I recently typed out answers to several interview questions for a book that will be part of a series titled Careers in the Building Trades-A Growing Demand. The interview was all about getting into this profession and was meant as advice for people interested in becoming home inspectors. Because I took the time to type all of this out, I thought it would make a good "bloggy" type of blog post.

How long have you worked as an inspector? What inspired you to get into this field?
I started training to be a home inspector when I was six. My dad was a carpenter, and I got to go along with him and help him on the job a lot. I was homeschooled until 5th grade, so I ended up spending a lot of full days doing demolition and carpentry. Up until I was old enough to get my first real job at the age of 16, I spent my summers working with my dad doing carpentry.
When I got my first real job at a hardware store, I couldn't believe that I was getting paid to just stand there and cashier or stock shelves. It was the easiest job in world… at least compared to carpentry. Every job I've ever had has been far less physically demanding than carpentry.
I digress. Getting back to the question, my real desire was always to be a teacher. All throughout junior high and high school, I wanted to be a teacher. I enjoy teaching others and I'm good at it. I always thought I'd grow up to be a teacher, and as it turns out, I was kind of right.
I graduated high-school in 1997, and my dad purchased Structure Tech that same year. He had been doing home inspections part-time for many years, but this purchase pushed him into full-time home inspector status. I started with Structure Tech that year, answering the phone and writing reports. I worked full-time at first, then part-time, then a few hours a month while working full-time at Home Depot.
In 2004, my dad convinced me that I could satisfy my desire to teach by becoming a home inspector, and he was right. I've been a home inspector ever since.
Can you please tell me about a day in your life on the job?
These days, I spend most of my time managing Structure Tech. I don't do a whole lot of home inspections anymore; maybe one per week. For the rest of the inspectors in my company, however, their day begins with their morning commute. We perform one or two inspections per day. We arrive at our inspection about 15 minutes before the scheduled time to help make sure we're the first ones there.
We typically meet our clients right at the beginning of the inspection, and we encourage our clients to follow us around during the inspection. We explain how the house works, and we explain our findings as we go through the house. If it's a two-inspection day, we eat lunch on the road in-between inspections. If we're lucky, we type up a good portion of our morning report before the afternoon inspection. We do not type reports on-site; we find that doing so takes away from our time with our clients.