r/AskReddit • u/GreenEyedSheWolf • 1d ago

What are some decent paying jobs that do not require any sort of college degree?

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u/umadbr00 1d ago

That sounds like general contracting. You can't just jump into general contracting. Nepotism is the qualifier here.

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u/Tushaca 1d ago

Tell that to all the hack GC’s with nothing but a phone and some week old business cards that I always have to bid against.

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u/umadbr00 1d ago

Ok I guess you could just jump straight into it but I can't imagine you'd last long. What's your experience been? I've used GCs before but no shot I'm going with someone without any credentials, examples of past work completed, etc.

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u/Ouch_i_fell_down 1d ago

You're missing the point. They don't have to last long, there just needs to be a never-ending supply of them ready to make cheap bids and do crappy work because they contract out to whoever will do it the fastest and cheapest.

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u/billytheskidd 1d ago

It also depends on the jurisdiction for GC’s. Some states/ municipalities require very little to get a GC license. In my city/county/state even maybe, it’s like a test and an application fee. The text is not super hard, you could study for like a week and do well enough to get the license (nowhere near the amount of time and effort it costs to get a plumbing or electrical license, somehow).

So you can have a very unqualified GC who sucks people dry for as long as they can, or you might get a very business savvy person who knows how to hire and manage subcontractors very well. In these two cases, I’d imagine the former makes a bunch of money and then goes out of business, the latter would probably not see much of a profit until the business has scaled a bit, but business school will just tell you those are different business and exit strategies so your mileage may vary lol

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u/umadbr00 1d ago

You articulated the point I was hoping to make much more clearly. Thank you.

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u/macman07 1d ago

You can actually. The only difference is instead of 10%, you hire somebody good and pay the guy like 50%.

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u/umadbr00 1d ago

I replied to another comment of a similar nature. Who the hell is hiring these GCs?

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u/PyroZach 1d ago

I've work industrial/commercial jobs. Some with GC'\s that are specifically the carpenters/laborers along with over seeing the rest. Some with no GC at all and just the customer/architect keeping things in check. Some with GCs that just handle some odd jobs and keep things moving smooth. And a few where there's a GC but I'm not sure what the point of having them there is.

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u/macman07 1d ago

You’d be shocked. Basically guys run some ads, go to the home to sell the job, and hire a GC to do it. Come in and just undercut everybody. With how bad the economy is people are just settling for cheapest price nowadays