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career change


chrisp
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For the past ten years or so ive been parts manager / parts supervisor at an agricultural engineers ,prior to that i worked a shepherd / general farm worker ,ive also done fencing and some machine maintenance / repair work

My currenty job is getting old fast ,i tried changing companies two years ago and its the same **** as with any retail job ,the main problem is the moneys pretty good

Ive looked at getting back into a more hands on / outdoor kind of job again (farm / estate work) as i miss being outside but the moneys just not there

One thing i have thought about was putting myself through my telehandler tickets as ive 15 + years experience operating them and there seems a fair bit of well payed work (£15-£16) an hour self employed on contruction sites but i dont know how secure it would be and living in the scottish borders it would come with the possibility of alot of running up to edinburgh for jobs

Anyone any experience working in the construction industry ?

Thanks

 

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23 minutes ago, chrisp said:

Aye pretty much sums it up its too late to re train as anything worth while as ive a mortgage to pay and cant take a pay cut to train and too old for an apprenticeship anyway

You can still do apprenticeships when your all grown up, but it comes down to money, bills to pay life to live.

I hear folk say all the time they want out of engineering as its pants, but when your used to earning X amount you stick where you are.

have you thought about evening classes or open university type thing?

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Sorry mate did not mean it that way. You can still do it. Mate of mine is just retraining from being a chef to become a building surveyor. He needs to get his A levels first before he can get his degree so not quick. He is working part time as a chef at weekends to pay the bills. Where there is a will there is a way. 

 

Edited by oowee
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Currently having the same crisis, except I'm looking to get out of construction...

I have worked in the same thing since 16 and its now got really old and I'm not sure I can take another 38 years of this S2D2.

Down side is I am paid quite well and I do enjoy some elements of the job... every job has its trials, I would just like to try some different ones for a while.  

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Changing careers is always unnerving time, and you can only do what you think is best.

 From my stand point i am coming up 60 and still not sure what i wanted from a career, i like above ended up chasing money and i tend to regret this now kids growing up me away they are not young long and soon gone making their own lives.

Just a couple of things to consider as i see it , i wish you all the best whatever you do.

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Depends what you consider is good money - I know some people who consider £25k+ good money, and others who are on £50k+ and complain that they’re underpaid. 

In future I think I would prefer to work less, have a bit less but have more free time for things like taking the dog out, shooting or just chilling out. 

I imagine chilling out can be quite boring for some people though if they can’t afford to go out and do the things they want to do... 

 

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7 hours ago, chrisp said:

For the past ten years or so ive been parts manager / parts supervisor at an agricultural engineers ,prior to that i worked a shepherd / general farm worker ,ive also done fencing and some machine maintenance / repair work

My currenty job is getting old fast ,i tried changing companies two years ago and its the same **** as with any retail job ,the main problem is the moneys pretty good

Ive looked at getting back into a more hands on / outdoor kind of job again (farm / estate work) as i miss being outside but the moneys just not there

One thing i have thought about was putting myself through my telehandler tickets as ive 15 + years experience operating them and there seems a fair bit of well payed work (£15-£16) an hour self employed on contruction sites but i dont know how secure it would be and living in the scottish borders it would come with the possibility of alot of running up to edinburgh for jobs

Anyone any experience working in the construction industry ?

Thanks

 

nothing ventured nothing gained have worked in all aspects of building industry if you don't have a go you will always regret    an old dog can learn new tricks and then some more     always strive to improve skills and ££  greed is an excellent motivator       employed / self employed / sub contract / agency / tool hire co / are all available to you  grit your teeth and go you will not regret all the best going forward  always strive to improve yourself  no matter what  👍  there is also night school at your local collages etc to improve on business management studies etc  only you can hold you back    push your self out of your comfort zone  you will be surprised what you can achieve 

Edited by Saltings
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6 hours ago, Lord v said:

 Currently having the same crisis, except I'm looking to get out of construction...

I have worked in the same thing since 16 and its now got really old and I'm not sure I can take another 38 years of this S2D2.

Down side is I am paid quite well and I do enjoy some elements of the job... every job has its trials, I would just like to try some different ones for a while.  

move up in the industry  to management as you have ground floor experience  compared to that of university graduates  that don't have         in todays industry experience comes      before reading about it 

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5 hours ago, Saltings said:

move up in the industry  to management as you have ground floor experience  compared to that of university graduates  that don't have         in todays industry experience comes      before reading about it 

Already made that jump... Just getting a bit sick of this particular game. 

It's given me a lot of very useful soft skills though in management and organisation so can't complain. 

Couldn't agree more about experience though. 

Edited by Lord v
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Iv had the chance to re train but sadly it always comes down to money 

I also looked at open university courses in electrical engineering but 20 hours learning a week  for 4-6 years seemed out of my reach as i work 50-60 hours in my current job and have a baby at home

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Get on the horn to a local construction recruitment agency, and ask to speak to one of their recruiters.  Explain you have much experience driving Telehandlers, and are willing put yourself through the courses to get the tickets.  Ask them for realistic salary expectations and where (geographically) they have been placing people recently.

