Wow. There is no easy answer for this. Give your cousin the early notice and point out to him that you could have just walked off if he starts to cut your pay. You may have to abort going to the GTG if push comes to shove. Definitely talk to the welding shop first to get a better feel for your options.

 

Maybe I can tell my cousin the whole story. The welding shop guy (Clayton) said I could work for him a couple weeks as basically a trial run for both of us. Maybe I can explain to my cousin that he is giving me a trial and maybe tell my cousin that when I get back from my trip I'm going to work for him for a couple weeks with the potential to leave him for the new job. At least then I might can fall back on him if it doesn't work out. Not sure how exactly to explain that.

 

Yes, be honest with your cousin. If he is a true friend, he will be happy for you. If he is not, you do not want to be working for him anyway.

 

I feel this new job is a good opportunity to pursue, I could go more into detail in my thoughts, but you have already received similar from the other guys here.
What I would give as advice, would be to just be open and hinest with you cousin about the opportunity, how you feel about it, and its potential, and your desire to pursue it. Ask for his thoughts, and opinions on the opportunity, as well as his feelings about you moving on and not working for him. See how he responds, see if he has intentional interest and advise for you and your future, and not just his cause he needs a helper. His advice, or reaction can be a good asset in your decision making.
As much as you feel dedicated to your cousin, at the end of the day, it is your future and your goals for a career/work, there is no need to feel guilty about pursuing opportunity, as long as that pursuing is done with integrity.

Also something to note, if leaving and moving into a new job is decided on, the intermediate time of the switchover can sometimes be excruciatingly hard. I do not feel that months is needed, 2 weeks is sop, a month is very generous, any longer and I feel it could strain your working relationship with your cousin.

I also do not feel if you should pursue this opportunity that you should let making the choice drag out, rightfully consider it like you are and then be concise and clear in communication with the owner of the welding shop.

I also also do not feel that you should use the gtg as an item to hold of on the switch for. As fun and enjoyable it is to go hang out with these great guys, it can wait (I know, I am a buzz kill sorry guys)
If you do want to wait until afterwards, just be short in explanation with the possible new employer, and just say you have commitments you need to follow through with, and give him a firm start date, no need to go in depth with details. He should respect your desire to keep commitments, just as he will expect you to be committed to him.

 

Whatever. The GTG should be more of a priority for some commenting here! Lol.

As far as notices and leaving cuz hanging, he is in the same boat as everyone else. Good help is hard to find and he’s lucky to have you. If you don’t leave him hanging (no notice), he should be willing to take you back when the next guy doesn’t work out.

Nobody who cares about you can ever be mad you moved on for a better opportunity. It’s not like cousin has spent a bunch of $$ training you or paying for certifications, etc so you can do this job.

There is a line somewhere between ‘staying safe’ and continuing to do something comfortable/easy and stepping out to try something new and increasing your skill set and income potential.

 

I need to come to the gtg now,

I need some welding done

 

Tristan, if you are unable to make this GTG due to an employment opportunity, there will be another GTG. We have always held true to "friends and family are always welcome" and "the GTG is an opportunity, not an obligation". If you make the GTG and start your new job after that, we would be glad to have you. If you are unable to make the April GTG, we look forward to seeing you in the future.

 

I always thought that was a dumb design. 😂

 

Well, I definitely am going to talk with the guy at the welding shop first. He told me he was fine waiting for me to get my ducks in a row before calling him. I'm going to see if he'll let me start as soon as I get back from the GTG. Of course I'm just going to tell him I have a trip planned and I'd like to start when I get back. As soon as I get the go ahead on that I'm going to break the news to my cousin which would be plenty of notice and as long as he doesn't get upset about it, everything will be perfectly fine for me to still make the GTG. I would hate to see my sister's face if I told her we weren't going to make it after I already told her we were.

I think I have made up my mind though, I really don't want to keep doing the type of work I've been doing with my cousin. It wouldn't be so bad if my wrists weren't hurting so bad everyday all day. When your hands swell up to the point it is hard to drive after running the weed eater all day, it's kind of hard to be motivated to keep doing it especially since I don't enjoy it on top of that. My hands are still probably going to have their moments of pain in the new job but, I won't be using a weed eater.

In other news, I think it was earlier in this thread, we were talking about using the backpack harness style weed eaters to help my hands. It's so much worse. Somehow, the strap resting on my shoulder irritates the nerve enough to make my hands swell up. Actually I think it hurts worse. It happens a lot when I have a backpack blower on too. I can feel the vibration in my shoulder and within minutes my hand is starting to swell but if I take the backpack blower off, it'll settle back down after a while. Not sure how the straps sitting on my shoulder effects my left wrist so much but I assume it's because the nerve runs all the way through that area. So unfortunately, I'm stuck with the handheld weed eaters but, in other news, I have all of my own equipment for my side business, and it just so turns out that these older stihl weed eaters all have a built-in trigger lock! My cousin's weed eaters do not have that. so much nicer to be able to just lock the trigger and not have to keep squeezing it. Although the vibration still sucks but, it is considerably better and takes twice as long for my hands to hurt as bad. So I can maintain my side hustle even with the welding job without all the repercussions that happen running with my cousin all day everyday. It also helps that when doing my customers yards I don't have to run just the weed eater all day. I get to mow too

I want to thank everybody for their advice and help in this predicament. I think I know what I need to do now! Thanks!

 

Just to be safe though, retrieve everything you own in your cousin's shop and triple secure your home before you leave for the GTG. Set up security cams. Notify your sheriff.

 

You said you’ve been working 7 days a week. You might be able to work weekends with your cousin at first to help cover the pay differential a bit. This may help him be let down gently too.

FTN has a point. Just out of extra caution it might be good to get most of your belongings back home before telling him. This is assuming some of your equipment is at his job sites too.

I hope he wants the best for you and will be supportive. You are certainly trying to go out of your way to help him.

 

We are in the clear for the GTG! I talked with the nice guy at the welding shop and told him the ****tywation. He said he's fine waiting 3- 4 months. The job will still be available. So, I will wait till after the GTG and break the news to my cousin and from there he will have plenty of time to find a helper.

 

Sounds great Tristan. We will see you and Nicole at the GTG!

 

@runningman777 is right when he said "you've got it bad."

It is clear that, at least for the time being, welding is something that you want to do.

What is that saying.... when your job is something you like doing anyway, it is no longer work?

@Hyakkimaru , your liking of welding is obvious, and at your young age there is no reason for you not to pursue a trade that you like doing.

On the thought of leaving landscaping, there is another saying that applies to a career change... turning over a new leaf.

(*PeeeeeP* ... another steak dinner for @FordTruckNoob )

----------

On New Year's Day of 2023, in this very thread, I mentioned...

And just three months later... here you are.

Is this the Ides of March? Or is it Manifest Destiny?

Or is it You, Tristan, Making the Most with what you have, and Making it Happen.

Keep up your hard work, and follow your heart.

 

We can't wait to see ya'll again! I have your rims ready to go. I might pressure wash the insides a little bit to clean them up for you. The insides are pretty nasty!