Real quick gist of my situation I have a son (1yo) & a gf and I enjoy being able to work my shift and then go home and spend time with my family and spend time on weekends ya know the whole family man thing

I spent 1 year at welding school in Texas and I learn the basics of pipe welding, all 4 processes, exotic metals, torch cutting procedures basically everything to start welding and fabrication by myself (I fucked myself out of certs because I didn’t understand the importance of certain things at the time.) Ok. After school I went to California and worked 3 different jobs 1 was Heavy equipment repair 2 was fabrication 3 was structural steel shop fab. All in the past year or so

Now I got some experience under me and I’m not bullshitting anything anymore

So My plan was this December to get my certifications and get la city certified then go to union and apply well that kinda backfired because I got laid off so now I’ve applied to the union and called everyone on the call list (132 numbers) nobody’s hiring (well no shit but I figured maybe I would get lucky)

Ok so here’s my issue i want to do ironworking work but I also want to be able to come home and spend family time and maybe have time to setup and start my own fabrication side business so I can build my own company and do something I love while being financially free

Do you think I should bite the bullet and go into ironworking for the next 2-5 years and use this as a major stepping stone in my career Or should I get a fab shop job (6-2)and build a company on the side Do you think being an iron worker will give me time with my family? I dont have any role models or anything to guide me so I’m asking for help because I want a better future for myself and my family