Just a guess but I assume you have experience driving agricultural Telehandlers rather than in the construction trade. That may make getting a foot in the door difficult, so a decent relationship with a  recruiter will help massively.  As in any business, there are sharks & BS merchants so take whatever they say with man-size pinches of salt.

 

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5 minutes ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Get on the horn to a local construction recruitment agency, and ask to speak to one of their recruiters.  Explain you have much experience driving Telehandlers, and are willing put yourself through the courses to get the tickets.  Ask them for realistic salary expectations and where (geographically) they have been placing people recently.

Just a guess but I assume you have experience driving agricultural Telehandlers rather than in the construction trade. That may make getting a foot in the door difficult, so a decent relationship with a  recruiter will help massively.  As in any business, there are sharks & BS merchants so take whatever they say with man-size pinches of salt.

 

Thanks ive spoke to a couple and most of the work seems to be up edinburgh way (about an hour from me)

Yes ive driven ag telehandlers but the machines are very similar apart from construction machines having stabiliser legs (lets hope the agencies and employers see it the same way !)

 

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I have been thinking about trying something new, I enjoy bits of my work but they are small parts of it and there are significant barriers to progression. I have enough in savings to fund a change if I could get back up to my current earnings inside three years but those savings may soon vanish into a house deposit in which case I will be stuck. 

Let us all know how you get on. 

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I would advise if you are looking at getting tickets for plant to operate in construction you would be best getting at least three different categories.. Putting all eggs in one basket etc. Maybe dump truc. Roller and tele handler. Agency can pay good money although travel will be part of it. And then there is winter when work seems a little scarce. But good luck with whatever you decide. 

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I (we) at work use industrial telehandlers and I got everyone in under the CPCS scheme.  A basic training package of practical and theoretical tests, plus CITB H&S test will get you to red card level (valid 2 years).  In that time you need to convert to a blue card (valid 5 years) by basically doing an NVQ.  This involved another trainer and a couple of days.  Revalidation on 5 years basically involves a work diary of operations and experience.  As with all these schemes it's jobs for the CPCS folk.

https://www.citb.co.uk/cards-testing/construction-plant-competence-scheme-cpcs/plant-operator/

On construction sites beware the jobs that want you to labour when you're not driving.  If you wanted to be a labourer, not that there's anything wrong with it, why would you spend time and money on learning to drive a handler!

Speaking to guy on a shoot the other day I understand there is good money to be found on industrial teles with zero hrs contracts on rail projects. Enables a spot of portfolio working if that's what you want.

very best of luck

 

Edited by LeadWasp
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2 minutes ago, scotslad said:

Depending wo ur used to but if u just like getting on with jobs some construction sites u'd pull ur hair out on, all the additional H&S etc, i wouldnae fancy goning back to work on large sites again.

Thats a good point as ive worked on farms and at ag engineers in the past where health and safety are dirty words and construction sites will be the opposite of that 

Just spoke to another agency there and he says to go for my tickets as there loads of work in the borders currently (alot in jedburgh so he says) but i get the impression he would say that as he wants guys on his books to keep the hourly rate down !

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Good luck whatever you decide. This is just food for thought regarding the devil you know:

Two airmen arrive at their new posting and have a chat with their boss. "I see you were at RAF *****, what was it like?", he asked the first. "Didn't really like it", was the reply, "not a lot going on socially and the work was boring." "You'll probably find it the same here", said the boss. Next airman went in and the boss noted that he came from the last station as the previous one. "How did you enjoy RAF *****?" "Superb", was the reply, " lots going on socially and really enjoyed the work and was sorry to leave." "You'll probably find it the same here", replied the boss.

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15 minutes ago, wymberley said:

Good luck whatever you decide. This is just food for thought regarding the devil you know:

Two airmen arrive at their new posting and have a chat with their boss. "I see you were at RAF *****, what was it like?", he asked the first. "Didn't really like it", was the reply, "not a lot going on socially and the work was boring." "You'll probably find it the same here", said the boss. Next airman went in and the boss noted that he came from the last station as the previous one. "How did you enjoy RAF *****?" "Superb", was the reply, " lots going on socially and really enjoyed the work and was sorry to leave." "You'll probably find it the same here", replied the boss.

I do get where your coming from but i genuinely cant see myself doing another 30+ years in this trade and if i leave it any longer thats what will inevitably happen 

If i try something different at least i can say i had a go

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36 minutes ago, chrisp said:

I do get where your coming from but i genuinely cant see myself doing another 30+ years in this trade and if i leave it any longer thats what will inevitably happen 

If i try something different at least i can say i had a go

Ah! Got the impression from your first post that you were somewhat older - you seem to have packed a lot in workwise - than you are.

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