Author Topic: Blue collar job  (Read 3814 times)

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Telly

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #30 on: January 01, 2021, 06:30:40 PM »
Ski hill.  A bit of everything from snowmaking to grooming to diesel mechanics to 24v controls. Wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

garthblader

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #31 on: January 01, 2021, 08:53:26 PM »
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I went to welding school a few years ago and did it professionally four about 4 years.  I left to return to school to pursue a design degree.  I ended up realizing that was not for me.  I start Diesel mechanic school here in March and I can't be more stoked.  Working with your hands is awesome, being tired after work because you were using your body instead of me being tired from sitting in a chair all day is a no brainer. 

Also the shit talking and cool folks I met in weld shops and garages have been some of the funniest and nicest people I have ever worked with.
[close]



Welding looks like an absolute blast. Obviously much different but I enjoy the shit out of a good braze or solder joint. I plan on taking a welding class next year, any sage advice?

Its pretty fun if you get into a good shop. Welding is nice because you show up for an interview and they make you weld.  You either do it or you don't. 

Some advice, don't pay attention to getting certified, a lot of people push it super hard but I worked in all sorts of shops.  Ranging from building food trucks to military contractor gigs and I never had to have a current cert to get hired.  Get a good hood, get a nice respirator and take care of yourself.  A lot of older welders can be bullies about wearing PPE but fuck those dudes, theres a reason their bodies are ruined.  I got called all sorts of names for wearing mine but I could breathe at the end of the day.   

Francis Xavier

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #32 on: January 01, 2021, 08:54:45 PM »
Been doing sheet metal fab for hvac companies for 13 years, got serious into TIG welding last year so that's bumped me up in all the other wacky shit we do in the shop like build motorcycle race frames,boat gas tanks, and ornamental stuff. Not certified in shit, but experienced

Gary Gloverberg- patience while you learn will get you farther than getting pissed. Heat input and whatnot is taught in schools so you'll figure the tech stuff out.

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matty_c

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #33 on: January 02, 2021, 02:09:38 AM »
Tiler and waterproofer, done a bunch of high rises in brisbane and quite a few houses that were in magazines and online articles and a whole bunch that weren’t

I am used to it and on the houses sometimes you’d be near a good park so I would always fuck of for long lunches and have a roll

But when I go on holidays or stop for a couple weeks coming back I get sore for a few days, it’s like you lose the conditioning

Defz use my head too though with setouts etc, have to be quite precise with most shit and sometimes the stone’s hella expensive and the grains gotta match up so I can’t cut one wrong
Sometimes it’s an arse puckering experience haha

Got to do some stuff I thought was pretty cool, like tiling the outside of a hotel on a 30m boom, done some cool exterior mechanical fixing too and rope access inspections of shit
Even just going up a tower in an alimak is pretty rad

You can probably do way cooler shit in other trades though, many of my mates are sparkies and had great times out west in the mines but all careers are what you make of them I guess
I do wish got to use more tools that were gun shaped but wrong trade

I am unsure if I would recommend it, I don’t mind it but I have tried to throw unemployed mates just random days here and there just moving shit around  and helping out, decent money but nobody ever comes back
Not that I’m some fucking hero or anything at all but I reckon you’d have to be genuinely interested in it
But I reckon it’s a good trade
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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #34 on: January 02, 2021, 08:27:56 AM »
Is a call center classed as blue collar?
I know in Australia we refer to ourselves as the "Ditch diggers" or "Shit kickers" of the organization.

It's literally all I've done since maybe 18 and I'm 42 now.
Sad to say but I'm actually pretty good at it.
"Broke the tail, like a well oiled snail"

Dr-Feelgood

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #35 on: January 02, 2021, 02:11:47 PM »
Tiler and waterproofer, done a bunch of high rises in brisbane and quite a few houses that were in magazines and online articles and a whole bunch that weren’t

I am used to it and on the houses sometimes you’d be near a good park so I would always fuck of for long lunches and have a roll

But when I go on holidays or stop for a couple weeks coming back I get sore for a few days, it’s like you lose the conditioning

Defz use my head too though with setouts etc, have to be quite precise with most shit and sometimes the stone’s hella expensive and the grains gotta match up so I can’t cut one wrong
Sometimes it’s an arse puckering experience haha

Got to do some stuff I thought was pretty cool, like tiling the outside of a hotel on a 30m boom, done some cool exterior mechanical fixing too and rope access inspections of shit
Even just going up a tower in an alimak is pretty rad

