Private School, Trade School, Entrepreneurship

[Spvrk]

Hello all and good afternoon from a blissful, sunny living room in Sydney, Australia.

I'm a 24 year old male, who currently works as an Electrician. Most of my life has been defined by moving houses - currently averaging a new place every 2 years. Most of this has been out of my control until recently but it hasn't affected me but rather taught me how to accept change, and embrace it to view the positives.

During my education - highschool in particular (ages 12-18 roughly) - I attended a mixed, Christian, private school in the heart of North-Western Sydney. Whilst nothing inherently wrong with the education (minus the fact my mother was paying exuberant amounts for an education that is the same for 1/10th of the price down the road) it was not only a huge feeder for the SCRIPTED life but also an environment that fostered and leant heavily towards students graduating then progressing into a university. I originally bought into this scam and attended university with an entry in a bachelor of Mechatronics (Robotics) Engineering as I argued that this specific field of Engineering will yield more success, more pay, and more enjoyment. After 8 weeks, I decided that this was not the education I wanted, enjoyed or needed. I dropped out, becoming a regular joke amongst my friendship circle - which I had predicted since a year earlier, I too was mocking those who went to Trade School during a career day in highschool.

However, sticking to the decision to not only leave University but vowing to never go back is not one I have regretted or changed my mind on. Leaving the blood sucking system and only incurring a small $5,000 debt has served me better in the long term. Trade school was essentially free. Not only was I paid to sit in class, my employer reimbursed me the cost of each semester. I was ecstatic, not only did I get to learn something hands-on and practice it daily, I was making money, debt-free. I strongly recommend a trade to those who do not know what direction they want to take. Being apart of the trade let me also express my innate desire to solve problems. My apprenticeship was great, learning new skills and solutions almost daily. Until it hit a wall, suddenly all the problems were the same, or only slight variations of something I'd experienced before. One year into being a fully qualified and licenced electrician, I found a new job which presented new problems and honed in the craft of technical analysis, problem solving, and reinvigorated my love for the trade.

After 9-10 months with this company that I loved - the work and the bosses - I have come to realise that this is not what my life is cut out to be. Most friends and family members will describe me as "hard-working" but I do not wish to invest all my time and efforts into helping others build a business or a brand that would help them achieve their goals and dreams. Some family members have advocated I start my own electrical business, and whilst I do have a company setup, crawling through rooves all day is not my cup of tea. You may think I'm being a sook or whinging, and that's fine but my electrical specialty is Industrial not residential. I also believe that in Sydney, the electrical business section is a borderline commodity. Trawl through Electrician Q&A on Facebook and you'll find posts of other electricians complaining about competitors consistently undercutting to win jobs. This isn't to say that I don't believe an electrical business can't be "Fastlane" but merely saturated and dictated by price.

As it currently stands, I have had no firework "FTE" or "FTM" but a culmination of small, tiny descriptors that have led me to pursuing entrepreneurship. Here is a few; waking up at hours before the sun has risen, wasting my life driving 2.5-3 hours a day, repetitive work, a strong resentment for being told by other people what I can and can't do, helping others achieve dreams and goals, not wanting to end up like some family members who are drowned in debt and enslaved to a 9-5, seeing financial problems a key cause in my parents divorce and later on court arguments, my unwavering work ethic and problem solving skills, to never have to be frugal again in my life.

I have been a disciple of self-development for 4-5 years now and with the recent devouring of MJs' first book and now 2/3 of the way through "UNSCRIPTED ", it has made me discover that the next progression and step in my development will be through being an entrepreneur. I have attained a skillset that is needed for a construction job but my focus in business will need to be nurtured to expand my skillset. A journey on which I'm excited to welcome failures, F*ck ups, mockery, and backlash from those closest to me. A key differential that I will have during my journey is having a family member - who is currently in the position that I will end up in - as a mentor.

Cheers and thanks for reading.

 

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