But let’s remember though, that not everyone wanted to “progress further”. To many people if they had a job that they enjoyed and it paid sufficiently well then that is all they desired from life and as @Morticia said, there was never any ambition for any more.
As a case in point I had three sons that could have inherited my business when I retired but showed no interest in taking on the responsibility, so I just sold it off piecemeal and called it a day. A shame really but not everyone has it in them, nor does everyone want it to be!
@LongDriver , l found that the timing of my moves to other
Jobs turned out to be to my advantage !
My first move from the firm l did my apprenticeship with gave
me slightly more pay, but also gave me a lot of experience job
wise as well as abundant overtime and l was very happy there,
but p happened to see a job advertised in the newspaper which
was situated near Coventry, on attending an interview l found
this job needed experienced machine tool fitters and would pay
about double what l was getting in London with less overtime,
so for me it was a no brainer to make the move ??
My next move 7yrs later was to immigrate due to the union
activities of that time, this move was Moore difficult , but a couple of years later lheard that most machine tool companies
in UK were closing down and the car firms were also closing!
So it was fortunate for me l left UK when l did
I never realised how bad it was here till l returned about 5yrs ago
and saw the state the country was in ??
Donkeyman!
@Barry,. Same story with me Barry, my lad didn’t want to work for me, so l got him an apprenticeship with one of my customers
as a toolmaker, he chucked it in in 6 months ??
Donkeyman!
I should have taken up the entertainment industry when the opportunity blatantly stared me in the face. Instead, I took the ultra safe option and carried on working for the crown.
I had the height, the looks, the voice and musical skills as well as a well known bandleader trying to push me onwards, but as I had a family, I took the safe option and deserted the stage. Did I do the right thing? I’ll never know for certain, but at times even now, I do miss singing centre stage or leading my own band the way I used to do.
My school was virtually a crammer for Oxford.If you weren’t in the top ten they showed no interest.So I had five years of doing as little as possible without getting noticed.My father had an electrician chum who needed an apprentice and after a few shocks,I managed to reach retirement.
On thing that really holds back this country is class structure which I don’t agree with. When I worked for BT I met the poorest and multi millionaires. What levelled them all was thinking we all came into the world the same way via a women ,i mean, and we will all depart from the world as well. OK I have a nice house and comfortable living standard but who do the neighbours come to for help?
Nothing worse than being looked down upon because you are a tradesman, having been there any that come here to do some work the first thing is getting them a cup of tea or coffee.
Stuck up prigs I have no time for usually they a hopeless at the simplest of jobs anyway.
Also having been on the other side of the fence so to speak, because you have your own business people tend to think your stinking rich without considering the time money and effort put into the business to make it a success.
So yes the heading is correct regarding me I suppose.
Not that we have the class structure in this country where your accent determines your social status. It is also true to say that having a trade in this country is viewed as a very good thing (no such thing as a “tradesman entrance” here). I would even venture to suggest that, within an organisation, a tradesman is valued more highly than, say, an engineer.
You can only speak for your self, a retiree would say, if I decide at 10.00am this morning I want to do??? I can. I still work but, if I decide (@ 10.00am) I want to do??? I can, maybe that is doing OK in life?
I am mainly talking about the English class system. “Better off” is a relative term anyway, I am not rich but I can’t spend my retirement money quick enough to stop it accumulating so I have to give it away either to charity or my kids (All the while avoiding the pension means test). The problem is at our age there is only so much that you need or can spend - there is no point in being the richest corpse in the graveyard.
)
