Sgfinco
Active Member
I recently went on my own as a full time contract climber and love it but my biggest hang up is longevity. I've climb with modern techniques, don't work very hard physically when I climb anymore and have the skill set to handle whatever is thrown at me. I'm 25 now so I figure 10 to 15 good years of production climbing but then what? I can always go full tree service, I enjoy bidding work, talking to clients about the right way to care for their trees but I'm not a mechanic, finding places to dispose of material is a hassle and employees will always be a struggle in our industry.
Ive been considering diversifying my skill set to include industrial rope access, will be attaining my ctsp this year and would love to move into a training focused role eventually.
I've worked for bigger companies, I've trained crew leaders, climbers and lift operators, but I get incredibly bored climbing one real tree per month. Being a full time salesman seems awful. $25 an hour isn't enough to buy a house and live comfortably.
What's the solution for someone like me? Ride the contractor wave as long as possible and see where it goes? Suck it up and be another asshole with a chipper and chip truck saying I'm the best? Or suck it up, take a job and just get by, everyone I contract for wants to offer me a job but the wages aren't there. If I'm just taking a job I might as well be a plumber and make a decent living for an entire career.
Ive been considering diversifying my skill set to include industrial rope access, will be attaining my ctsp this year and would love to move into a training focused role eventually.
I've worked for bigger companies, I've trained crew leaders, climbers and lift operators, but I get incredibly bored climbing one real tree per month. Being a full time salesman seems awful. $25 an hour isn't enough to buy a house and live comfortably.
What's the solution for someone like me? Ride the contractor wave as long as possible and see where it goes? Suck it up and be another asshole with a chipper and chip truck saying I'm the best? Or suck it up, take a job and just get by, everyone I contract for wants to offer me a job but the wages aren't there. If I'm just taking a job I might as well be a plumber and make a decent living for an entire career.