Millions of people in America are out of work. Face it, finding a job is difficult these days - more so for some than for others. Do you feel like employers are looking at something other than your qualifications? Why leave the decision in their hands? Start a business of your own. Do you like to work with your hands? Do you like the way that attention to detail makes the whole job beautiful? You should consider learning how to do auto body repair.
A job might seem more inviting. If you have a job, you don't have to worry about your taxes, they are withheld for you. You might have benefits provided to you at a price people without jobs cannot get. You are told what to do instead of having to be a self-motivator, which can be tough on cold mornings.
Instead, consider auto body repair as a job owner.
I said "job owner" because you may want to contract your services to a local body shop, you might want to do it as a "shade tree" guy (just make sure your customers can and are willing to pay), or you might want to open your own shop.
A couple of things about opening your own shop: capitalization of a small business is tight these days. If you can provide testimonials and/or pictures of your work, they may help the cautious customers decide to go with you. As you establish your name in the area, that becomes less of a concern. If you want a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, you may want to contact SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives, a service provided by the SBA). They are good for recommendations and may really be able to help you get it off the ground.
Training for the work can be obtained through a study course or through a community college or vo-tech (vocational/technical training school), or some body shops will put you to work, starting at the bottom (read: sweeping the floor) and learning to do the work from the other employees. The study course I would send you to will be at your pace and cost a lot less than the vo-tech, and I believe will provide more comprehensive instruction than an in-shop apprenticeship.
Before you take any action on this, please know this: there are harsh chemicals being used in a body shop and if you have or have ever had breathing problems or a tendency toward breathing problems, a body shop might not be for you. There are many things that you may qualify to do, but if you damage your health trying to work on cars in a body shop, that will do no one any good and you will still be out the money for any training you engaged.
