“I’d rather not be a roofer.“

Terry O’Quinn, Actor

Pros and Cons of Working as a Roof Mechanic

You consider becoming a roofer but are not sure whether this is the right career path for you or not?

Great! Stick with me since I will show you all the pros and cons of being a roofer in the following chapters.

Roofer Job Profile

Advantages of Being a Roofer

1. Roofers can get a lot of fresh air
2. Roof mechanics don’t have to work many extra hours
3. You barely have to work in the evening or at nighttime
4. Good work-life balance for roofers
5. Roofing contractors enjoy decent job security
6. Good future job prospects
7. You can do your friends favors
8. Becoming a roofer can also help you for your own life
9. You can avoid working in classical office jobs
10. You see the results of your labor every day
11. Roofers do an important job to keep our system working
12. Working as a roofer is not that stressful
13. You can start your own roofing business
14. You can build a strong network of people
15. Roofers can start a digital channel

Roofers can get a lot of fresh air

One advantage of being a roofer is that you will get lots of fresh air.

In fact, you will work outdoors most of the time and while compliance officers and many other people sit in offices with poor air quality, you can really do your lungs a favor.

Moreover, your brain will also work better when it gets lots of fresh air and you will likely also feel much better at work compared to another person who will just have to work indoors all day long.

Roof mechanics don’t have to work many extra hours

As a roofer, you will also not have to work long hours every day. Quite often, roofers only work 40 hours per week or even less.

The more experienced you are, the faster you will be able to do your work and this will also allow you to take some breaks.

Hence, becoming a roofer can also make quite a lot of sense for you in case you want to have lots of leisure and money is not the only thing that drives you in life.

You barely have to work in the evening or at nighttime

Another upside to becoming a roofer is that you will also not have to work at nighttime.

Quite often, you will just work from 9 to 5 and will come home rather early from work.

Not only will you have the opportunity to spend lots of quality time with your family, but you could also meet up with your favorite people after work. You could also spend your time on your hobbies.

Opportunities are almost endless in this regard and I am sure you will have many things to do in your life that you like even more than working.

Good work-life balance for roofers

Most roofers also report a pretty good work-life balance in general.

In fact, many of them would be even willing to work more hours and barely anyone complained about excessive workload.

Sure, from time to time, you will have to do many jobs at the same time and coordinating your tasks can be demanding.

However, most of the time, you will come home early and will have enough time to spend with your favorite people.

Roofing contractors enjoy decent job security

Roofers are also in quite high demand right now.

Due to the housing shortage, there are many construction projects that need to be carried out in a rather short period of time and this means that you will be able to get more jobs than you could ever complete as a roofer.

Consequently, you also don’t have to worry about becoming unemployed and even if you do for some strange reason, chances are that you would find another job pretty soon.

Good future job prospects

Not only do roofers enjoy good job security right now, but they will also be in great shape in this regard in the future.

An increasing number of people want to live in our big cities and this means that we have to build a lot of houses.

Moreover, world population increases with rapid speed and an increasing global population also means that we need a higher number of construction workers and roofers to build enough homes.

Hence, becoming a roofer can also make quite a lot of sense if you want to have a secure job for many years to come.

You can do your friends favors

Another benefit of working as a roofer is that you can also help out your family and friends.

For instance, if the roof of someone gets damaged from a storm, you can fix those issues rather soon and your friends don’t have to hire external roofers that could be quite costly.

Moreover, your friends can be sure that the issue will be solved in time and will also not have to rely on third parties that may do a pretty bad job.

Instead, they can rely on you and will know that you do great work while you can also make some additional money on the side.

Becoming a roofer can also help you for your own life

Not only will you be able to help out many people during your career as a roofer, but your roofing knowledge can also greatly help you in your private life.

For instance, if you want to build a home, you can do all the roofing yourself and this can save you lots of money compared to a state where you would have to hire a roofing company.

Moreover, you can also make sure that you choose the best quality roofing tiles so that your roof will last for quite a long time.

You can avoid working in classical office jobs

As a roofer, you will also not have to work in traditional office environments. Instead of sitting in front of a computer screen all day long, you can enjoy the fresh air.

Sure, some people also like working in those office environments.

However, many people don’t since they feel kind of strange and unnatural in those office towers and rather want to do hands-on work instead of boring presentations.

Consequently, you should ask yourself what type of person you are. If you don’t want to work in classical office jobs, you may become much happier with working as a roofer or a tradesperson in general.

