19-year-old considering carpentry in Canada — I’d really appreciate some advice from experienced carpenters
Hello everyone, I’m a 19-year-old student currently living in South Korea, and I’m seriously considering studying carpentry in Canada. My long-term goal is to study in Canada, work in the trades, and hopefully build a life there. I’m currently trying to decide whether carpentry would be a good career choice for me, so I’d really appreciate hearing from people who are actually working in the trade. I have quite a few questions: **What does a carpenter actually do on a day-to-day basis?** I know there are different areas of carpentry, such as framing, finishing, renovations, formwork, etc. I’d like to understand what the different types of carpentry are and what the work is like in each area. **How is the pay, especially when you’re starting out?** How much can a beginner realistically expect to make, and how does income usually change as you gain experience and become a journeyperson? **How difficult is carpentry for someone with no previous experience?** Would you consider it a reasonable trade for someone starting from zero? What are the most difficult things for beginners to learn? **How physically demanding is the job?** I’m curious about things like lifting, working outside in cold or hot weather, working at heights, repetitive movements, etc. **What is the work-life balance like?** How many hours do you normally work per week? Are overtime and weekend work common? And does the schedule tend to be stable? **What are the biggest challenges when starting out?** For example, finding your first employer, becoming an apprentice, getting enough hours, dealing with difficult working conditions, or anything else a beginner should know. **For those of you who have been working as carpenters for several years, how do you personally feel about the career?** Do you still enjoy the work? What do you like and dislike about it? And if you could go back to when you first started, would you still choose carpentry? I’m not looking for a perfect or idealized answer. **I’d actually prefer to hear the honest reality, including the disadvantages and things that people usually don’t talk about.** I have many more questions, but I’ll start with these. Thank you very much to anyone who takes the time to answer. I really appreciate hearing directly from people who are actually working in the trade.
\+++ Everyone, I’m honestly really touched. I never expected to receive so much genuine advice and support from people over what I thought was just a simple question. Your answers have been incredibly helpful to me, and they’ve given me a lot to think about as I plan my future. I’ll do my best, keep working hard, and hopefully make my dream a reality someday. Thank you all again, truly! ❤️