welding is barely 10% of what we do. The forming and fitting of material is far more important. Even the racing backgrounds I might have counted on for experienced people, have become specialized. Team members only learn one job on modern hi dollar professional racing teams. My background is in racing. Racing from a time when we did everything. We built the chassis, we fabricated and mounted everything on the car, we wired them, we plumbed them. built the suspension, built the bodies, painted them, built the driveline, and set them up and prepped them for racing. I did this for thirty years, with out a single failure or a single part falling off of a race car. So my expectations are pretty high. But I m no genius. I've never considered my self special or extraordinary. I just loved what I did and insisted I would be one of the best at it.
No, I don't want, or need someone to "jump ship for $17 hour" because, unless he/she has years and years of chassis, sheet metal, and suspension fabrication experience, as well as mechanical, and electrical ability, he cant produce enuff income to pay that kind of money coming in the door. Dont come into this business, in this area, expecting to get rich. The work is here, but it just doesn't pay like it does in some other areas.
Right now, I have a '54 Chevy we are air bagging, including cutting and replacing the frame and floor, a '65 Suburban we are replacing the rockers on, Two LS swap CJs, one with new tub, wiring, plumbing, and suspension. I have two chassis in work, a Samurai cage and suspension job, a Cherokee firewall buggy, and a SxS cage rework. I have scheduled to be coming in the next month, a full size Dodge racing truck interior cage, a full prerunner Tacoma build, two SxS cages to build. All this and numerous, bumpers, gear jobs and axle swaps that go on all the time, in between! I need help!
What I need is someone young, hungry, with aptitude, (and attitude!) to learn all the many different facets of this business. We do so many different types of work, it will be hard to find anyone with all the skills to cover all we do. But I will teach anyone who wants to and can and will learn this kind of work. Same as it was with the people who I learned from!
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