is there any good future for a climber?

[lxt]

Good climbers, good GFs, didn't say lazy climbers made good GFs...(sheets, not sheetes)

Im sorry elmnonuts my typing hand kinda gotta away from me, Ill make sure in the future to do a spell check just for you. Your statement I believe was good climbers usually make good GF`s my point was, good climbers dont usually get promoted their to valuable in the field!!!! Hence the reason for the discussion. Your management if these 55yr old plus guys are kickin the crap out of the younger guys why arent they GF`s MMmmm. BECAUSE their too damn valuable & cant be replaced as easy as management(you) would lead them to beleive. IMO keep managing & we`ll keep climbing after all who else is gonna do it. YOU!!!!!!

AHH WHATTA RUSH..........................LXT

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Some guys are indians and some are chiefs. I'll be an indian any day of the week!:biggrinbounce2:

 

[treeseer]

Some guys are indians and some are chiefs. I'll be an indian any day of the week!:biggrinbounce2:

Me too, if I could find a chief to put up with me.:yoyo: I've had my own company for 30 years, kept it fun by diversifying--diagnosis consulting soilbuilding support lightning protection, always something new to do with and for the trees. A steady diet of removals will give you indigestion, and cancer of the karma.

Best advice in this thread is to pick up skills that do not require a strong young body cuz that sweet bird of youth will one day fly away and then where will you be?

 

[JohN Dee]

Me too, if I could find a chief to put up with me.:yoyo: I've had my own company for 30 years, kept it fun by diversifying--diagnosis consulting soilbuilding support lightning protection, always something new to do with and for the trees. A steady diet of removals will give you indigestion, and cancer of the karma.

Best advice in this thread is to pick up skills that do not require a strong young body cuz that sweet bird of youth will one day fly away and then where will you be?

Another great post from yourself, I truly enjoy reading all your posts TreeSeer.

Myself I am 17 and have been in the Industry for the last 4 years of my life and I love it. Now at the age of 17 I own my own successful business and I'm also the fulltime/main climber for it. Tree's and Treework are truly my passion. I look at these blokes that goto work in their suites and laugh to myself "Pencil Pushers".

There are Sub Contractors around here in Sydney booked at for the next 8 months at $495 a day (including gst)! So yeah I say to anyone that goes hard in this industry their is a great future waiting for them.

 

[beowulf343]

A steady diet of removals will give you indigestion, and cancer of the karma.

Hmmm, guess that explains why I've been feeling kind of weird lately.

Wait a minute, I just realized I have a live christmas tree in my living room. Noooooo!!! I'm going straight to hell, aren't I?

 

[clearance]

A steady diet of removals will give you indigestion, and cancer of the karma.

Thats some bad ju-ju to lay on a dude, man, chill. Like your leader said, "Bring it on". I love removing bad trees that threaten powerlines or houses, roads etc. Anyways, the advice to diversify is very good, and it doesn't have to be just in treework. For example I am looking into building communications towers, utilizing my climbing and construction skills.

 

[elmnut]

Im sorry elmnonuts my typing hand kinda gotta away from me, Ill make sure in the future to do a spell check just for you. Your statement I believe was good climbers usually make good GF`s my point was, good climbers dont usually get promoted their to valuable in the field!!!! Hence the reason for the discussion. Your management if these 55yr old plus guys are kickin the crap out of the younger guys why arent they GF`s MMmmm. BECAUSE their too damn valuable & cant be replaced as easy as management(you) would lead them to beleive. IMO keep managing & we`ll keep climbing after all who else is gonna do it. YOU!!!!!!

AHH WHATTA RUSH..........................LXT

After careful consideration I have decided to quit my job. Training climbers, educating consumers, standing up for employees, baby sitting a bunch of prima donnas, taking responsibility for everything that happens, selling work, scheduling work, providing a safe environment, and trying to achieve goals is ri-???????-diculous. What was I thinking giving someone a glimmer of hope about their future in arboriculture. I am looking forward to starting my own business, I have a catch phrase picked out -"No insurance,we pass the savings on to you!"

Pennsyltucky University #1

 

[Sunrise Guy]

But realistically, I know that by the time I'm 35, I may be unable to physically keep up with the demands of climbing. (Hope not, but you never know.)

At 54, I'm still going strong. I love climbing and I think it keeps me young. At 5'10" and 150 lbs., I weigh a bit less than I did in high school. I know that if I were sitting behind some desk in some office the odds would be good that I would weigh more than I do now, and definitely not be as fit.

