Full Tim or Part Time Scrapper?? - Page 2

Full time. Have picked up non scrap jobs along the way, but it has been my main line of work since long before the iron price spike of '04 that made everyone with a truck & trailer think they were pro's.

PT bartender, PT Handman/remodeler, PT on Construction crews / PT or FT scrapper depending on demand of other jobs. Love this forum and thanks for the info from all you professionals on here. Definitely getting more diverse in what I scrap due to the ideas I've gotten from here.

Im Part time. But have had weeks when my part time pays better than my full time job. LOL. I made a bet with a friend on August first that I could make 10 grand in a year. He said bull. I proved him wrong already! Feels nice to win a bet once in a while.

Part time. Soon things will be slowing down for me at my regular job (landscape construction turning into on call snow removal). When that happens I will be putting a lot more hours into this, which will hopefully prove fruitful. I have always had a bit of an entrepreneurial streak in me and have some ideas for what I could potentially do when it comes to scrapping/recycling. No where close to going full-time but at this time next year.... who knows. What I do know for sure is that I am not content with my current job and I need to find something else.

Full time since may '11.
Mostly because nowhere is hiring/has work, even places that always had work.
Lucky I learned full-time scrap , haven't gone completely broke a single day since I started (although when I get desperate I do tend to hussle...) I scrap anything scrapable in my path seven days a week when I'm out.
Dissassemble as much as possible too, although that gets tedious, good for rainy days though.
I give a lot of tools and toys to relatives , working appliances too so it's more than the $.
(The little $ I get by on for now).

Visit wife and kids mid-day etc., no boss, no stress besides wondering what can legally get
scrapped, and what to do best with some of the junk.

Haven't advertised on Craigslist yet besides a tire I got a $10 offer on...got seven weed whackers ,sold one need to make minor repairs on other five.

Handyman work is a lot of hassle, hard finding new jobs afterwards too. Thought about lawn care, leaf-removal but didn't get leaf blower on time this year.

My other full time hobby/Career interest is cutlery (knives and sword making).
Studied that about two years online.
Finally ordered six feet of high carbon steel few weeks ago...been setting up shop, gathering supplies,tools, leather,
Ordered some nice wood and handle screws (waiting on)...Cut out my first dagger last week...work-in-progress...
Setting up and building tools for heat treating the steel lately too.

Full time for me, has been the past year. I love scrapping. Seriously, I don't care what it is. If it's got screws or a cord, I'm scrapping it. Since starting all this, I've diversified. I own half an auto body shop, do e-scrap and still run my trash route. Honestly, all that just makes it so I get by. I mean I only need about 600 bucks a month for living expenses and bills, but sometimes it's hard to come by when you have money out for e-scrap and junk. It gets dicey a lot.

Scrapping full time is either feast or famine as someone on here once eloquently put it. Some weeks I'm up 1000, and others I'm hitting up a relative for a quick 20 bucks so I can run a trash route and quadruple it.

Also, I've noticed an uprising in competition. While out there, I pass a lot of people hustling to dumpsters and trying to get by. However, I'm seasoned at this now. That box fan you left behind? Thanks for electric motor. That light fixture? Hey, that's painted brass, not ceramic. Way to go.

I don't recommend scrapping full time unless you're a simple guy. If you're content with a roof that doesn't leak, a truck that only gives you hell a small part of the time, eating a few encore dinners because that's all you can afford, go for it. I do it now because I love it and because at 25, I've found my career. Few people can say that and actually understand it.

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Being that I'm disabled and on dialysis 3 afternoons a week, I guess you could say I'm part time.

You sounded normal on the phone. Sorry to hear that man. If I didn't have diabetes, I'd loan you some kidneys. I mean they'd have to clean the Jack Daniels and Nicotine out of it, but I'm sure it could work. LOL

M688
The pics you and others post definitely make my day. lol Like the one ^^^^ there.

part time here, i work 3 12hr days full time and the other four im out scrapping. while running my machines at work tho im so bored and cant wait to get back out and start throwing stuff on the trailer

I'm on SS, its not a lot but it pays the bills. I scrap everyday like a full time job. I will be in my garage 9pm to 1am working when my kids are sleeping. Get up at 7am to get my oldest ready for preschool. Do pickups during the day, back to work at 9pm.

If it wasn't for scrapping I would have no extra cash at all. Before I started scrapping I would set in my house not able to go anywhere cuz I had no gas in the car or didn't even have a dollar to my name. So all day long I would just set there going stir crazy day in and day out till the first of the month (that's when I get paid). I couldn't take it anymore