Venting...

[TreeClimber57]

Thank you to everyone for your input and advice. It is honestly appreciated.

One plus to my situation is that I still have some of my equipment parked up at the old man's farm. I still have one of my chippers, a dozer, an excavator, and a wheel loader, in addition to a bunch of saws and gear, and some trucks.

I am going to stick it out with my current company for as long as I can possibly handle it, save my money, continue to acquire gear and equipment, and make the move when the time is right.

I got started cutting when I was 15 yrs old, working for a local logger. By the time I was 17 yrs old, I had a business license, and was working for myself full time. I went to school on monday morning, did all of my work for the week, and was out in the field by noon making money. Maintained a 3.8 GPA and got the highest score on the US Military ASVAB in my home county's history, 98.7 percent (medically disqualified from the USMC cause I had previously broken my sternum and they didn't want the liability...) By the time I was old enough to drink I had several trucks and crews.

Things got slow and the timber market took a spill for a while, and all of the loggers from PA were coming into NY and undercutting me and my buddies by 50 percent. If I quoted a grand, they would do the job for 500. Can't blame em I guess, they needed to feed their families as well.

My girlfriend's dad (she would be my wife if she had it her way...) had a heart attack about this same time. He has a large trucking company in Lower NY, in and out of the 5 buroughs. I ran his company for almost 2 years before I got here.

So now, here I am. I am going to stick with it for as long as I can, and then make the jump when an opportunity presents itself.

Again, thanks to all.

Didn't see this before last post. You are doing right thing I think.. hang in there.

 

[TreeClimber57]

My girlfriend's dad (she would be my wife if she had it her way...)

Ahhh ... go for it

 

[Bigus Termitius]

it might be best to hold out a while.at least until Obama and his followers get their heads out of their a$$es.

best of luck.

No hope of that...it was a temporarily permanent implant from the get go.

 

[BlackenedTimber]

Ahhh ... go for it

Ha yeah... I love the girl, but I never get to see her, maybe once every 2 or 3 months... worried that IF I get married, and she get's upset that I am never home and wants a divorce, then she get's half of my toys and money and probly my house... If I can get my :censored: home more frequently (which I will be discussing with the VP of Operations today) then I think I might be more inclined to get married.

decisions, decisions...

 

[Bigus Termitius]

Take the leap...the time back again with friends and family is priceless in and of itself. Healthier too. Doing something you hate is a health risk and money isn't everything.

 

[TreeClimber57]

Ha yeah... I love the girl, but I never get to see her, maybe once every 2 or 3 months... worried that IF I get married, and she get's upset that I am never home and wants a divorce, then she get's half of my toys and money and probly my house... If I can get my :censored: home more frequently (which I will be discussing with the VP of Operations today) then I think I might be more inclined to get married.

decisions, decisions...

Ok, I understand.. hang in there.

 

[pdqdl]

Oh yes! Mention to the GM that you want to settle down and be more stable. His vehicle insurance rates will go down, and most employers consider a married employee more valuable than an unmarried, because they tend to want to keep the job more than those footloose guys that don't have responsibilities.

If your employer is a real cheapskate, they will also recognize that "married" means more (and higher) health insurance, time off for having babies, sick kids, etc.

 

[tree md]

Personally, I prefer hiring single guys. They are usually the one's with less problems and more reliable in my experience. Especially for out of town work. I don't want to be doing storm work in LA and have a guy pick up and leave because he's got a family emergency (read he has not seen his wife in a week and he's horny)...

 

[TreeClimber57]

(read he has not seen his wife in a week and he's horny)...

Single guys not immune to this same problem.

 

[tree md]

Single guys not immune to this same problem.

This is true but they are more likely to find the action where they're at!

 

[TreeClimber57]

This is true but they are more likely to find the action where they're at!

Can't deny that..

 

[BlackenedTimber]

definately something about being on the road that makes you extra horny... maybe it's all the fresh new young lovelies that I haven't laid eyes on before... whatever it is, it is a scientific fact that this phenominon exists.

Plus, as you all know, girls dig sweaty constuction-type guys, tree guys even more i think!

 

[fishercat]

smart move for now BT.

two years ago,this town i am in was booming.i thought they were going to run out of land to build on any minute.everyone seems to want to be here for some damn reason.

i talked to a guy in the know last week,he said he ran into one of the building inspectors,turns out there is not one new foundation poured this year so far.

tree work is hit and miss.i have it but i am stretching it out to keep me from running out.fortunately there is plenty of other stuff for me to do.i even started mowing a day or two a week to keep me walking.

another thing to consider,many suburban markets are flooded with tree guys.not all of them are good but competition can be fierce.try looking around in your travels for a not so saturated market.WV is very nice all year long.nice folks there too.

 

[BC WetCoast]

My advice is slightly different. Stay where you are, build up your skills and when you get ready to leave, don't go back into tree work. Look international and project manage some international jobs. Work 6 months and take 6 months off. You essentially would be working for yourself (as a contract project manager).

And there will be exotic international locations. And you could probably take your girlfriend with you. Sounds like you have the skills, look to the bigger pond, not be a big fish in a little pond.

 

[BlackenedTimber]

I have already been all over the country (NY, MA, RI, PA, NH, VT, ME, SC, GA, FL, TX, OK, UT, CA, OH, KS, LA, MS, AL) and have done two intl projects, Germany and England, and I may have to go to Singapore in July.

To be honest, the energy market is pretty :censored:ed up right now. It is being flooded with idiots that are new to the market, thanks to Obama's stimulous plan. Now, I think it's a good thing to be doing these energy projects, mostly because it keeps me steadily employed. However, as the work load increases, all of these people, fresh to this type of work, are being brought in to fill the gaps. I am all for people learning, but the learning curve on some of these projects, I'm talking 2+ BILLION dollar projects, are being run by people with ZERO relative work experience. As you might imagine, that's pretty frustrating. Example: the Engineer that approved my concrete mixes for Aerial Transmission tower pads asked me what "slump" was the other day in the field. Slump is the most basic of concrete principles, and this guy didnt get it... HEADACHE.

I really have no ambition as far as growing with the energy industry. My common sense tells me to stay with this type of work and ride out the current increased work load until it dies off. My heart says to get out while I am still human, before this industry turns me into a monster. This is incredibly stressful work, and the consequences of your actions are severe.

I have had several offers from other companies, some of which were legit, alot of which were start-up companies looking to capitalize on the current work load. I have considered some offers, and are still considering other.

Really though, I want out. I have retained all of the field skills that made me profitable when I was in business for myself, and have increased my organizational and administrative skills considerably since moving to the energy industry. I still have plenty of equipment up at the farm, all in excellent condition. My chipper, a fitchburg (which I bought from my old man who used it for ROW- had 72 hours on it) only has 854 hours on it. All of my heavy equipment is regularly serviced and maintained. Some of my trucks are new, and most are used but in great condition. I am ready to go, once I make the move. I have always had tree work in the back of my mind with everything I ahve done, and have gone out of my way to keep alot of my equipment even after I got out of the biz.

I am have decided to finish the current project that I am on, for Allegheny Power in WV. Probly a year and a half, if I can make it that long. When I am done with this project, I am going to take a long, hard look at my situation, and decide how to proceed. Hopefully by then we will be out of this housing rut, timber prices will be back up, and homeowners will have a little more money to work with.

Again, thanks to everyone for the input and well wishes. I have the utmost respect for men and women who hold thier own destiny's in their hands, and earn thier living with dirt under their fingernails and a smile on their faces.

T