Seeking building opportunities USA

Hi All! I’m z and I’m seeking natural building in the USA (or maybe elsewhere in the Americas we can live in for a year or so)

I wish to work and learn more long term than a workshop. A dream would be to work with a company, but that seems like a long shot. I’d also be interested in an apprenticeship or a volunteer opportunity.

My partner and I plan on relocating in October, and would like to do it somewhere I can really be involved in a natural building community. It’s seems like southwest might be the region. But I’d really like to have a gig nailed down.

I’ve become more intentional in my search for a place to work and learn as these are skills I yearn to be confident and knowledgeable in.  

If you’re familiar with any companies/organizations that are looking to hire or take on apprentices, please let me know.

Cheers,

Z

Z a bit more detail about your skills, desires, preferred location would perhaps help with responses. good luck

Hi Zee,

Just about any small business owner in the trades will probably be happy to take you on as an apprentice, so long as you have reliable transportation, possibly a basic set of quality tools, and a good attitude. Being presentable, punctual, etc. will help seal the deal. And unlike a workshop, where you pay to learn, as an apprentice you get paid to learn.

"Natural building" is unfortunately niche, so it might be difficult to find contractors in that niche who have enough work to hire and train you, so my suggestion would be to try and work with contractors in conventional construction (where there is often a labor shortage, especially for "quality" help!), learn as much as you can, and then apply your knowledge to natural building once you gain a level of mastery.

That's more or less what I'm doing.

As far as which trade to look at, I personally have been extremely happy with electrical work which I got into a year ago, and there are several objective facts I can point to to recommend it:

1. As an electrician you are exposed in a hands-on way to basically all the other trades. You will cut wood. You will connect pipes. You will learn and understand the basics of framing, HVAC, flooring, and so on. (The same is not true in reverse! Many carpenters can wire an outlet, but that's about all they know.)

2. Electricians are typically among the best paid tradespeople. And, many DIYers stop short of doing their own electrical work, so you're also getting a skill that makes you inherently more valuable and in-demand than, say, carpentry or roofing or landscaping or something.

3. Electricians typically have the fewest, lightest, least expensive tools to carry around. (This is not to say the job isn't physically demanding, just that it is less physically demanding than most of the other trades.)