If you got a 2nd Chance what would do...

Personally, I would have loved to have met my Wife at 24 rather than age 35. She truly was my destiny.

Having said that...I'm 52 and if I were 24 again, I'd have;

Stayed in school and got a degree rather than opting to work good paying blue collar jobs for the trade of instant good $$$ at the time.

Engineering degree or the medical field-a cake job like a radiologist that makes good $$$ and can be done in all 50 states and has a future unlike many industry work. Build cars on the side for fun. When you do physical labor all your life, when you get older, sometimes you're too tired to work in the shop after work or on weekends.

Would have bought real estate earlier in life and sweat equity/built it up to having at least 2 homes free and clear by 50.

Would have started a 401 k and IRA earlier.

All the above with a goal of retiring at 55-which won't happen for me because I didn't work harder at the above.

 

My sleep schedule is still kinda messed up ( i might be dehydrated?) so i don't know if i can get into it whole-hog, although i would be interested in talking more.

Anyways, are you certified in mig? If so, with what cert(s)? More importantly, does welding turn you on?

2) Define "old" car.

i'm still kind of vague as far as what turns you on working on cars. i mean to me, working on cars is working on cars. But expand regarding what turns you on automotive-wise...

 

What a great thread. Any 20-something that is reading will have a MUCH better life if they could/would just put it into play. It all distills into some fairly simple principals. By the time I settled down I was 40 but I wouldn't have given away all the great experiences I had!! When I finally started it took "only" 10 years and now we are "paper-millionaires" (rentals, good job, bonuses) and will still do well in retirement. Above all - be POSITIVE!

 

I turned 45 last week,I would have went to college and been an engineer or something so I would have the coin to build what I want. I went to school to be an auto mechanic and only lasted 2 years in the field. I thought I could never get enough of it but it did'nt take long before I did not have any interest in working on my own stuff any more. Plus like mentioned preveiously I am taking Dave Ramseys financial peace course. if I would have stayed in school and taken ramseys course at 23 the outcome could have been very different.

 

Funny how I've been thinking about this since you raised the question! I thought of another thing since the last round of crap spewed from my keyboard. Everybody is talking about learning. Rustyfords above hit on something else. If you have the chance, learn more than one set of skills. Most people have the chance, but never fully take advantage of it. If you have two or more marketable skills, you are NEVER sitting waiting by the phone to hear about getting that 1 job available.

 

Find a career that you can be the best at, a professional sort like doctor, lawyer etc. Make alot of money being the best at a high paying job. Find a hobby that is unrelated and allows you to relive the stress of being the best in your chosen field. Spend on your hobby, after you save for retirement. If you are not the best, and don't plan for the future you will work for someone else all your life at a captured wage and still struggle when you want to retire. But above all, find happyness, enjoy life, smell the roses, and find someone special to share it with.

 

I guess I am lucky enuf to have got in to and trade that I love, my work is not a job.
I work as a flat rate mechanic during the day and go home and work on cars some restorations ,race cars, show cars and DD stuff.
If I ccould go back I would have spent more time with the old timers and learned more from them thay are getting realy old now and dont recall as much now and the depth of there knowledge is great that time is going to run out and this stuff does not come from a book.
Sure that money thing is good I dont have any and would not know what to with it if I had it now or then.

 

I'd do like my buddy did and spend more on tools and equipment (instead of hot wheels and model cars and other "stupid shit" that I have since sold and have nothing to show for it!!) and spend the time teaching myself how to use them so that I would not fear big projects. If you want to make some money while doing it, maybe just do some side jobs. That way when your hobby starts to feel like a job, you can not take in other peoples stuff, and just work on your own until it becomes "fun" again.

 

I would have been Infantry instead of Logistics. Man, how cool it would have been........

 

Learn anything that can earn money that is not car or welding related. Basic construction, auto detailer, ect. Keeps it fresh. Defiantly expand the fabrication skills. The more skills and doing the job quickly will net more. Do not PARTY.

