My Home Improvement MayJune 2019

Ready to work?

Here are some

home improvement

careers to consider:

Architect

Brickmasons, blockmason,

and stonemason

Carpenter

Carpet, floor, and tile

installer and finisher

Cement mason,

concrete finisher, and

terrazzo worker

Civil engineer

Construction laborer

Construction management

Drywall installer,

ceiling tile installer,

and taper

Electrician

Equipment operator

Framer

Glazier

Groundskeeper

Home appraiser

Home inspector

HVAC technician

Insulation worker

Interior designer

Iron worker

Landscape architect

Master gardener

Painter

Pipelayer, plumber,

pipefitter, and steamfitter

Plasterer and stucco mason

Remodeler

Roofer

Site layout/survey engineer

Structural iron and

steel worker

Welder

Professional

organizations

American Society of Interior

Designers (ASID)

Ga.ASID.org

Design Collective ATL

DesignCollectiveAtl.com

Greater Atlanta Home

Builders Association (GAHBA)

AtlantaHomeBuilders.com

National Association of the

Remodeling Industry (NARI)

NARIAtlanta.org

National Kitchen & Bath

Association (NKBA)

Photos courtesy of (top) University of Georgia Marketing & Communications; (bottom) Gwinnett Technical College. NKBAGa.org

More than a hobby

Not quite ready to commit to a career change? Try joining a local makerspace,

a collaborative community for curious tinkerers to explore, learn and create.

Many makerspaces have

advanced technological

tools like 3D printers

and laser cutters, but

you’re almost always

guaranteed to find the

usual toolbox favorites

like screwdrivers and

hammers, too.

Freeside Atlanta, located

in the burgeoning

West End neighborhood,

is the city’s oldest

makerspace. As a member-

supported nonprofit, all

of Freeside’s equipment

was either donated or

built by members. These

advanced, often

hard-to-access tools are

available at members’

fingertips who often use them to create incredible things. One member, a podiatrist,

used a 3D printer to prototype a foot prior to an impending surgery.

Board member, secretary and teacher Kali Wagner says, “You can come into

Freeside, having never held a screwdriver in your life and ask questions. We

give you a starting point [to] get your feet wet to basically explore and see

what else is out there. Pretty much whatever you want to learn, we’re here;

we’ll help you through it.”

Freeside’s membership hovers around 65 people, but Wagner is hoping to

expand that. “More people means more skills, and we like that. We like having

people who know things that I don’t necessarily know, or that somebody else

doesn’t necessarily know because that’s new stuff that they can learn.” Want to

join the makerspace revolution? Attend one of Freeside’s monthly open house

meetings every second and fourth Tuesday to get started or try your hand at

one of the classes open to nonmembers such as Intro to Woodworking,

Intro to 3D Printing, Shop Tool Basics, and more.

FreesideAtlanta.org

“

You can come into Freeside, having never held

a screwdriver in your life and ask questions. We

give you a starting point [to] get your feet wet to

basically explore and see what else is out there.

”

—Kali Wagner

FREESIDE ATLANTA OFFERS HANDS-ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING

NEW SKILLS.

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