Realistic chances of employment?

[Mick Dempsey]

40 minutes ago, Tree monkey 1682 said:

Bull shit all you want ,  your welcome to your opinion But how long does it take you u to be a decent climber? Isn't over night .

The guy who said to me that 16-30 be climbing and then 30-65 you'll be contracts maintenance .. and the is an article on them recently ,must be doing something right to have street tree contracts .

Many climbers start their career with firms servicing contracts in large metropolitan areas. It’s a bit of a meat grinder but you get time in the harness to become competent and experienced. 
Then after a bit they tire of being a cog in a wheel and drift to self employment or lured to smaller firms with better work. 
They certainly don’t accept their fate at 30 at start cutting grass like it’s Logan’s Run or something. 

[Mick Dempsey]

11 minutes ago, tree-fancier123 said:

If Ive gleaned it correctly you started at a similar age to the OP, about 30?, you've progressed from climbing as an employee to climbing for yourself in your own firm. Have now done about 30 years climbing and have earned enough for a decent retirement.

But just because you did it, doesnt mean others would be so resilient and motivated!

It’s not about being resilient/motivated (though I guess that’s a sort of compliment so thanks)

It’s about enjoying not starving to death and paying the rent/mortgage.

Though I have enjoyed the work I do admit. Which is a factor. 

[Mick Dempsey]

I was at a wedding recently, where I was chatting to a guy from here (Arbtalk) mid 40s, top top climber. 
Loves the job, says he hates the thought of not being able to do it. 
He certainly got a good few years left. 
 

[Steven P]

1 hour ago, Tree monkey 1682 said:

Not on about people like you, the muppets that change a career then have got no chance .

 

But in this case, the OP has been working on a farm for the last 10 years, reckon that gives him a step up from a 30 year old accountant of course. Be giving different advice if the background was different.

[tree-fancier123]

6 minutes ago, Steven P said:

 

But in this case, the OP has been working on a farm for the last 10 years, reckon that gives him a step up from a 30 year old accountant of course. Be giving different advice if the background was different.

how can you give advice to someone about earning a living cutting trees if you've never done it?

[Tree monkey 1682]

43 minutes ago, Dan Maynard said:

I think the grain of truth is that this statement comes from someone doing London street trees, which is basically a race around the trees following the previous cuts on piece work. This suits young climbers, I've met people who went down to the smoke to do this and then came back.

 

It's not what I want to be doing - I'd rather be in domestic arb working for people who appreciate me taking time and care to do a good job. There's no advantage in being 22 here, more of it's down to thinking fast, moving slow like Alex says. All about efficiency, and then thinking steps ahead will win over youth every time. Also turn up every day you say you're going to, with sharp saws and working kit.

 

Also my point about hard graft, use a loader. Don't need to bust a gut humping heavy wood around any more.

If your doing domestic work ,you can't always get tracked dumpers ,micro loader in on site , ive done most disciplines of tree work now , that although I enjoy what I do it doesn't mentally challenge me ,its boring ..

I see myself as I get older driving machines ....we might go full tilt and where u once had foresters doing tree work with machines ,it will go back to being mechanised rather than shimmying up trees ,

That and also the weather getting stupid .. sadly you can earn more driving plant than climbing trees, when I was younger it was the other way around .

 

[AHPP]

It really is a street tree 'factory job' vs everything else thing.

 

A day that illustrates the difference perfectly. Domestic development site. Couple of climbers in, me and another. His tree was on the fenceline, very typical. He'd come from a street tree firm and was keen to start putting brash on the ground to show some progress. Probably PTSD from some former gangmaster. He rashers down the leader over our garden in record time. Then had to cut and chuck the other 90% of the tree from over next door's side because he'd cut out the rigging point he needed at 08:15. He was having a nightmare on the wood. My tree was very similar. I didn't start a saw for an hour probably. Set up some lovely rigging and then lowered it all into the same spot a few feet inside the garden, no fighting the fence. I went down and had a coffee. He had his redbulls and cocaine sent up.

Edited 1 hour ago by AHPP

[Mick Dempsey]

I’d be a liar if I said I’d never posted this before. But it’s relevant. 

[Tree monkey 1682]

5 minutes ago, AHPP said:

It really is a street tree 'factory job' vs everything else thing.

 

A day that illustrates the difference perfectly. Domestic development site. Couple of climbers in, me and another. His tree was on the fenceline, very typical. He'd come from a street tree firm and was keen to start putting brash on the ground to show some progress. Probably PTSD from some former gangmaster. He rashers down the leader over our garden in record time. Then had to cut and chuck the other 90% of the tree from over next door's garden because he'd cut out the rigging point he needed at 08:15. He was having a nightmare on the wood. My tree was very similar. I didn't start a saw for an hour probably. Set up some lovely rigging and then lowered it all into the same spot a few feet inside the garden, no fighting the fence. I went down and had a coffee. He had his redbulls and cocaine sent up.

Not always,  your comparing someone who's done powerline and street trees and it isn't the same , ive never known anyone to chuck a load on the floor unless its railways or powerline both attract the worse 'tree surgeons ' going and I use that term loosely 

[AHPP]

9 minutes ago, Mick Dempsey said:

I’d be a liar if I said I’d never posted this before. But it’s relevant. 

 

👆 Checks out.