 

One other thing I was thinking about maybe advising you on, Is be-aware that For most guys, age 24 is almost too soon to be planning life as a single man, As although you may not think so, Chances are sometime in your near future, Cupid is going to fire an arrow(laced with the love bug)straight into your ass. And when that happens you will be looking at your future from a whole diffren't view. Just something to keep in mind.

 

Cowtown has a point, dont mess with the weak women . if one showes up make shure she as smart as you are.

 

Yep in 1969 I was 22 had a new car and got out of the Army in July and got married in August.
I took the first job offered to me in factory that makes boxes for things like head and shoulders shampoo and didn't investigate the job that my father in laws cousin suggested I look into or look into going to work for UPS when they were first starting up in Texas in 1969.

I don't regret all of the years I spent working in shops in the 70's and later but Things could have been a lot better financially for me and my family if I had made better decisions earlier. I've also found that I enjoy working on my own cars a lot more when I'm not worn out from working on someone Else's cars every day.

 

If I could go back to when I was 24, jobs were plentiful and I'd have done something besides being a mechanic so I could have made more money with less work and enjoy working on cars in my spare time. A mechanic's car is always the last one worked on.

Today, you're almost forced to take whatever job you can get.

 

Very few people have jobs that they love. Not much I enjoy doing 40 hrs a week. So, you find something you are good at, can tolerate and do it.

 

Hesitate, just for a second in the doorway before jumping!

Doc.

 

it is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that we cannot sincerely help another without helping ourselves in the bargain


took me a leetil while to learn this

 

So does welding turn you on?

 

So does welding turn you on?

 

I'm a mechanic by trade and work in a liquor store by choice. But if I were able to do it all over again I would probably go back to school and learn computer programming so I could work with my head instead of my hands professionally so I could afford my automotive hobby.

 

Go too college and find out what they know....

 

Find a good construction type job somewhere that you can work hitches and make great money. Then you have adventure, time off to play with the hobbie and money to do it. For me it was the Trans-Alaska pipeline when I was your age. Made an ass load of money. Right now there is big money to be made in the North Dakota oil fields but it's a hell hole to live there. I had a lead last month on a big job going on in Belize building huge beach resorts. If I was your age I wouldn't have to think twice to head down there.

 

Go to school. Spend a little less time chasing skirts and more time studying. I have a very good tech job but I am 20 years older than you and I get real nervous knowing I will have a hell of a time landing another job that pays this good so I can enjoy my free time playing with my cars.

HRP nailed it on the first page. Don't make your hobby your job. IMHO the homes with the most need of repairs are owned by carpenters. The cars in the same situation are owned by career mechanics. It's amazing how much extra money them white collar folks have to throw at their hobbies or spend on expensive tools to make their fun time more fun...

 

I have read this entire post,there's a lot of good advice here. I'm going to have my son read this he's 17 now. But for me I would not change the things in my life for anything. What don't kills us makes us stronger. I turned 41 the day this post got started I am signing the papers on my new shop. Now I know I'm going to have to bust my ass to get this off the ground but it will be worth it. The only advice I can give you is you'll never know unless you try. Life is to short for regrets.


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If I could go back to 24 again, I'd buy a shit-load of Apple stock. Seriously though, wait to have kids and don't spend all your money on going to bars/drinking. I could have a way cooler motorcycle/cooler car(s)/house paid off if I hadn't have wasted so much time hanging around a bunch of shit-hole bars.

 

Thats it lots and houses. Lots of wisky and whore houses.

 

Learn to be cheap, save money. get an investment advisor.

 

If I had to do it all over again, I'd become a gynecologist! That way, one of my favorite things in life could help pay for the other "favorite things" in life (the car hobby)!

Magnum Force

 

My dad told me this very advice many times years ago. I didn't listen to him. I didn't listen to him three times! Working on other peoples cars can burn you out in a hurry. Don't think owning a shop you'll get to work on cars all day. You have to manage the business and that takes a LOT of time and effort. Find a job you enjoy that will put the money in your pocket to build your own cars.

 

Oh little arrows in your clothing, little arrows in your hair, when you're in love you find those little arows everywhere. Little arrows that will hit you once and hit you once again. little arrows that hit everybody every know and then. Here they come falling out of the blue . . .