Background

[Wasden]

This is directed to the senior members here but all may join in. What was your profession/trade before becoming an inspector? How did you learn to do inspections?

[Marc]

The only stable employment I've ever had was self-employment. Them deaf employees, they can't understand anything, ya know []. So I've seen most everything except plumbing, sometimes construction, sometimes service, mostly residential but some commercial and industrial too. Punctuated by trades school twice and college once - 5 years.

It's been quite a ride.

I learned inspections the way I learned just about everything else, on my own, until I joined TIJ. TIJ is one of only 2 'schools' I've attended since my early elementary years where I was actually aware of what was being 'spoken' in the classroom. Ten years of state mandated CE classes I've been to and I've never comprehended anything spoken in them despite nearly always sitting in front. Don't tell my Board! []

Marc

[Mike Lamb]

I'm guessing it is a long and twisted road for most.

I was a remodeling contractor and a bunch of labor work.

I started on a whim because my cousin who I worked with started doing it. We would be working a $25/hr job and he would leave and come back in two hours with $250.

I said I want some of this. That was in 1995.

[emalernee]

What was your profession/trade before becoming an inspector? Carpenter/Contractor.

How did you learn to do inspections?

I was born with the knowledge! Being a nosy Contractor, I wanted to know the way and why of the subcontractors on my jobs, as I was the one to talk to the client about what was going on on their projects. I had my nose in everything from digging the hole to screwing on the last switch plate.

I also had (still do) a huge library of building books, magazines, catalogs, and Installation Manuals. My motto was: Some people think they know it all, I know I Know it all.

[Nolan Kienitz]

Well now ...

Born/raised in a small farming community in NE Montana. Plentywood and Outlook, MT.

After college & trade school worked in commercial broadcast radio (announcer & engineer) for many years.

Associated Press, rose through the ranks from field technician to Communications Executive in charge of all data/news/photo delivery for AP worldwide (technical side ... NOT news content).

American Airlines, in charge of building customer service call centers and special projects related to "music on hold" for waiting customers. Yes, that was a big deal years ago.

Teleport Communications Group, designed and PM'd builds of fiber-optic networks in many cities after telco divestiture and was on ground floor of designing/inventing "internet web hosting" data centers.

TCG group acquired by AT&T Labs, continued as Program Manager for the build of 9 internet web hosting data centers throughout US. Following 9/11 I was a Program Manager for building "classified" data facilities for the FBI, Secret Service, NSA and such.

Laid off in 2002 when AT&T was downsizing to sell themselves to SBC. I got my Texas TREC license and starting inspecting residential and have not stopped since. Albeit I have slowed down a whole bunch this past year.

Most importantly along the way I got a wonderful wife with her two kids and we now have 5 grandchildren.

[Rob Amaral]

Worked for a general contractor for a few years, a commercial painter, was a lumber-picker, cooler-bunny (refrigerated warehouse order-picker), taxi driver (City of Boston and burbs), Limo driver (Boston) and helped my employer go from a 9 person operation in the NE to a sucessful national operation, beginning in 1988. I'm basically a guitar player who 'ended up here'. Been playing for a long time. (I've been playing music on/off for quite a long time in the Boston area and Southern New England in general.. still do once in a while..)

Dad was a machine shop lead-assembly-man (prototypes, hydraulic motors, bow thrusters, variable pitch propellers, custom machinery) and dinner-time was loaded with 'war stories' (from WW2 and work) and he was a natural carpenter and cabinetmaker and we talked about 'this stuff' quite a lot.

That is really where I got my start...dinner talk.

I remember being 18 and on a small construction job downtown here and the older guys asked me to go in a crawl space and 'tell us what the hell is goin on in there Robbie... " That was probably the likely 'actual start' of a good career (so far) in Home Inspection.