You can probably do way cooler shit in other trades though, many of my mates are sparkies and had great times out west in the mines but all careers are what you make of them I guess
I do wish got to use more tools that were gun shaped but wrong trade

I am unsure if I would recommend it, I don’t mind it but I have tried to throw unemployed mates just random days here and there just moving shit around  and helping out, decent money but nobody ever comes back
Not that I’m some fucking hero or anything at all but I reckon you’d have to be genuinely interested in it
But I reckon it’s a good trade

Whats the average pay hour in that trade?  Before i got into landscaping i was thinking about getting into tiling but never found a company that was looking to take on an apprentice, waterproofing sounds pretty cool


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Wait we know what it is now too -
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Dr-Feelgood

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #36 on: January 02, 2021, 02:13:42 PM »
Is a call center classed as blue collar?
I know in Australia we refer to ourselves as the "Ditch diggers" or "Shit kickers" of the organization.

It's literally all I've done since maybe 18 and I'm 42 now.
Sad to say but I'm actually pretty good at it.

holy shit man how? You must be good, i heard the turnover in call centres are quite high... My girlfriend worked in a call centre for a few weeks and she said it was the worst most stressful job shes ever had, constanty battling to keep your job, she has 4 good days in a row then one bad day and they said she would be fired unless she turned it around. Sounded toxic as fuck, glad she got out of there.


We may not know what skateboarding is
But we sure as hell know what it aint
Wait we know what it is now too -
Falling down and gettin back up

rukes

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #37 on: January 02, 2021, 02:20:57 PM »

You can probably do way cooler shit in other trades though, many of my mates are sparkies and had great times out west in the mines but all careers are what you make of them I guess


I'm a sparkie and been doing this sort of thing for the last 7 years, and its great times. Maybe not for everyone cause you usually work 10+ hour days for up to 21 days straight. But then you get a whole week off and you make a tonne of cash. Only downside is being away from missus and kids.

Is it true?  Or did you read it on the slap message board?

Andmoreagain

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #38 on: January 02, 2021, 05:38:16 PM »
I'm sort of at the other end of this. Been working in content marketing for the past 6 years for several companies selling different IT tools. In 6 years I went from making 40k to about 100, but my heart was never in it, and to make more I'd have to move into management, which is a very political job in the marketing departments I've been a part of.

Now I've been laid off, and I'm taking this as an opportunity to reconsider my career path. Thinking back, I've been happiest in my worklife doing manual labor with tangible results. Painting, cooking, and screen printing were all great jobs. Unfortunately, none of them paid even remotely near what I was making at my last job.

I've been looking into the trades for something that pays decently and will (hopefully) give me a sense of fulfillment. So far I've been leaning towards electrician. Unfortunately, the local union (Boston) is not taking any new apprentices until November 2021 at the soonest, and I can't be unemployed for that long.

Mbrimson88

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #39 on: January 02, 2021, 06:35:59 PM »
Expand Quote
Is a call center classed as blue collar?
I know in Australia we refer to ourselves as the "Ditch diggers" or "Shit kickers" of the organization.

It's literally all I've done since maybe 18 and I'm 42 now.
Sad to say but I'm actually pretty good at it.
[close]

holy shit man how? You must be good, i heard the turnover in call centres are quite high... My girlfriend worked in a call centre for a few weeks and she said it was the worst most stressful job shes ever had, constanty battling to keep your job, she has 4 good days in a row then one bad day and they said she would be fired unless she turned it around. Sounded toxic as fuck, glad she got out of there.

I know from a couple of different postions / companies that things can be vastly different and some are actually pretty good to be in, just not the sales type of call centres, where you have to make outgoing calls, but the incoming calls place I worked in for a while was pretty good until it was closed and outsourced, but that was more than twenty years ago now.
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matty_c

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #40 on: January 02, 2021, 08:11:26 PM »
Whats the average pay hour in that trade?  Before i got into landscaping i was thinking about getting into tiling but never found a company that was looking to take on an apprentice, waterproofing sounds pretty cool
[/quote]

Honestly it depends, I just did a bathroom for a good mate for 50 hour cash and he supplied everything, he is in industry and was pretty happy with price, working for a company it depends, high rise was about 2100 for 36 hours and heaps more with overtime and holidays and rdos too but that is eba rate
I only really know about commercial wages but companies pay 35-50 hour casual or subby or anywhere from 35-300 a metre just depends on the work involved, with meterage the cheaper end being more basic so quicker and the more expensive shit being complicated or particularly heavy so taking longer, often works out fairly similar per hour

