New climber, looking for guidance

[CjM]

Good on ya Owen, you can get a long way on that kind of enthusiasm and attitude.

I agree stay in school as long as you can, but no matter what you do, a good tree climber will almost never be out of a job. Tough job market these days, and a lot less job security across the board. I've moved out of state with my lady a couple times now with no real plan, and was always able to fall in with a local crew. My tree experience and references are, for me at least, better security than my bachelors degree. A family friend's old man always kept his plumber's union card current throughout his career in medicine, because you never know.

And I agree getting any kind of climbing experience is a great head start. I started with 0 tree experience but a lot of rock climbing experience. The crew was very impressed that I could tie every knot, ended up running the port a wrap on my trial day.

And I loved my time climbing trees and rocks in NC. Good luck!

 

[southsoundtree]

MORE CORE-STRENGTH.

GREAT Cardiovascular fitness.

No smoking.

 

[Reach]

MORE CORE-STRENGTH.

GREAT Cardiovascular fitness.

No smoking.

I’ll second that, especially the no smoking! Not only is it bad for your physical fitness, it’s bad for the rest of you, and downright unprofessional when you’re puffing away in someone’s front yard.

 

[Basswood]

There’s a company called Treeist that I think is in NC that I follow. Really solid looking company that seems to do training courses as well from what I gather. I’d look into their courses and even working part time for them if I was in your situation.

 

[dspacio]

Have you tried just showing up at a tree companies shop 7am one morning and asking in person if you could shadow them for the day?

This is how I became regular with the crew I first worked with. The boss man was super hard for me to get straight answers from, I helped him plant a few times on weekends. then just started showing up every morning at 730 ready to go... full time work

 

[Cereal_Killer]

...started showing up every morning at 730 ready to go... full time work

7:30? You're half an hour late bud!

 

[Basswood]

Shit you both are two hours late.

 

[Cereal_Killer]

Shit you both are two hours late.

7am is winter start time. What do you do for 3 hours before the sun comes up?

 

[Basswood]

7am is winter start time. What do you do for 3 hours before the sun comes up?

530am start often for city work. The Traffic is that bad. I luckily haven’t been on that crew much this winter but got put on it today, at least the work was light.

 

[dspacio]

7:30? You're half an hour late bud!

I hear ya, they weren't the early starting crew. usually wouldn't get out of the yard until way past 8... would kinda drive me nuts.

a crew I climbed for a few times recently were calling 8:30 start, sometimes 9am... I couldn't handle it. every business can make its own way though.

 

[moss]

Without the benefit of a consistent mentor I focused on developing climbing skills and techniques. I was working full time in an unrelated career so I didn’t have financial pressure on my climbing. Didn’t touch a chainsaw in a tree for several years, used a sharp handsaw for everything. That forced me to go small, develop strong work positioning, form good cuts, and work on light rigging techniques. Once I started using a top handle saw in the tree I had some strong fundamentals to build on.
-AJ

 

[southsoundtree]

I hear ya, they weren't the early starting crew. usually wouldn't get out of the yard until way past 8... would kinda drive me nuts.

a crew I climbed for a few times recently were calling 8:30 start, sometimes 9am... I couldn't handle it. every business can make its own way though.

Sometimes that is what allows a parent to get a kid to school or daycare.

 

[dspacio]

Sometimes that is what allows a parent to get a kid to school or daycare.

Absolutely. I have sons too, that wasn't the case here. I don't mean to come off as judgmental; I think it worked for their team.
It's just a bummer rushing to keep daylight on the other end, it was autumn. I have heard that over 90% of job injuries occur in the final hour of work, rushing to finish because daylight is fading only aggravates this. For me that schedule was just odd, waiting and watching the sun get up there before work.

Another vaguely related tidbit this raises, around the original question for new tree workers, is to be aware of co-workers mental and physical states. Apply extra caution if anyone is impaired or distracted. Not only substances but relationship battles can put folks in distracted states. Now I feel preachy, but it could be helpful to remember. Increasing safety awareness in these times has prevented me from getting bonked by a branch a good few times. There are those I trust very well, and those with which I will watch my tail every time they drag a branch.

Makes me grateful for all the great working relationships throughout the seasons. Getting to know other workers moods, energetic rhythms of the day, and what they like doing makes the whole thing so much better.