Turned down a $4 more an hour shop job in Fresno last spring to stay solo, and my back is still mad about it
Steady paycheck and someone else hauling the underlayment sounded great, but I did the math on the drive and the overtime and it came out even. Now I am curious who here left a steady crew job for solo work and whether the flexibility was worth the hit.
Ran the same math when I went solo two years back and yeah the steady check looks nice until you add up the unpaid windshield time between jobs and the hours you eat waiting on a crew that moves slow. Four bucks sounds like a raise but it disappears fast once you count the drive and the overtime you never actually get paid for. Staying solo means your back suffers but your schedule belongs to you, and that trade worked out way better for me than any crew gig ever did. Getting to say no to a bad job or take a Tuesday off when you need it is worth more than people give it credit for. The steady guys I know are making the same money they made three years ago while working twice the weekends.