Can get significantly more on own jobs but there is a fair bit of competition, chasing work and sometimes waiting to be paid can be pain in arse too. Even before I lost licence I didn’t chase work all the time I like to go to the beach a lot and honestly you need a couple hundred grand spare for wages and materials to run a gang and properly compete on the right jobs. There’s heaps of cunts on gumtree and hipages who will do a lot of stuff for fuck all, too hard to compete in a lot of smaller bathrooms

Edit

Waterproofing’s chill, yeah but can get a bit messy sometimes
« Last Edit: January 02, 2021, 08:21:07 PM by matty_c »
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rukes

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #41 on: January 02, 2021, 11:17:17 PM »
There’s heaps of cunts on gumtree and hipages who will do a lot of stuff for fuck all, too hard to compete in a lot of smaller bathrooms



The electrical industry is going the same way, tradies out there doing jobs for fuck all, ruining it for everyone, and doing sub-par work most of the time. EBA jobs are the way to go, its just getting harder and harder to get on em.
Is it true?  Or did you read it on the slap message board?

ice nine

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #42 on: January 03, 2021, 01:43:34 AM »
worked sales for years, satisfying in many ways but ultimately too taxing mentally. quit and went blue collar, felt like a different person. not taking my work home with me and not thinking about work unless you’re there is amazing. been washing dishes at a chain restaurant for 9 years now.
I;m sure i;m not the only dc/monster/subaru type guy here

igrindtwinkies

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #43 on: January 03, 2021, 01:53:55 AM »
I've worked in an office for 5 years now, but I used to weld.  I could never go back.  It's not even that hot up here, but I couldn't stand 8 hours of summer heat in leathers, facemask, etc.  If I were to go back I would probably want to do it 3rd shift solely for the cooler temperatures.

As I age too, I'm really glad I don't do that anymore.  I used to enjoy the tired feeling after work, but I know my body wouldn't be able to handle it for years to come.  I'd rather put in 8 hours in an office and hit the gym for 45 minutes after.

The last thing is, I got out of this before Trump won.  I think I'd want to kill all my co-workers if I were to go back.  If I were to get back into the trades, I'd probably opt for electrician work.

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #44 on: January 03, 2021, 05:03:39 AM »
Expand Quote
Expand Quote
Is a call center classed as blue collar?
I know in Australia we refer to ourselves as the "Ditch diggers" or "Shit kickers" of the organization.

It's literally all I've done since maybe 18 and I'm 42 now.
Sad to say but I'm actually pretty good at it.
[close]

holy shit man how? You must be good, i heard the turnover in call centres are quite high... My girlfriend worked in a call centre for a few weeks and she said it was the worst most stressful job shes ever had, constanty battling to keep your job, she has 4 good days in a row then one bad day and they said she would be fired unless she turned it around. Sounded toxic as fuck, glad she got out of there.
[close]

I know from a couple of different postions / companies that things can be vastly different and some are actually pretty good to be in, just not the sales type of call centres, where you have to make outgoing calls, but the incoming calls place I worked in for a while was pretty good until it was closed and outsourced, but that was more than twenty years ago now.

I tend to stay away from outbound sales roles although I've done some zingers (lottery tickets, mobile plans, solar powered aircon units that don't work).

What you want is inbound customer service, they're usually the easiest. Plus after you've done a few places you get an idea for the different systems.

The place I work now is all internal so there's literally no public just nurses and cleaners so it's pretty chill but yea, outbound sales is the killer.
"Broke the tail, like a well oiled snail"

matty_c

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #45 on: January 03, 2021, 05:43:02 AM »
Man I worked for Telstra I think almost straight out of high school, not for very long and I didn’t really know better but it was a bit of a gravy train looking back
ex worked in ato call centre too, I reckon inbound stuff for decent companies is a decent job for sure

I did have a go at outbound sales a little later just needed a job at the time and did that for maybe three months and yeah it was pretty depraved, there were a bunch of psychopaths there



The electrical industry is going the same way, tradies out there doing jobs for fuck all, ruining it for everyone, and doing sub-par work most of the time. EBA jobs are the way to go, its just getting harder and harder to get on em.
[/quote]