[resqman]

Dad fixed everything in our home. Only time I ever saw a repair person was on TV. I grew up handing him the tools. Bought my first house and spent the next 5 years fixing everything. Re-plumbed the whole house, re-wired half the house, moved walls, etc.

My career was computers. 25 years of data center operations, end user support, consulting, office automation, system administration. Last contract ended and I sat around the house for 6 months trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. My dad suggested home inspecting. Lived in a licensed state. Took a 40hr Home Inspector community college class. Took a 40 hr community college Pass the General Contractor exam class. Took the state exam and passed. Took the GC test and passed.

Searched the web to see if there was anything about home inspecting. Found this forum and Inspection News. Read absolutely every post and reply on both boards. Did some inspections. I have taken 4 or 5 code prep classes. Two from Douglas Hansen. Spent a lot of time looking up code to help me write my report statements.

I like the inspecting. Dont mind the report writing. Been at it about 8 years.

[Scottpat]

I was a senior buyer for a national department store chain for 16 years, I bought housewares, fine china and gifts for about 150 stores. Managed about 30 junior buyers and other assorted stuff associated with that type of job. Traveled overseas about 4 times a year on buying trips and about the same in the states to various markets. Casualty of a buyout by another company, but I was very lucky in that I had around a years notice I was leaving. So I used that time to learn the HI gig in my spare time...

It was a rough ride at first, but I had aligned myself to work with some pros in the profession. I learned from them and attended Mike and Kevin's (ITA) 2 week class in 1994 out in CA. By the time I went full into home inspection in May of 1995 I was ready, or so I thought.

[John Kogel]

Dirtiest job - auto mechanic, cleanest job - VHF radio

Best paying - millwright's assistant, worst paying - general contracting, renovations, no, it was oyster farming, but I staked a deepwater lease and sold the ranch for big bucks.

Best commute - boat ride out to the oyster ranch, worst commutes - engineering, logging cutblocks

Most exhilarating commutes - heli rides to west coast beach, timber cruising

Most dangerous - chainsaw bushwork flying in overloaded float plane, least dangerous - staying at home

Most boring - banging shakes with a hammer, least boring - hmmm

Most inspiring - home inspection, most frustrating - home inspection []

[Greg Booth]

..........Seven years as facilities/construction director for first-line department store chain - then 3 years in Nigeria as construction superintendent on project - then 17 years as facilities director for hospital and nursing home system - last 17 years self employed in the manufactured home industry installing, servicing and inspecting. All prefaced by college at RIT.......Greg

[Marc]

..........Seven years as facilities/construction director for first-line department store chain - then 3 years in Nigeria as construction superintendent on project - then 17 years as facilities director for hospital and nursing home system - last 17 years self employed in the manufactured home industry installing, servicing and inspecting. All prefaced by college at RIT.......Greg

RIT? That's where I went. What major?

Marc

[kurt]

I was a shoe salesman, I went out for a smoke, while striking the match I saw an ad for a home inspector school on the matchbook, I called, scheduled, and two weeks later I were a home inspector!

Now, I have a badge from my professional society that even says I are a good home inspector!

[Darren]

I was a shoe salesman, I went out for a smoke, while striking the match I saw an ad for a home inspector school on the matchbook, I called, scheduled, and two weeks later I were a home inspector!

Now, I have a badge from my professional society that even says I are a good home inspector!

Sounds a lot like Al Bundy...

[hausdok]

Ex Army

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Decided to delete 99.9% of it.

[Greg Booth]

..........Seven years as facilities/construction director for first-line department store chain - then 3 years in Nigeria as construction superintendent on project - then 17 years as facilities director for hospital and nursing home system - last 17 years self employed in the manufactured home industry installing, servicing and inspecting. All prefaced by college at RIT.......Greg

RIT? That's where I went. What major?

