how much experience do i need?

I am new to the metal recycling field , meaning i have not even started finding scrap metal yet. Now here is my question, how much experience in scrapping have you guy acquired, before starting your own business?

I would say that if you are scrapping at all then you already started your own business.

You *need* a 4 year degree, and it's called Scrap Metal Forum.

when you have completed your course requirements, my paypal address davipu@yahoo.com, for your graduation kit, for just the cap and gown it is $75, 34.99 for the diploma, and three easy payments of 99.99 for the official tool kit.

As quickly as you can decipher good info from bad info; the challenge is knowing the difference. Knowing comes from doing. Good luck...

I have aspirations in starting my own scrapping business,and not just scrap as a side job. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the advice!
This summer i am going to try this Metal recycling out and see how i feel about it.

LOL no one is just going to openly list how to scrap metal for you in a nice bullet format and then hold your hand along the way. There is no power point presentation for this or lecture hall that you can sit in that will help you out. This isn't a franchise opportunity. You get out of scrapping what you put into it. You don't risk anything, except going broke. Seriously, it sounds obtuse unless you give it some thought. Scrapping in general doesn't have "F" all to do with your commerce courses. You buy low, pray you sell high. People have been doing this for thousands of years whether it be in trade or currency. That said, metal is like the stock market. Prices vary from day to day, week to week, and so on and so forth. Scrapping is in effect, work and hard work. Networking, loading, cleaning metal, sorting, and learning what not to scrap but to resell... It all comes from experience and you just don't sit down on youtube or ebay to seal the deal. Sure, a few sources out there can serve as guidelines, but you're going to make mistakes. You're going to fall on your face a few times. The resilient and the persistent are the ones putting money in the bank. Why? Because scrapping is a career choice that exists purely because of waste and refuse. You want advice from a veteran? Read the forum and read it diligently. This forum is to scrappers what the bible is for clergy.

Lastly, 5 things that you need to know..

1)Ask before you take something (It's get complicated... Trust me)
2)Tools are your friend.
3)Get a truck.
4)Different yards equal different prices
5)Labor equals time, time equals money (Learn the balance)

Gotta appreciate tough love. Yeah, i completely understand. I really do appreciate all the advice given to me, this forum community is an awesome place. Thank you Fatman.

Sitting around "planning to" do it isn't really worth a hill of beans. Ain't nothing to it, but to do it.

Get used to listening for people to talk about getting a new phone/laptop/microwave/whatever and ask for the old one. Collect cans and take them to you local scrapyards to get a little insight into how they work. When you are walking around your neighborhood, keep an eye out for what is being put on the curb, you'll be surprised what you find once you train yourself to look for it.

For some reason, this thread is stuck stirring around in my head.

Your commerce (buying, selling, trading) classes can be boiled down to this: Everything around you has a value to somebody. The trick is to find the right mix of "things" to "people that want those things". People will literally buy crap. Go to a plant nursery, or lawncare dept at a big-box hardware store... big 'ole bags of manure for sale. PEOPLE WILL LITERALLY BUY CRAP. When you think about it, that makes selling pretty much anything else a piece of cake, right? And that's all scrapping is, is buying and selling other people's waste materials.

To get started in the commerce of scrap, don't get bogged down with the analysis paralysis, and planning, and blah blah blah. Just start doing it. It's hard work if you want to be successful, but it's very satisfying on many levels. With experience, you will learn far more than talking about it on the internet. Although, with that said, reading through this forum thoroughly will help you to get better and shorten the learning curve we all experience at the beginning. After getting your feet wet, then you will see if you want to specialize, or plan out a particular business strategy to grow your business.