Yeah mate often people have weird ideas about what stuff ought to cost but its legit not viable working for a few hundred a day on own jobs, I probably could have tried harder before lost licence but I was trying to do all own work for a bit and I would try book myself solid and do some stuff cheap just to stay busy and you cut corners for sure but at the end of it often when you take out tax and expenses, like all of em, insurance, licencing, vehicle and tool costs I would have made more working for someone else those weeks, bit pointless
Probably like this for lots of people in lots of trades
« Last Edit: January 03, 2021, 06:03:30 AM by matty_c »
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FUBAR

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #46 on: January 03, 2021, 12:01:17 PM »
I’m the safety guy, which is WAY more than just telling people to put in their earplugs and not to do dumb shit. I love it because my boss leaves me alone to do my job. It can suck sometimes because people suck and make stuff way harder than it needs to be...and I hear a lot of whining.

Telly

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #47 on: January 03, 2021, 12:04:50 PM »
I’m the safety guy, which is WAY more than just telling people to put in their earplugs and not to do dumb shit. I love it because my boss leaves me alone to do my job. It can suck sometimes because people suck and make stuff way harder than it needs to be...and I hear a lot of whining.

In their defense, this ppe is too hot and I can’t see when I wear safety glasses.  I’m super careful and never get anything in my eyes.  I can just shut them when something comes flying at me.

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #48 on: January 03, 2021, 12:33:58 PM »
I used to work blue collar jobs, then I realized it payed more to just dress up like one on Friday and Saturday nights. Less aches and pains but my ass kinda gets sore from cougars slapping on it.

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #49 on: January 03, 2021, 01:02:40 PM »
I'm an electro-mechanical technician in a big furniture factory. I fix and program machinery all day and I fucking love it.

I started as a day labourer operating machinery after 15 years in retail, kind of enjoyed it and started moving up. They saw I learned quickly and was a good problem finder/solver, so I became an apprentice under one of the mechanics. That went well and in Jan '19 they asked me if I was interested in going to trade school in order to become a certified electro-mechanical technician, as they only had 2 and needed an extra one. Turns out they're kinda hard to find and machinery is becoming more and more complex, so they paid me my full operator salary to go to trade school for a year, and once my course was over, I started as an electro-mechanical technician and my salary more than doubled. I work directly under the head engineer. Took me 3 years to get there, and this was supposed to be a temporary job so I could find something better in retail. I'm so glad I never went back to retail.

I used to shit on factory jobs, but after 15 years in retail, I can gladly say I wouldn't want to work anywhere else, I actually enjoy going to work. The conditions are second to none and I have nothing to complain about.

FUBAR

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #50 on: January 03, 2021, 01:50:09 PM »
Expand Quote
I’m the safety guy, which is WAY more than just telling people to put in their earplugs and not to do dumb shit. I love it because my boss leaves me alone to do my job. It can suck sometimes because people suck and make stuff way harder than it needs to be...and I hear a lot of whining.
[close]

In their defense, this ppe is too hot and I can’t see when I wear safety glasses.  I’m super careful and never get anything in my eyes.  I can just shut them when something comes flying at me.

I let them pick their PPE. Can’t complain after that.

looks ok to me

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #51 on: January 03, 2021, 07:41:00 PM »
I drive one of these and its a lot of fun. Especially backing up to shovels and dozers, feels like a big video game

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #52 on: January 03, 2021, 08:17:27 PM »
I was a dock hand for a few years. It was pretty fun. I learned how to tie a cleat with one hand so I could do two at a time(one with each hand) at the gas dock. That was a sure fire way to get a good tip. I once tied up Eric Clapton’s boat. I didn’t get to meet him but his captain was cool. Another time I watch a new dock hand not properly seal the septic pump and get covered in shit when it popped off. I work in IT at a school now. I can’t complain. Not as exciting but not bad.

RichardBarkley

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #53 on: January 05, 2021, 05:34:28 AM »
Ive been doing landscaping/garden maintenence for the past 11 years.... did my trade 21 to 25 and since then have been working qualified...its nice somedays, other days its just a paycheque

Me too man. I like it but the weather can really suck in Ireland.

Money ain't amazing either. I used to do tech sales for Oracle, Salesforce and a few others for years and make way more but I was miserable.