You see the results of your labor every day

Another advantage of working as a roofer is that you will also see the results of your labor every workday.

In fact, it can be quite nice and motivating if you see the progress on a regular basis since you know that you work towards a specific goal. Many other people don’t have those tangible goals and rather have to do boring things on their computer.

Those people often get quite frustrated in the long run since they will just not build something of great importance and will lose interest in what they are doing pretty soon.

Therefore, becoming a roofer can also make sense if you search for a job where you can really track your results and have an end goal that you want to accomplish.

Roofers do an important job to keep our system working

Roof mechanics are also quite important to keep our system running. Imagine a world without roofers.

Barely anyone of us would be able to build a home. Moreover, in case of necessary repairs, we would have nobody to call who could do the work.

Consequently, the quality of our buildings would decrease substantially and so would our overall quality of life.

Hence, as a roofer, you will be quite important to assure and maintain the high living standard humanity has achieved up to this point.

Working as a roofer is not that stressful

Many roofers also report that they have a pretty relaxed workday most of the time.

Sure, there may be periods where clients are annoying and there is a lot of work to do.

However, most of the time, roofers can work in a rather relaxed manner.

Moreover, you will also be able to work quite independently as a roofer.

Instead of having a boss looking over your shoulder all day long, you will be able to work on your own with a high level of responsibility and independence, at least as long as your results are good and your clients are happy with what you are doing.

You can start your own roofing business

You also don’t have to work as an employed roofer forever.

While many people just like to work as employees, others want to have their own businesses since they just want to have control over everything that happens during work.

Hence, if you are the entrepreneurial type of person, it can also be a great choice for you to become a roofer since it is relatively easy to start your own business in this field and you can also make much more money compared to just working as an employee in this field.

Sure, working self-employed is not for everyone and there are also some downsides related to it.

Yet, you will still have the opportunity as a roofer to quit your job one day and to manage your own business if you want to and this gives you plenty of flexibility regarding how you want to work in the long run.

You can build a strong network of people

During your career as a roofer, you will also be able to meet many different people.

Quite often, those people will have lots of money and good connections to other important people out there.

Hence, if you manage to become friends with some of your clients, you will also be able to build a strong network of people from which you could benefit in various parts of your future life.

Roofers can start a digital channel

Not only will you be able to make money from your roofing job, but you will also have the option to start a YouTube channel or a blog about roofing.

In fact, many people out there want to learn more about how they can fix issues around their home and if you give those people valuable tips, they will greatly appreciate your advice and chances are that you will be able to build a huge audience over time.

In the long run, you will also have the opportunity to monetize this audience and you may even be able to earn more money from those digital channels than from your day job.

Now that you know all the advantages of becoming a roofer, we should now have a look at the downsides that come along with it so that you get a more comprehensive picture of what a career as a roofer really looks like.

Disadvantages of Working as a Roofer

1. Working as a roofer can be physically demanding
2. Roofers often suffer from long-term health issues
3. Accidents are quite common
4. Roof mechanics don’t make a lot of money
5. You may not be able to save enough for retirement
6. Roofers may not be able to afford proper health insurance
7. You will not be able to afford any luxury
8. Roofers have to work under extreme conditions
9. You will not learn many hard skills apart from roofing
10. Difficult to switch fields for roofers
11. Rather low social standing
12. Clients can be demanding
13. Difficult profession if you want to have kids
14. You can’t work remotely as a roofer
15. You may have to quit your job in the long run

Working as a roofer can be physically demanding

One disadvantage of being a roofer is that it can be physically demanding.

Quite often, you will have to work on the roofs of people and this means that you will have to balance your body on a regular basis.

Moreover, you will also have to lift heavy tiles on a continuous basis.

This can be quite exhausting and many roofers come home tired and just want to sit on their couches after work instead of doing something fun while secretaries and many other people often have more energy left after work.

Roofers often suffer from long-term health issues

Due to the physical burden that comes along with working as a roofer, many people who work in this field also develop serious physical health issues.

For instance, spine problems and serious back pain are quite common and these problems may become worse once people get older.

Hence, if you don’t want to work in a physically demanding environment and also want to minimize your risk of suffering from physical health issues, chances are that you should not become a roofer but rather work in an office environment instead.

Accidents are quite common

Another problem with becoming a roofer is that you will also have an above-average risk to get involved in serious accidents.

