I'm young, and I go to college for Horticulture, Landscaping, and Turf Management. Woodworking and carpentry have always been things I've loved, I always had an interest going back to watching my dad doing projects around the house as young kid. I took woodshop in Middle School, and all four years of high school I took a woodworking/carpentry class as electives. Through these classes, I learned everything from cabinet making to platform framing, and also learned how to use 3D design. I was a standout student in the class by a pretty big margin. I also took drafting and architectural design classes where I was a real standout student, but the reason I never chose to major in engineering or architecture is because I didn't enjoy it enough to do as a living, even with the big money. I also have a home shop I built, where I have about $5,000 worth of woodworking equipment where I still work with wood.
The reason I never went to further my education in carpentry is because I like the industry I'm majoring in now, and I also feared the outlook of the market I wanted to go into. I know there's good money and good job outlook in commercial construction and framing, and a lot of trade schools and colleges are geared around those industries. However, I'm not really into that, I would much rather work in finish carpentry. I would like to be self employed, and do work like custom furniture building, home renovations, basement finishing, general handyman work, and light construction (such as custom shed and chicken coop construction).
I go to a top school in the industry I'm in now, and there are many jobs I can find out of here (as other graduates have) that make decent livings at $35,000+/year starting. I do enjoy the trade, but I really miss carpentry and that's really my thing. I'm definitely going to finish up my education here, but I was considering going to another good college after this that offers a two year carpentry and cabinet making program.
My biggest concern which lead me to taking an alternative route is the fact that a lot of people can't afford custom carpentry these days, and even those that do, many prefer to get the cheap stuff from Walmart or wherever. When I was graduating, my construction teacher was happy with the choice I made, but he did encourage me to go into the field and said there's a lot of opportunity in custom carpentry. So I'm wondering if there is?