Where are you doing it ?
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ok boomer

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #54 on: January 05, 2021, 07:02:32 AM »
I worked in a warehouse from 15-21, then painted condos for a year. After that I had my own landscaping business until I was 32. From 32 until 36, I worked in another warehouse (mostly forklift stuff). 37 and 38 I was an inventory controller, which was (to me) in between blue and white collar, as I still physically did stuff, but a lot of data entry also. Warehouse / inventory control again from 38-41. 41-current: I am an office manager. Financially a good move, but I don't like the office life at all. Not a fan of the ass kissing and backstabbing in this world. I have told my wife that once we pay off the house, I would like to go back to the blue collar world. I find the hard work way more satisfactory and I like physically doing things soooo much more than computers.

When I did landscaping, it was hard work. Usually 7 days a week for 9 months of the year but I was off all winter. I enjoyed that a lot. I tried to get back into it at 38 but my body could not take the wear and tear of that, pretty disappointing! (38 was when I started noticing that my injuries were getting me back). Driving the forklifts and stacking heavy shit, I still enjoy though. I sometimes run to the back and help out, for fun. Like the vibes. When I was the warehouse boss here, I would blast Op Ivy, Slayer, Public Enemy back there and we would slay orders. Good times.

RichardBarkley

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #55 on: January 05, 2021, 09:57:17 AM »
I worked in a warehouse from 15-21, then painted condos for a year. After that I had my own landscaping business until I was 32. From 32 until 36, I worked in another warehouse (mostly forklift stuff). 37 and 38 I was an inventory controller, which was (to me) in between blue and white collar, as I still physically did stuff, but a lot of data entry also. Warehouse / inventory control again from 38-41. 41-current: I am an office manager. Financially a good move, but I don't like the office life at all. Not a fan of the ass kissing and backstabbing in this world. I have told my wife that once we pay off the house, I would like to go back to the blue collar world. I find the hard work way more satisfactory and I like physically doing things soooo much more than computers.

When I did landscaping, it was hard work. Usually 7 days a week for 9 months of the year but I was off all winter. I enjoyed that a lot. I tried to get back into it at 38 but my body could not take the wear and tear of that, pretty disappointing! (38 was when I started noticing that my injuries were getting me back). Driving the forklifts and stacking heavy shit, I still enjoy though. I sometimes run to the back and help out, for fun. Like the vibes. When I was the warehouse boss here, I would blast Op Ivy, Slayer, Public Enemy back there and we would slay orders. Good times.

Interesting reading man. I'm 34.. im working for someone landscaping now at the moment but want to go out on my own. But I am scared that it's a young man's game and if I invest too much in it... It could bite me in the ass. Could see myself doing serious injury by 40 doing this landscaping and skating.

Yeah that's why I left the office world. It sucks any individualism and character out of you. Constantly playing the game gets so exhausting mentally. You can never just be yourself. It's just not for me.

Your US ain't ya? I'm in Ireland. I wonder what the difference in landscaping money is between here and there. It's not great here.
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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #56 on: January 05, 2021, 10:28:45 AM »
I worked in a warehouse from 15-21, then painted condos for a year. After that I had my own landscaping business until I was 32. From 32 until 36, I worked in another warehouse (mostly forklift stuff). 37 and 38 I was an inventory controller, which was (to me) in between blue and white collar, as I still physically did stuff, but a lot of data entry also. Warehouse / inventory control again from 38-41. 41-current: I am an office manager. Financially a good move, but I don't like the office life at all. Not a fan of the ass kissing and backstabbing in this world. I have told my wife that once we pay off the house, I would like to go back to the blue collar world. I find the hard work way more satisfactory and I like physically doing things soooo much more than computers.

When I did landscaping, it was hard work. Usually 7 days a week for 9 months of the year but I was off all winter. I enjoyed that a lot. I tried to get back into it at 38 but my body could not take the wear and tear of that, pretty disappointing! (38 was when I started noticing that my injuries were getting me back). Driving the forklifts and stacking heavy shit, I still enjoy though. I sometimes run to the back and help out, for fun. Like the vibes. When I was the warehouse boss here, I would blast Op Ivy, Slayer, Public Enemy back there and we would slay orders. Good times.

Just out of interest, while you were landscaping (and even now to be honest) how was your garden?
I only ask as my garden is a constant thing and I've spoken to a few landscapers who always joke that their gardens are shitholes in the same way that "most mechanics drive shitboxes as who wants to spend all day working on cars and then go home to more work".

