Hiring, or, How is this world going to stay in orbit

[woodworkingboy]

Cory.

Tree work isn't just work, it is extreme physical work. To be some degree of fair, I guess that you can't blame a lot of people that start and then quickly stop. It could be quite difficult to have the right mental attitude, if not geared up for it. That still doesn't explain why people say that they will be there and don't show up, it's likely some other problem. Drugs in society, or two many mama's boy's, possibly a combination of reasons.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Cool, Cory.

Jeeez, f'ing employees. Why does it sometimes seems like they find the most difficult way possible to do things? I couldn't have figured a tougher way to fix a wheelbarrow bolt. I told him to use the 1/4" brace rods and nuts to make a bolt that was long enough to go through the bucket and all the framing. There are no legs on the wheelbarrow because somebody through them out at some point. He was cutting the threaded rod inside the wheelbarrow, in the cramped space, rather than on the outside!

 

[woodworkingboy]

Blame America for thinking that shop classes are a low priority and can be eliminated. Everyone is material for Harvard or Yale. Shop might have been the only form of relevant education for a lot of people.

 

[cory]

Cory.

Tree work isn't just work, it is extreme physical work.

Hahaha, I think that is a major reason why most of us here love it I do everything possible to make it easy on us, and have a saying, "save it for the gym," i.e. work smart so you have juice for the gym later, but let's face it, sometimes you gotta put on a burst, sometimes a very long burst, to get things done. Indeed, some days can leave you cross eyed from the work. Then you get home and prepare to do it all over again 11 hours later.

Shop might have been the only form of relevant education for a lot of people.

Go figure, I never dug shop much

 

[woodworkingboy]

A cool teacher helps for an enjoyable shop class. Idiots could mess with your projects and make it a drag. A lot of thugs took shop. I remember some of those instructors really being there for the students, very supportive. I still communicated with my jr. high woodshop teacher long after graduating and he had retired.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I had 3 years of shop, two years of drafting. I loved it.

 

[cory]

Idiots could mess with your projects and make it a drag. A lot of thugs took shop. .

Ha, that is starting to bring back memories.

 

[woodworkingboy]

i took audio visual one semester in junior high. Those are the people that go take a projector to a class where the teacher orders a movie, and you run it. Never forget, the first class that i went to as an operator, and of course being nervous, the electricity was off at the wall plug, so i couldn't get the projector to turn on. Who would have thought that? I'm still stressed from it. I got picked to run the big projector in the auditorium for the sometimes Friday night movies that they had for kids and parents. That was real cool up there in the booth, keeping the arc burning to light the screen, being a manual operation in those days, it took concentration. I felt like a big shot up there in the booth, sticking my head out during intermission. I did the projector job with Mr. Benson, the metal shop teacher. He was cool. I think i got paid two dollars as well, he might have slipped it to me on the side. I kept quiet about him not being in the booth for at least half the movie.

 

[cory]

I'm still stressed from it.

Ah, that is hilarious.

Largely unrelated, but your story brings to mind and AV incident from high school- Teacher setting up projector, the crazy kid in the class bends a paper clip into a "U" shape and quietly takes the extension cord and inserts the legs of the U into the slots in female end of the cord, then plugs male end into wall…instant red hot melted paper clip and short in the wall, kid is thrown out on his ear.

I haven't seen the kid since HS but I heard he became an arborist in California, Gray Shaw.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Maybe I have been screwing it up for you guys. I tell every kid I see to learn a trade, to hell with a sociology degree or some other such nonsense that wont get you paid.

Learn to weld dammit! Make more money than a doctor!

I could start telling the kids to learn how to rake and feed a chipper i guess.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Doctors make more than welders, and they don't work NEAR as hard.

Be a doctor, not a welder... or a tree surgeon.

Just saying.

 

[Dave Shepard]

The second year I was in high school we moved into a new building. It had a complete wood shop, that never ever got used.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Doctors make more than welders, and they don't work NEAR as hard.

Be a doctor, not a welder... or a tree surgeon.

Just saying.

