Career Change to Cabinet making??Am i mad?

Froggyman

Hi everyone,just joined this as i need to see am i going mad with what im thinking!!!
I currently work in the civil service in a social welfare office,i used to work on the buildings but got out nearly 4 years ago as the industry was dying!!! I loved it ,especially the carpentry end.Since school iv always wanted to do a cabinet making apprenticeship but between 1 thing and another i always landed in a diff job with fairly good pay and settled for it,also went traveling for a year in between which id highly recommend to any young person!
I recently made a set of kitchen cabinets for my girlfriends kitchen which turned out brilliant,even shocked myself as it was kind of my first project! but i really loved doing it and i just thought to myself ' this is the job id love to be doing everyday,and should have being doing since i finished my leaving cert in 2000,the cabinet making apprenticeship has changed last year and is now called Wood manufacturing and finishing
http://www.careerdirections.ie/ShowJ...spx?job_id=657 .

Im 29 now,still living at home,no ties,no children,no mortgage and im seriously thinking about leaving my current job(which i really dislike) and follow my dream job...but am i mad in the current climate when the building trade has being hit so hard!!
Everyone thinks the civil service is a handy job with great pay but im in my 4th year and after tax im bringing home 399 euro,which goes up about 10 euro every year and the work is mind numbing and boring and never ending with so many people signing on!! i know id be starting back on low money for the first couple of years but id manage that...my big worry would be getting let go after 2 or 3 yrs because work was quite and being left with nothing!! Gettin somebody to take me on would be the big thing but id even work Saturday for a while for notin to show them id be serious.
I looked into doing it on a career break but its a no go

So my dilemma is to stay in the secure job i dislike and will prob resent more as the years go on or take a chance and follow my dream job!!! Ahhhhhhhhh decisions decisions!!

Love to hear peoples experiences or opinions!
Thanks.

woodturner

Things are very bad out there. I made kitchens and fitted furniture for 13 years and was laid off last August. There is very little work out there and a load of people who specialize in that kind of work are just not doing anything.

1chippy

Your mad. stick at it as a hobby for a few years, gather tools, read up on it and make anodd cabinet or something small. if you still have a desire in twelve months have a look at your own circumstances and the general industry and you will know better.

tinyk68

My brother was a cabiner maker for 18 years. He now works in a chemist shop. It's a dying trade unfortunately. It's impossible to compete price wise with the likes of IKEA. Their kitchens might not be of the same quality as a bespoke kitchen but the price sways people especially in a recession. I'd say hang on where you are and maybe just do cabinet making as more of a hobby.