JonnyV

I'm giving some light consideration to applying to one of the best bike shops around. They're looking for someone with a passion for bikes, sales experience and its even a full time gig. Hey cool right? Well, i have no clue what they pay but I'm willing to say its less than what I make as a union sheetmetal worker for a class 1 railroad. But i hate that job. Midlife crisis at 34 maybe? Maybe. The enticing part is being able to see my wife more. Ride more. And get done with my schooling and receive my associates degree in business admin quicker. Thoughts? Anecdotes? I will say i miss working for a small business but theres that damn pay and benefits thing thats hard to beat.

milan4ever

Go for it. Life's too short to have a job that you hate. 34 is still young for a change

Machka 

Well ... minimum wage is better than nothing.

I'd ask what the pay rate is before you make any decisions you might regret.

Also keep in mind that you'll likely be working weekends ... does that appeal to you?

indyfabz

One of the best around? How many shops are around Bellwood, PA? I guess maybe in 'Toona?

talphie

JonnyV

State College. Though I always wanted to open one in Bellwood but the market just isnt there.

cycledogg

Been there done that. The bad part for me was working around all the young employees and owner. I have a die hard passion for bicycles, been working on them and riding them seriously for over 25 years. The youngsters there thought they knew it all, and always thought of me as some "old dude" who couldn't get a good job. I had been in engineering as a mechanical designer for 18 years. Just wanted a break form all that so I applied as a wrench/sales person at one of the best shops here. I know how things work, how to sale and experience in CSR. The owner only thought of $$ and being buddies with the younger staff. The "Head Wrench" thought he knew it all, and we always had arguments on how to properly repair problems. I also have 12 years as a industrial mechanic. He didn't even know how to remove or set a bearing. Anyhow, it made for a real nice job go sour. So, now I'm back at a profitable engineering firm, designing HVAC systems, riding and repairing my own bikes. Think twice, jump once.

cpach

Try to get a clear idea of starting pay and what the pay and benefits are likely to be if you treat it like a career. Get a clear idea if you'll be expected to work weekends and if that'll work for you.

I personally don't like sales enough to feel good doing it primarily (I'm a mechanic) but some people really thrive doing it. The difference in value between a good and great salesperson is considerable. If you looked your coworkers it can be a really fun environment and it feels good to set customers up so they can have a fun time in their bikes.

ksryder

There is no way any bike shop in the United States will match the salary and benefits of a union job with a railroad.

dougphoto

I worked at a shop when I was in grad school, it was fun but I was horrible at sales (and still am). But I was able to spend my days talking about bikes and truing wheels. However giving up a good union gig to a probably min wage with no benefits gig seems like not the best choice, I can't imagine your wife would be cool with this choice. I'd ask these questions, can you get health insurance through your wives gig? Does your wives gig have any sort of retirement, 401k, pension? Can your wives gig pay for your rent/mortgage the big things solo? The only way I'd do this is if you'd be able to finish your biz degree in less than 2 years and get onto looking for a new job.

seedsbelize 

There is a shop in Virginia that I won't even go into as a customer, because I'm always treated like a kindergartner by the 20 somethings. Good advice here.

Koyote

The responses are interesting and varied: some focus on the (likely) pay cut, others on the working environment in a bike shop, others on fringe benefits, etc.

I think this demonstrates that the bottom line is that only the OP can answer this question.

indyfabz

I'm a Conrailer.

mstateglfr 

The old adage about finding what you love in life and then figuring put a way to make money at it could hold true.

or, perhaps you will find, like many others have, that working at what you love makes it less fun.

no way to know without trying.

I prefer to stay at my job I dislike because the benefits outweigh the dislike.
compensation, health benefits, retirement benefits, and work/life balance can add up to make it worth staying at a job you don't love.


hope you can make it all work

kbarch

They may only be looking for fulltime staff, but would you be willing to give up a day for a few weekends in a row to help out? See if you like it, maybe get some perspective? Wouldn't hurt to ask....

rubiksoval

I worked in three different bike shops while getting my undergrad in business admin. I even did my final marketing project on running my own bike shop.

It was alright for a "just something to do" job, but god it'd suck as a real one.

Never, ever would I want to do that for any kind of necessary work. The ability to walk away immediately is very necessary.

JohnDThompson 

My experience working in a bike shop is that you shouldn't expect to ride more. The paradox is, the times when the weather is nicest and you'd love to be out riding are exactly the times when the bike shop is busiest.

But you may be able to see your wife more and finish your degree, so there's that.

armybikerider

I was an officer in the US Navy from 1984-1989. When I was got out I needed a break from all the deployments and at-sea time, so I took a full time sales job in a bike shop in San Antonio Texas. It was probably the most fun I've ever had at work. I loved talking about bikes all day....watching the mechanics and learning the finer points of bike repair.....hanging out with some of the local Cat 1's and 2's when they'd come in...test riding dream bikes......and especially getting newbies into the sport on a good bike that actually fit them - and watching them get the "ah ha" moment.

But minimum wage sucked. I mean really sucked and if it weren't for savings from my days in the Navy I wouldn't have been able to afford it. I did finally have to quit after about 4 years to return to the "real world" and get a decent job because I just couldn't afford to work there anymore. But I still think back to those days and the good times I had.

I'd do it again in a heart beat!

Machka 

Yeah, I've put in my time working retail.

From my experience,

-- if you're new, you often get the evening and weekend shifts ... which worked well for me because I was often in uni when I was working retail.
-- if you're lucky, you might be paid $1/hour over minimum.
-- benefits ... not likely.

-- and the customers ... most places I worked had mostly decent customers, but you're always going to get the weird, exhausting ones ...
... like the woman who lifted a whole stack of tops from the front table of the store, in different sizes, popped them into a generic shopping bag, then came back in about 30 min later wanting to "return" them all for cash ... and got quite upset when we told her we'd be ringing the authorities.
... or the one who imagined she was in one of those shows where people are given $5000 to buy a whole new wardrobe (that's what she told us!), and tried on just about everything in the shop ... and then walked out.
... or the one in the "Don't Worry, Be Happy" T-shirt, who asked for a blueberry turnover, which she got ... and ate 3/4 of ... then tried to tell me (scream at me at the top of her lungs) that she'd asked for an apple turnover because she was allergic to blueberries. Um ... at one bite, you couldn't tell the difference between blueberry and apple? You had to eat 3/4 of the thing to be sure? I had to just about bite my tongue off to keep from saying, "Don't worry ... be happy!" to her.


There are definitely days where you just want to lie down in a dark quiet room.

But as mentioned above ... some people really thrive on that kind of environment.

Stormy Archer

Yeah.... even the OK customers can be really clueless and expect to buy a nice bike for 150$ and get really confused if you try to tell them that 150$ won't get them much.

wheelreason

I'll leave the pay part out, spoiler alert, it's going to be small, but if you think you are going to work retail and "have more time to ride, and spend with family" you are going to be disappointed.

Ritalalala

It is a cool thing to develop a hobby into a career.