Just completed my third self-storage conversion in October with my W2 job at Elm Builders.

Specifically, there's job growth (Intel, Honda, Amazon, Nationwide, etc) and the population is growing (unlike Cleveland or Cincy).

Could just be his way of making sure you don't ditch him as soon as he does the job.

The challenge is that non-government jobs are often short-lived.

That will buy you some time to get more capital together, and you know that money will be used to perform the job.

And also the local job market.

With the future being so uncertain I realized there was a need to do more than just rely on my job for financial security. 

If you have a 2 year work history, and go get a W2 job tomorrow, we could use your base pay right away (as long as it is "guaranteed hours" or considered "full time". 

You definitely want to use a thorough screening method like rentprep.com that gets their income, credit, background check, and call at least 3 references (make sure to verify them by address/job and then their name).  

Please keep us posted as you and so many in SoCal are experiencing genuine hardship (whether it's the loss of a home, belongings, jobs, etc.).