My new doctor client says his dad worked in a sawmill his whole life. The doctor has a nurse and cpa for brothers. They are all pissed because they can't fix/ do shit. Tough life. The up shot is that whatever I tell him I think is the way to go, he is okay with. He knows his strengths and weaknesses. He lost title as a good light bulb changer when he pulled the pole-bulb changer too much and pulled the ceiling fan out of the cathedral ceiling.

 

[Bermy]

Seems it's a worldwide problem finding good workers these days. I've paid top money and even then they'll let you down, so I gave up looking and just stuck with the only good one I ever had. We can handle most stuff around here even if it takes a bit longer. I work alone a lot now and he has other part time work as things aren't as busy as they used to be.

I was taking down a couple of pines not long ago and a few doors up two guys from a big company were doing a little tree. They finished just as I started, then sat in the truck and watched me till I had them down and chipped, about two hours.

Turned the chipper off and started cleaning up when one of them strolls down the road and asks for a job. I didn't need his help either.

Haha! You ever get really stuck, I'll do Fly-In/Fly-out for you

 

[FireFighterZero]

Doctors make more than welders, and they don't work NEAR as hard.

Be a doctor, not a welder... or a tree surgeon.

Just saying.

Hard to say Butch. Specialized welding skills are very generously compensated while costing a mere fraction of what is costs to become a doctor. I would bet a specialized welder nets more cash his first year out of school than a doctor fresh out of med school. Course, I was wrong once a long time ago...........

 

[Burnham]

I agree with you, Jim. It costs several hundreds of thousands to get an M.D. And as for working less hard than a welder? No effing way. Sure, a Dr. doesn't get slag burns, but most welders work an 8 hr. shift, then their life belongs to them...never so for a Dr.

 

[MasterBlaster]

It all depends on the doctor.

 

[Burnham]

And the welder too, I suppose. No argument from me that there are no absolutes.

 

[jalegre0]

Put ur $ in equipment there always on time

Did the same got 2 guys gave up looking for anymore cant find good people. Same thing big company has 6 guys same size job next door, I show up at 10am left around 2pm. They had to come back next day, probably been there since 8am,all because I had a log truck and a skid steer . put ur money in equipment there more reliable

Seems it's a worldwide problem finding good workers these days. I've paid top money and even then they'll let you down, so I gave up looking and just stuck with the only good one I ever had. We can handle most stuff around here even if it takes a bit longer. I work alone a lot now and he has other part time work as things aren't as busy as they used to be.

I was taking down a couple of pines not long ago and a few doors up two guys from a big company were doing a little tree. They finished just as I started, then sat in the truck and watched me till I had them down and chipped, about two hours.

Turned the chipper off and started cleaning up when one of them strolls down the road and asks for a job. I didn't need his help either.

 

[Steve Mack]

That's for sure, they don't get drunk or worse and ready to start anytime.

Haha! You ever get really stuck, I'll do Fly-In/Fly-out for you

You should have told me that last week, I had to pass on a nice Washington removal.

Might take you up on it one day though, you never know.

 

[Tucker943]

Doctors make more than welders, and they don't work NEAR as hard.

Be a doctor, not a welder... or a tree surgeon.

Just saying.

Doctors also spent 10 years in school, carry 10 years of expensive school debt, and are responsible for human lives all day every day. I believe they have earned a quality of life that exceeds that of a welder.

 

[Steve Mack]

There is a story there. Do tell!

It was back in the days when I thought you could trust people and didn't know the "If it sounds too good to be true" rule.

I met him at the club one night, he said he came to see old Sid as he was his foster parent once. We got talking and he said he was looking for work and he'd worked for Sid, could climb do ground work, work on saws etc married with two kids and could start in the morning but his car had broken down. So I gave him an old ute to get home and back at 8am.

He rolled up about 2pm with some yarn about having to take his kids somewhere. I'd already found out the wife and kids were long gone, that he didn't have a car and didn't really like work. Probably only turned up to see if he could bludge some money of Sid in the first place. Needless to say we didn't part on friendly terms.

Old Sid was a real nice guy, wasn't that old but his youngest son was called Sid as well. Smoking got him at about 63, throat cancer.