Opinion

[Steven Hockstein]

I wonder how many of us would encourage our children to go into this profession. I don't have this issue because both of my boys have no desire to be in the home inspection field and are involved in other careers.

I worked as a home inspector with my dad for a few years before I became an architect and then he retired. I enjoyed working with him but I switched my main job because I was not fulfilled working full time as an inspector. I now do inspections when I want and actually enjoy doing them.

Do you like being home inspectors?

What would you be if you could switch jobs?

[Les]

Tilt-a-whirl greaser. I had to post that before Kurt, Jim, Bill had a chance.

[Jerry Simon]

I wanted to bring my middle daughter into the biz. She was my *son* (together fishing up north, fixing the lawnmower, running with snakes, etc.). Then she got married and I lost my son and my colleague. Dang.

An architect, like George Costanza.

[Tom Breslawski]

So far I'm enjoying this business. I think it's better as a second (or third) career. I enjoy the mix of inspections and report writing. I couldn't handle a typical office job.

I was a farmer before this and I'd go back to farming if I had to switch jobs. That's really what I was born to do. Life changed though, and being a home inspector suits my family and my life really well (so far).

[resqman]

First son has no interest. Graduated business school and has a job. He loves cold call sales and would hate working with houses.

Second son is going into the medical field. He might like this after he tires of medicine. He likes tinkering. He could do it.

Was in IT for 25 years prior to this. Suit and tie office job. Miss working indoors during lousy weather.

I could see myself going back to being an ambulance driver. Was a volunteer EMT for about a decade. Patients are getting fatter. Not sure I wanna lift fatties into the truck all day. Miss the ability to make a real difference in peoples lives.

[Marc]

I've no sons. Daughter would laugh at becoming an HI.

If I could choose another profession, I'd be the site electrical engineer at a small heavy-industry industrial facility. I've always been an ace at sleuthing analog electrical/electronic circuitry.

If I had ears that worked, I'd go back to school and become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

If retirement beckoned me, it would be a retirement to my workshop where I would make things folks ain't never thought of making before. On break time, I'd travel and visit my friends greasing up the tilt o whirl.

Marc

[Tom Raymond]

My son is 15. He's a sophomore in high school into science, music, and girls. He works with me a day or two a week in the summer. That's enough for him to know he wants to do anything else.

My daughter is 6 and in kindergarten. She loves to build things and has the mind to take over, but I'll be eligible for social security when she graduates from high school.

I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. Retired sounds good. At 46 I've been working in, on or around houses for over 30 years.

[Erby]

I would encourage mine but they're well settled in their own lives. Perhaps the grandsons when they get tired of working for someone else.

I'll be doing this until I'm old and grey. Love it.

[inspector57]

Can't imagine doing anything else. It fits me or I fit it, not sure which came first. The only thing better would be if I could just inspect and talk to folks without the report writing. Oh yeah, if I did not have to do marketing, but that is not so much of an issue these days since the phone rings a bunch for now.

If I had life to "do over" likely I would go to engineering, that or just be independently wealthy.

[Rob Amaral]

I morphed into this over time...very long story not worth repeating. It came together in 1994-95. I was wired since a little boy to be curious, to ask 'why'?, to 'find out'. I love to read, to research and I have interests in the history of many, many things and I like to improve at anything I do. I also like to be able to have a work-assignment that I can control the process of, the quality of, the completion of and the scheduling of.

Dinner-table conversations with my father about his work here in town (assembling prototype hydraulic motors for variable-pitch propellers for ship propulsion units) was a part of my life since very early days. Technical table-talk about tools, metals, etc..

It's a pretty cool gig and it's not for everyone... I hope the freedom of being a professional inspector attracts others to the job continuously. It seems to be the case. I see new faces at ASHI meetings in Boston area every month. I'm entering my 22nd year this April. I told a client yesterday "I've seen a lot.. but I have not seen everything yet! "

[Darren]

I like construction; see things 'grow' out of the ground. That's why crossing over to inspections was natural.

If I had to do it again, I'm be a police detective; I was always watching Columbo, Banacek, and Ellery Queen. Sorta goes with home inspections; trying to figure things out with not much to go on.

[Nolan Kienitz]

My step-son was somewhat interested, but I got him on a path for the ever-evolving high-tech world and he is now a Program Manager for data center rebuilds (mostly the network connectivity) in Seattle and his main client is Amazon (FWIW ... they love him and his crews work and he has resisted all their offers ... he is doing quite well).

I'm on my ~3rd career after working in the engineering/technical group at The Associated Press and then on to American Airlines, Teleport Communications Group and AT&T Labs. Lots of physical site construction and new-wave thinking during the "dot-com bubble growth". I enjoyed the construction/inspection of many Internet Web Hosting Data Centers during that time. After 9-11 all things changed and I was assigned to construction of classified data centers for our government "spook" agencies ... Actually some of the best people in the world to work with and for.

AT&T down siized to sell themselves to SBC and I was on a list and got the boot out the door. That pushed me to doing what I do now and have been for the past 16+ years. I love the inspections and clients (reports ... not so much), but I'm also "winding down". May fully retire and end this gig in Spring of 2018 or two years after that ... will just have to see how it rolls along.

I've suggested to many folks interested in this profession to ensure their better half has a stable income as we all know how difficult the start-up in this business can be and still is.