As for having your own company, some are cut out to be company owners and they do it well. Some are better at working for others and they, too, do that well. If you have never run your own company, no matter in what field, by the time you're in your mid-30's, it might be that scene is just not for you. I have run my own companies since I was around fourteen. I have had three companies of my own, all successful. I think you either have what it takes to be the boss of your own company, or you don't. No big deal. Be happy with whatever you do, and success will follow.

 

[Blinky]

... my point was, good climbers dont usually get promoted their to valuable in the field!!!! Hence the reason for the discussion. Your management if these 55yr old plus guys are kickin the crap out of the younger guys why arent they GF`s MMmmm. BECAUSE their too damn valuable & cant be replaced as easy as management(you) would lead them to beleive. IMO keep managing & we`ll keep climbing after all who else is gonna do it. YOU!!!!!!

AHH WHATTA RUSH..........................LXT

I'm not picking a fight here but the 'climbers are too valuable to be promoted' arguement doensn't make sense. Business doesn't work that way. Good climbers are in low supply but they aren't so scarce that good ones can't be promoted and made even more valuable.

Leadership and climbing are separate disciplines. Not all leaders are climbers and not all climbers are leaders. Sounds to me like you've had some GFs who were neither... but that ain't always the case. Leaders are a breed apart, they aren't bosses or primadonnas... leaders give more than they get.

A first rate climber with leadership ability will ultimately wind up in a management capacity, but they will probably resist it as long as possible because climbing is fun and everybody thinks climbing is cool; management is hard and thankless, it takes someone willing to give up climbing to make life better for others and develop a better business. You don't become a foremen because 55 year olds 'kicked your ass', you become a foreman because you have the will and the ability to take care of a crew, it's equipment and it's customers... in treework, that's a huge responsibilty. If you get your ass kicked in the tree, you get fired or grounded, not promoted.

You may not appreciate what foremen, good foremen that is, do. The GF is the Sergeant of the crew, mother, boss, disciplinarian... babysitter. Think about an army without sergeants. Think about yourself having to do those things... it's not a rush. Without leadership and management, climbing is play, it has no financial value at all. When you get paid, somebody in management did their job.

I mean really, would you rather answer to climber turned foreman or to a lacky who's never been off the ground? Enjoy the fact that it's you in the tree and somebody else on management.

 

[lxt]

Elmnut,
you sound bitter!! maybe the comment in your bio. stating you babysit full grown men has just bit you in the rear. Like you were never babysat uhh? I know management is tough(sometimes) but the perks arent bad, Company truck, fuel cards, Insurance paid vehicle & health, customer relations resulting in private work that you will need one of your full grown babysat climbers to do, Company retirement, profit sharing, bonuses because those you babysit get the work done on time(unless you down sized & doubled the work load the men must carry, NEVER uhh?), take days off because the other guy you told what to do will cover you, go golfing, flirt with the receptionists at the office, ETC......You should quit so one of the guys you babysat can enjoy some of the comforts you receive.

Blinky,
Find some good climbers, not just climbers but people with commonsense, showup on time, dont call off every other day, have CDL`s(hell justa license at all) Line clearance certified(or other cert. as needed) GOOD LUCK!!! when you find them send em to PA. cause if you send em to elmnut all he`s gonna do is babysit them NUFF SAID..................................

AHH WHATTA RUSH..............................LXT

MMmm Pennsyltucky University #1 & I hold the Masters Degree Whoooooo.

 

[elmnut]

Not bitter, just a little dry and sarcastic. The climbers I work with are given every opportunity to learn new techniques, they have good equipment to work with, they have the same benefits and retirement plans as I do. They are well respected, and compensated for their efforts. My top climber and I have been working together for 11 years, my second climber has been with the company for 17 years, My pruning climber has 4 years in, PHC foreman has 8 years under his belt, My senior ground man (60 years old) has been with me for 13 years. These guys(and one gal)work with me, not for me.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

I look at these blokes that goto work in their suites and laugh to myself "Pencil Pushers".

These "Pencil Pushers" are doing their passion too. Remember you need this guy when tax time comes!!!

 

[Soul Assassin]

I worked with guys in thier 50's and 60's. I'd go out all night drinking with them, and they worked me under the table at 25.
-Yoga
-Lot's of high end gear
-yoga
- Mountain Biking
-Higher end gear
-Bucket trucks
- Watsons 10/325's
-Xanax
-Yoga

 

[OTG BOSTON]

I worked with guys in thier 50's and 60's. I'd go out all night drinking with them, and they worked me under the table at 25.
-Yoga
-Lot's of high end gear
-yoga
- Mountain Biking
-Higher end gear
-Bucket trucks
- Watsons 10/325's
-Xanax
-Yoga

Maybe if you quit the drinking and the drugs, you wouldn't need so much yoga! (Xanax is very bad)

 

[diltree]

Drugs are bad.......Mkay