Hello fellow members! I reside in Indiana and am in the process of becoming licensed and insured (pre-licensing training is complete). My current plan is to continue studying up on the components of a home inspection as well as marketing. I am considering reaching out to a few well established inspectors in my area to see if they would let me do some shadowing. Whats some advice on this idea? Next I still am undecided whether I need to a.) Stay with my full-time job at the factory (5+ yrs) and be a part time LLC
b.) Become licensed and go to work under an established multi-inspector company
c.) Go full on business owner and start an LLC, leave my current employment and work my way to the top.
I have a single income household and family to provide for is definitely something I have to keep in mind when making this decision. I can clearly see what the end picture looks like and have my vision and goal set but the route im going to get there is still unclear.
Lastly, Anyone have a good answer as to why there doesn’t seem to be many female home inspectors, at least in my area!?
Becoming established with regular inspections can be quick or it can take months or years. Don’t quit your regular job. Once you become certified/licensed find a full time inspection company that will allow you to ride along so you can get an idea if this is something that is economically viable for you. Join your local chapters of inspection associations and/or just go to their meetings where you can possibly learn much more just from discussing conditions with other members.
If you are going to enter this profession it can take quite a bit of time just keeping current and expanding your knowledge on top of actually running a business. Possibly once you become licensed/certified you can hook into a local company and help with their overflow workload which can be more flexible for your time.
Working a full time job and trying to make any additional income from this on the side can be difficult as clients/consumers are frequently “last minute” seekers of our services. Obviously you don’t want to interfere with your current income stream as it can cause you issues at that job. It’s typically not worth burning your vacation/sick time just to take a possible job as even they can vaporize quickly leaving you out a day off. Also unless the children/other are a lot older/can take care of themselves it can cause issues working a job last minute.
Can’t tell you about why not many female Inspectors in your area.
Good luck and let us know how you progress.
I’ll take a guess.
Although I was never in the construction industry, notice all over the country most construction workers are male. I used to be a GE purchasing agent & cannot ever recall another gender as an electrical contractor.
Many of us here have some experience/background.
Example - how many females are there in the pest control/termite industry.
Think about it ~ if you happen to drive thru, let’s say, a new home development by Lenar, Transeastern ,etc, count how many workers you see & if they’re male or female.
Uh… good luck you you!, I’d go with the part time thingy & let the chips fall as they may, meaning hopefully you can market yourself & get inspections let’s say on the weekends.
I would definitely take advantage of your gender for marketing & company name. 
Here’s a good member that is on the forum but she used to be in construction.
Call Jenna & speak with her
https://www.sidecarhomeinspections.com/
Thank you for the advice and I will look into whether we have a local association here that holds meetings.
I definitely plan on sticking with this and not only that but being successful at it as well! Ill keep you posted. Thanks Again!
Great info! I will definitely check her out and probably give her a call too.
No construction background but i do have certifications that aren’t typically pursued by women, AWS Level 1 GMAW (welding) and CNC Mill operations (machining). Love the idea on taking advantage of gender in making my company name, not sure what you mean by the marketing but I plan on making appearances at all the local real estate agencies and networking with them. Thanks Again!
Jennas page is very inspiring and motivational, love it!
Do not quit your day job. Lot harder to start up a new business than it appears. Could go quick but more likely to take some time to get a regular income stream going. Best wishes!
Anjali - The advice given above is good on how to jump in and most folks here have MUCH more experience than I do. I also think that a woman, or more women in the industry is great. In Seattle, there are a lot of woman buyers buying on their own, and they may feel more comfortable with a woman inspector if the experience and reviews are similar. In addition, I have shadowed with a woman when I was starting out, and she had a bit of a different twist on things she keyed in on. She was incredibly detail oriented and quite impressive. If you can make it work with the transition from the standard job, I would say Kudos to you and stick it out. It will be worth it for you in the long run. The first year or so can be hit and miss, but just keep grinding! It will be worth it in the long run for you…I hope! Good luck
Hey thank you for the encouraging words, I am prepared for small beginnings and seeing it through. Good point on the female home buyers and sticking together. Hadn’t thought about that yet. Great great wise advice thank you!
If your on Facebook I would contact Rikki here. https://www.facebook.com/pg/rikkiinspects/about/?ref=page_internal
Or Email.
rikkineel333@yahoo.com
She is in the Houston area.
Hi Anjali,
I feel the same way you do. I finished an 8 week course at my local college and have all of my classroom hours. Next I need to pass the exam and gain insurance etc…I took the course with my boyfriend and we plan on starting our own business. Starting with weekend inspections and cold calling real estate offices. I have worked in manufacturing and construction as well as design and customer service backgrounds. I became interested after having have remodeled 3 of my own homes down to studs and did most of the work by myself on two of them. I was able to resell and start again. I know a little about a lot. I think women are far more detail oriented and am hoping to use my gender to help women feel at ease with a home inspection. I’d be interested in staying in touch to give each other pointers if you are interested.
Good luck in the meantime!
Sharon Anthony
Manchester NH.
Absolutely Sharon! Please do stay in touch and thank you for reaching out to me. I think its going to help that Ive recently gotten a job offer doing weatherization audits Mon-Friday. Im just sure that when its all said and done everything is going to fall right into place. Good luck on your state exam, when do you plan on taking it? Im aiming for the 1st of the year.
At the beginning of my career I began in O&G in Safety & Environmental Engineering and was the only female. From there to manufacturing, due diligence construction, assessments, audits, training, etc. and now commercial inspections process management, structures, environmental and safety risks. Seemingly, being the only female never really stood out to me I guess because you don’t miss what you never knew. I wouldn’t change ANYTHING. Most males deal with the facts, fewer emotions. Travel and meeting new people and seeing new places breaks the monotony of sitting behind a desk having to put on make-up every day and learning something new every day keeps me on my toes. Welcome! Signed Double-Minority & Loving It!
Im going to take it Dec 9. Get it over with before the holidays hit!