In fact, there are many roofers falling from roofs every year and some of them even lose their lives due to those accidents.

Sure, the risk that you are one of them is relatively small.

However, the possibility exists and you should therefore also make sure that you are willing to take on this risk before you decide that you want to work in this field.

Roof mechanics don’t make a lot of money

You should also not expect to make good money as a roofer.

Sure, you will often earn enough money to cover your basic expenses.

However, you will still only earn a small fraction of what other people like doctors or investment bankers make.

Hence, make sure that money is not your primary driver in life before you decide for a career as a roof mechanic.

You may not be able to save enough for retirement

Due to your relatively low salary, you may also not be able to save and invest enough money for retirement age.

Consequently, once you get older and are no longer able to work, you may also no longer have enough money to pay rent and other basic expenses.

In turn, you may lose your home and may even end up homeless.

Roofers may not be able to afford proper health insurance

Many roofers are also not able to afford good health insurance.

While many of them only have basic health insurance plans, some of them don’t have health insurance at all.

This can be a real problem, especially if you suffer from serious health issues one day and are not able to afford proper medical treatment.

You will not be able to afford any luxury

Since your roofer salary will often just be enough to pay your basic expenses, you will also not be able to afford any luxury.

This can be really frustrating, especially if you have friends who make much more money than you and who always brag about the nice things they have bought.

Thus, make sure that luxury is not that important to you before you decide for becoming a roof mechanic since you will most likely not be able to enjoy any of it.

Roofers have to work under extreme conditions

While working outdoors can be nice during times of sunshine and nice temperatures, it can also be quite annoying and exhausting during times of bad weather.

In fact, many roofers have to work in the cold while other people work in rather cozy environments indoors and you should make sure that you are willing to work under these extreme conditions before you decide for a career as a roofer.

You will not learn many hard skills apart from roofing

Another downside of becoming a roofer is that you will simply not learn many hard skills during your career.

Sure, you will be able to acquire decent knowledge about roofing.

However, you will often lack important digital and analytical skills and may also no longer understand how the world works in the future.

Difficult to switch fields for roofers

Due to your lack of important hard skills, you will also have a rather hard time switching fields.

Quite often, roofers have to work in their profession since they just don’t find a company they could work for in a different field.

Hence, before becoming a roofer, make sure that this is what you really want to do for the rest of your life to avoid any issues in this regard.

Rather low social standing

Roofers also don’t have the highest social standing.

While your clients may appreciate your work, many other people in society may belittle what you do for a living and some people will even try to bring you down.

Moreover, you may also have problems in the dating market since a low social status and a low salary are just not a good combination when it comes to finding a partner for a long-term relationship.

Clients can be demanding

Another problem with working as a roofer is that also your clients can be demanding.

While many of your clients will appreciate your work, others just can’t be happy and will often search for a scapegoat where they can release their frustration.

Thus, also make sure that you know how to handle difficult people before you decide for a roofer career.

Difficult profession if you want to have kids

Due to the high risk of injuries and accidents and the relatively low salary, becoming a roofer may also be problematic in case you want to have kids one day since your family will always have to worry about you and also about how to pay your bills.

You can’t work remotely as a roofer

As a roofer, you will also have to be present at work in person.

While many other people who work in office jobs will be able to work remotely, you will have to commute to work every day and this implies that you will have to spend lots of time and money on it in the long run.

Moreover, you will also be less flexible since you will not be able to do some private things during your workday like many other people are able to do.

You may have to quit your job in the long run

Once you get older, you may also simply no longer have the power to work as a roofer and may have to quit your job in the long run.

In turn, you may no longer be able to pay your bills and may suffer from serious poverty.

Top 10 Being a Roofer Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Become A Roofer?

As you can see from the previous analysis, there are many advantages and disadvantages of being a roofer.

You should definitely take your time and evaluate all the pros and cons yourself before making a decision that could have a great impact on what your future life will look like.

If you are still interested in becoming a roofer, you should also get detailed information on salaries, job prospects, future outlook, work-life balance, duties, educational requirements and job satisfaction of roofers.

Also make sure to check out the following articles to get more information on different job options:

Advantages and disadvantages of becoming a tailor

Advantages and disadvantages of becoming an electrician

Advantages and disadvantages of becoming a property manager

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roofer

https://www.statista.com/statistics/756436/leading-contractors-in-roofing-industry-by-revenue-us/

Own research and interviews.

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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