Thread: Balancing a job while pursuing becoming a home inspector, seeking advice

How do you perform home inspection while working a full-time Monday through Friday 9am-5pm job? I assume most inspections are performed during these hours.
Did you have to work take a night shift job? Did you have to switch to working part-time? Did you have to call in sick at your regular full-time job so you could perform inspections?

Thank you in advance.

Similar Threads:

• Water in crawl space. Hiring Home Inspector for advice?
• Seeking CT Home Inspector
• Virtual Home Inspector Office Advice
• Seeking advice on how to repair a notched i-joist

Hi Mike
It is a challenge. The most obvious is to do inspections on the weekends. When I started doing inspections, I had a full time job as well. I would use vacation days, or personal unpaid days. I worked my other job a couple years doing inspections part time, but I also had a pretty good set up with union regs regarding overtime and work hours. I also got over 20 days of vacation per year.

If you call in sick and are found "working" you could lose your job. That's not a good option. Never falsify stuff at your real job, you never know who your clients may be, or know.

My regular job involved the occasional very early start. Because I was starting earlier than normal, I earned overtime, so I banked my overtime as "comp time". I volunteered for every early morning shift and loaded up on comp time. Many days I could leave at 1:30 or 2 instead of 5.

If your regular job is flexible, then take half days off, or full days to do inspections. In the summer, you might be able to start an inspection after 5.

A lot depends on how your regular job is set up, and your an ability to take time off. You may have to just do weekends until you get enough business to quit your day job.
Good luck.

I worked almost 40 hours a week for 2 years at a retail job that allowed me to come in around 1-2pm with a day off during the week. It's not easy but it can be done.

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

I worked almost 40 hours a week for 2 years at a retail job that allowed me to come in around 1-2pm with a day off during the week. It's not easy but it can be done.

When there is a will,there is a way,keep your day job,good luck.

Inspect on evenings, weekends and vacation days. Using sick days for inspecting is dishonest; don't do it unless your employer approves ahead of time. The difficulty is finding time for marketing.

My two cents may only be worth two cents, since I migrated into home inspection from being in another self employed profession. But when I first went into self employment, I saved up twelve months of bills payment. That gave me a year to get my business going before I had to worry about paying a bill. As it turned out, I didn't fully account for unexpected expenses and I ran out of money in about eight months, but I had my business going and I survived. So, my recommendation is to save up fifteen months worth of bills, before jumping into a self employed profession.

I worked in restaurants wating tables and tending bar for about 3 years while I was first doing inspections. The evening hours worked great and left me free to do inspections during the day. And the worst client at an inspection can't even come close to a cranky diner that you have to suck up to no matter what

Of course, restaurant work isn't for everyone but you can actually make some pretty fat cash for the hours you're working.

When I started I switched to a night time job delivering pizzas, I have been inspecting for just about a year and am finally about to start dropping my hours delivering to half what they are. I could not imagine it being easy at all to balance a day job while inspecting and if your job is straight 9-5 with little leway your only option will be to inspect on the weekends until you get enough business. I make about $16 an hour delivering pizzas which isn't bad as a second night job to me.

Originally Posted by Kyle Montgomery

When I started I switched to a night time job delivering pizzas, I have been inspecting for just about a year and am finally about to start dropping my hours delivering to half what they are. I could not imagine it being easy at all to balance a day job while inspecting and if your job is straight 9-5 with little leway your only option will be to inspect on the weekends until you get enough business. I make about $16 an hour delivering pizzas which isn't bad as a second night job to me.

I think I'd be pissed if I ordered a pizza and the delivery guy was the inspector who inspected my house.

When I decide to make the jump into HI, I was lucky..my wife had a great job... I was getting tired of being a kept man..