I spoke to maybe 2 or 3 landscapers who always joked their gardens were pretty bad.
"Broke the tail, like a well oiled snail"

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #57 on: January 05, 2021, 11:03:38 AM »
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I worked in a warehouse from 15-21, then painted condos for a year. After that I had my own landscaping business until I was 32. From 32 until 36, I worked in another warehouse (mostly forklift stuff). 37 and 38 I was an inventory controller, which was (to me) in between blue and white collar, as I still physically did stuff, but a lot of data entry also. Warehouse / inventory control again from 38-41. 41-current: I am an office manager. Financially a good move, but I don't like the office life at all. Not a fan of the ass kissing and backstabbing in this world. I have told my wife that once we pay off the house, I would like to go back to the blue collar world. I find the hard work way more satisfactory and I like physically doing things soooo much more than computers.

When I did landscaping, it was hard work. Usually 7 days a week for 9 months of the year but I was off all winter. I enjoyed that a lot. I tried to get back into it at 38 but my body could not take the wear and tear of that, pretty disappointing! (38 was when I started noticing that my injuries were getting me back). Driving the forklifts and stacking heavy shit, I still enjoy though. I sometimes run to the back and help out, for fun. Like the vibes. When I was the warehouse boss here, I would blast Op Ivy, Slayer, Public Enemy back there and we would slay orders. Good times.
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Interesting reading man. I'm 34.. im working for someone landscaping now at the moment but want to go out on my own. But I am scared that it's a young man's game and if I invest too much in it... It could bite me in the ass. Could see myself doing serious injury by 40 doing this landscaping and skating.

Yeah that's why I left the office world. It sucks any individualism and character out of you. Constantly playing the game gets so exhausting mentally. You can never just be yourself. It's just not for me.

Your US ain't ya? I'm in Ireland. I wonder what the difference in landscaping money is between here and there. It's not great here.

I did it mostly from 22-32, but I was still skating stairs and shit so I was messing myself up all over the place too. If you play it right, you basically be the boss (scheduling, quotes, supervising) and help on the easier stuff. I had a pretty good thing going but I moved and left the biz behind. Office world is wack, I'm lucky because I have 2 office employees here that are secretly also pretty cool, so we have a little clique that no one knows about.

It was o-k money here, hence working 7 days a week. Worked my ass off for 9 months so I could afford to sit around all winter. Plus my life was LOW maintenance then (had no wife or kid, so it was: rent, utilities, food, gas, cigs, board and shoes). Stuff has changed since my time (here that is). Yes, US!

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #58 on: January 05, 2021, 11:04:51 AM »
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I worked in a warehouse from 15-21, then painted condos for a year. After that I had my own landscaping business until I was 32. From 32 until 36, I worked in another warehouse (mostly forklift stuff). 37 and 38 I was an inventory controller, which was (to me) in between blue and white collar, as I still physically did stuff, but a lot of data entry also. Warehouse / inventory control again from 38-41. 41-current: I am an office manager. Financially a good move, but I don't like the office life at all. Not a fan of the ass kissing and backstabbing in this world. I have told my wife that once we pay off the house, I would like to go back to the blue collar world. I find the hard work way more satisfactory and I like physically doing things soooo much more than computers.

When I did landscaping, it was hard work. Usually 7 days a week for 9 months of the year but I was off all winter. I enjoyed that a lot. I tried to get back into it at 38 but my body could not take the wear and tear of that, pretty disappointing! (38 was when I started noticing that my injuries were getting me back). Driving the forklifts and stacking heavy shit, I still enjoy though. I sometimes run to the back and help out, for fun. Like the vibes. When I was the warehouse boss here, I would blast Op Ivy, Slayer, Public Enemy back there and we would slay orders. Good times.
[close]

Just out of interest, while you were landscaping (and even now to be honest) how was your garden?
I only ask as my garden is a constant thing and I've spoken to a few landscapers who always joke that their gardens are shitholes in the same way that "most mechanics drive shitboxes as who wants to spend all day working on cars and then go home to more work".

I spoke to maybe 2 or 3 landscapers who always joked their gardens were pretty bad.

That's funny, because yeah my yard was shit and I basically killed my own garden. Wasn't getting paid for it, so 0 effort. BUT now... my current house, yard and garden looking good even during winter, lol

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Re: Blue collar job
« Reply #59 on: January 05, 2021, 12:06:51 PM »
You go to a plumbers house and all the faucets are dripping. Mechanics always have the shittiest cars. Painter's houses are all putty and primer. Carpenter's house is always halfway finished. Extension cords all over an electrician's house