Marc

..........graduated from "Brick City" in 1971. BS Degree in Retailing - major in operations. Were you at NTID?..........Greg

[Marc]

..........Seven years as facilities/construction director for first-line department store chain - then 3 years in Nigeria as construction superintendent on project - then 17 years as facilities director for hospital and nursing home system - last 17 years self employed in the manufactured home industry installing, servicing and inspecting. All prefaced by college at RIT.......Greg

RIT? That's where I went. What major?

Marc

..........graduated from "Brick City" in 1971. BS Degree in Retailing - major in operations. Were you at NTID?..........Greg

No. I just registered there so the guvmint would pick up the tab on my education. Transferred to RIT the day after my arrival in 80'. Finished in Nov, 86'. Took 12 months LOA in 84-85. BSEE.

Marc

[Mark P]

I?m a left handed, gay albino Eskimo midget that has always dreamed of playing professionaly for the NBA but being left handed turned out to be to big of an obstacle to overcome so instead I tried spending my days writing really long sentences filled with drivel & nonsense. When that did not work out I became closeted non-conformist and fathered of 2.4 children and one-half chicken (I?m not sure what the other half is). With some many obvious signs that I was made to be a home inspector I put away my parachutes and cleats and opened my business - the rest is now history. The story of my life will be airing in the fall on a major network.

[kurt]

That's funny.

[:-thumbu]

[Wasden]

Very diverse backgrounds. I worked weekends for my grandfather ,when I was sixteen, as his hod carrier. I made $20 a day and busted my rear. After high school I worked in a plumbing shop in Burbank, Ca. My dad figured I wasn't going to be a brain surgeon so he got me in the lathers union with him. Lather, metal stud framer, welder , drywall. Worked all over So Ca, Reno for two years (Silver Legacy and Federal courthouse). Went to Pohang, South Korea. Bit of advice, stay away from the soju! Worked slowed in 2005 so went to work for two buddies in HI. Went back to work pulled my pension in 2010 and moved to Montana to buy an RV park. The deal fell through so I golfed and fished for two years and decided to start my own HI biz. Much different here than tract homed So Ca.

Nolan you know what I mean coming from Plentywood. Not unusual to drive 100 miles to a job. My home was built in 1890. 37 years in a nutshell.

[Les]

I?m a left handed, gay albino Eskimo midget that has always dreamed of playing professionaly for the NBA but being left handed turned out to be to big of an obstacle to overcome so instead I tried spending my days writing really long sentences filled with drivel & nonsense. When that did not work out I became closeted non-conformist and fathered of 2.4 children and one-half chicken (I?m not sure what the other half is). With some many obvious signs that I was made to be a home inspector I put away my parachutes and cleats and opened my business - the rest is now history. The story of my life will be airing in the fall on a major network.

I agree with Kurt. Funny. I think those that know you will find that really funny!

[Jack Ahern]

Background noise:

Material manager for an electronic manufacturer

Valve buyer for the Quincy Shipyard

Acoustical ceiling contractor

Occasional home handyman (tuition years)

HI -1990 to present

Helped pay for six college degrees

Some of these gigs overlapped.

*Getting ready to work on my golf handicap full time.Ma.&Me.&Fl.*

[8D]

[Erby]

Yeah, but Steve, 100 miles out in Montana is still only an hour away!

[Wasden]

Yeah, but Steve, 100 miles out in Montana is still only an hour away!

We just slow down for the antelope.

[RickSab]

A mix of jobs here too. Started as a manager of a Long John Silvers almost 40 years ago. Worked for a few others before getting out of the biz when #4 child came along. I have a friend who's family owned a Redwood distributed and started building redwood decks. Spent about 10 years running crews building decks and selling lumber. Eventually went to work for Home Depot. Back when they had managers to run Pro Sales. When my youngest turned 18 I went back in the restaurant business and ended up a managing partner for Brinker. When the Midwest was sold to a franchise I decided to change careers. I had been thinking about inspecting for some time.

I met the licensing requirement through class at Jr.college. Go my LEED AP after that. The best education is this forum and JLC.