““I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” — Thomas Jefferson

How To Get Your Contractors License (Santa Cruz Edition)

First thing is first, Santa Cruz has the best city logo of any city ever.
You know it and I know it.
And we all know it.
And I’m eating ice cream right now, and there’s no reason you need to know that but I said it and now I can’t take it back.

Moving on, Santa Cruz has the beach and the forest. You have the Beach Boardwalk (which might be the best boardwalk in the world), the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, the University of California, Pogonip, Live Oak, PleasurePoint, Scotts Valley (nearby). Need I go on?

You even have Starbucks.

Moving on (for reals this time): What are the top five ways to get your Contractors License if you live in Santa Cruz?

Way One (The Only Way — Except There Are Four More Ways)

Enroll in online classes. Online classes are great because they’re so simple, are they not? Especially this day and age: the age of Zoom (and Jurassic World 3). We offer online classes.

What does that look like?

It looks like you logging onto Zoom with our exclusive class on Thursday nights. We only let 44 people in at a time. Why only 44? We’re not exactly sure. But we wanted to keep space limited so we can have one on one time with our students.

When you enroll in our online course, we ship you any physical material you need — the books — and you get access to all of our online material: the classes, the practice tests, the videos, the audio teaching (pre-recorded).

Pretty groovy, right?

Option Two (The Second Option)

You can purchase our home study course. What is the difference between the home study course and the online course? Glad you asked. You must be smart. You must be from Santa Cruz.

The home study course differs from the online course in this one way: you don’t get the live-streamed live-taught classes over Zoom. Instead you get access to our pre-recorded classes.

This is a great option. And you save money.

Also, sidebar: let’s talk about surfing for one second. Not surfing the web. Actual surfing. Surfing is dope. And it can help you clear your mind and figure out your goals in life.

So you’re a contractor, yes?
So you’re thinking of upping your levels, yes?
You want to level up.
You want to make more money.

You’re sitting on your surfboard right now, watching the sun fall down past the horizon line. Orange is glowing against the rippling waters. And you’re asking yourself, are you made for more than just working for someone?
The answer is yes.
The answer is dream big.
If you fail you fail.
Nothing gained, nothing lost.

The only thing you lose is your reputation. People might think you’re a failure. Life is too short to worry about always protecting your reputation.

It’s time to get your license.

END OF SURFING SIDEBAR.

Option Three To Get Your Contractors License.

Go to the Boardwalk and sit there on the beach all night long — like Will Smith in ‘Men in Black,’ yes?

And realize you are meant for more than just working for someone else.

The Fourth Way (Contractor School Brick-and-Mortar)

You can enroll in a brick-and-mortar school in your area where you can take classes in-person. Unfortunately, our locations are in Southern Cal right now, so you would have to enroll in a different school.

That being said, you’re awesome.

We’re awesome.

And getting licensed and leveling up is awesome.

Fifth Option.

Truth is, you don’t need to attend a contractors license school to get your contractors license. Crazy, right?

You can technically send your application to the state (that is, to CSLB) and get your test date. And then you can take your tests and get your license.

But the tests are not open book. And you must pass them to get your license.

There are two tests: one test covers law and the other test covers trade.
No surfing tests unfortunately.

What does that mean?

You might want to take some classes or study some material.

In conclusion.

You have many options and many, many opportunities. Remember, California is the fifth largest economy in the world. The work is there.

The real question is: are you there?