Barking Mad? (another career change thread!)

[FATHER ZED]

Dont get me wrong, I'm not particularly fit, and could not run a half marathon tomorrow or any other day, but I can do tree work without it doing me in because my body has learned how to over time.

 

I think it sounds as though you have a good measure of all the necessary qualities, but still I would say get some part time work with a company, small outfits are usually better than large ones, and learn from that as much, if not more than from college.

 

Without wishing to sound too braggy, I am quite tenacious.

 

Probably more now, than when I was younger - as the thought of becoming

'of retirement age' puts the fear of God in me!

 

It's not the matter of age that worries me, more the fact that the employment situation is dire, and I REALLY do not want to spend a significant proportion of the

next 25/28 years on the unemployed slag-heap.

 

Personality wise, if I think I can find myself a little niche in a field I enjoy, I'll

probably damn near kill myself getting from A to B, now to then, if I think I can make it work out .........

 

That's not to say I won't consider this with some sort of clinical, appraising

approach ..... there's other things I could do - go back into the dreaded

sparking being one ......

 

But I do think this is one thing that get's me excited..... You only live once don't you!

 

 

Also, I agree, I think the PT work, working alongside experienced peeps would be

very fruitful!

[Rupe]

Check out my photos on my facebook page, all good stuff!

[FATHER ZED]

Check out my photos on my facebook page, all good stuff!

 

 

Some REALLY good shots on their!!

 

[FATHER ZED]

Some REALLY good shots on their!!

 

 

 

And your dog, if s/he is your dog, looks uncannily like my bitch!

[Taupotreeman]

I'd have to agree with a couple of the others that said it was dangerous trying to go self employed with the lack of experience you have, especially when you are starting out in the trade at 40+. I'm not ageist and I don't wish to put you off but I have just had to give up full time SE work (at 40) as I am no longer young enough (and the body won't hold up long enough) to work fast enough to be able to compete price wise with some of the other outfits. Add in to that the number of companies out there and you may be battling for every penny, against guys who have been in the trade for a long time. If it were me in the same position I'd be tempted to do a couple of base courses before commiting to a long term degree and, if you are keen on the self employed route, start small. Don't invest in too much gear and sub yourself out as brush dragger to other companies to get some more experience on the tools. At least you'll get more of an idea of what you can physically manage to do, if this level will be sufficient to keep you competative and also it will give you chance to get a better perspective on the market and if there is sufficient work out there to support you. I now work for council which gives me my secure income, then do my own work at weekends. Don't forget, if you invest big in the gear it's going to break down sooner or later and will need replacing. That includes you. Whichever route you take I wish you luck.

Edited July 25, 2011 by Taupotreeman

[FATHER ZED]

I'd have to agree with a couple of the others that said it was dangerous trying to go self employed with the lack of experience you have, especially when you are starting out in the trade at 40+. I'm not ageist and I don't wish to put you off but I have just had to give up full time SE work (at 40) as I am no longer young enough (and the body won't hold up long enough) to work fast enough to be able to compete price wise with some of the other outfits. Add in to that the number of companies out there and you may be battling for every penny, against guys who have been in the trade for a long time. If it were me in the same position I'd be tempted to do a couple of base courses before commiting to a long term degree and, if you are keen on the self employed route, start small. Don't invest in too much gear and sub yourself out as brush dragger to other companies to get some more experience on the tools. At least you'll get more of an idea of what you can physically manage to do, if this level will be sufficient to keep you competative and also it will give you chance to get a better perspective on the market and if there is sufficient work out there to support you. I now work for council which gives me my secure income, then do my own work at weekends. Don't forget, if you invest big in the gear it's going to break down sooner or later and will need replacing. That includes you. Whichever route you take I wish you luck.

 

Yes, I'd find it hard to argue with you, on any of the points you've raised!

 

I know you're right. Totally.

 

Confused.com lol

 

I'll probably keep bouncing between being excited about the idea (generally, I mean), and also

wondering whether I'm as mad as a march hare, and should find an easier path in life!

 

I don't know! Maybe there's some kind of 'happy medium'.

 

The only thing I am sure about now then, is the need to give this more thought!

 

Thanks for your input!

[Taupotreeman]

Father Zed; don't let it put you off doing something you maybe possibly love. There's more than one way to skin a cat, possibly just give it some consideration and look at all your options within the industry. If you want to be outside and working with trees there's heaps of options, you just have to find the one that best suits you, your income requirements, your physical capabilities and your experience. I'm currently looking at training up a 50 year old to be my groundy in the short term. Mad maybe but he's keen and likes working with trees so why shouldn't I give him a go? I don't expect him to climb except to be able to perform a rescue and we don't have to go like a bat out of hell as we work for the council. Long term I'll get a younger fella on to do the big stuff and the more tricky work but it still shouldn't stop this older guy from being able to work on the crew.

[pgkevet]

From the non-arb - just general thoughts:

 

Whatever you do depends more on self appraisal and temperament. Having determination is all very well but if you can't sell - yourself or your services - then it's going to be tough.

 

I've known all kinds of folk with all kinds of qualification and lack of qualifications that have blagged their way into jobs they knew nothing about and done well or been highly knowledgeable and failed.

 

On of the many realities I've had to face is that as you get older it takes longer to learn .. certainly to develop muscle memory .as well as the item it takes to get back tot he active retention of knowledge from books and lectures. 40 is no age at all but if it's going to take 3-5 years of book work then you will be getting towards that wall.

 

Another thought for you: within any trade there are subsets of that trade.. whether you continue these plans and chop wood and sell or climb and climb or plant/grow/advise... the same doubtless applies to your sparkie past.

 

I'm guessing that in a recession folk aren't needing as many house wires..but often the funds get used for small extensions or a few lights on the patio or the time for small businesses that can't now afford to relocate to tidy up their present setup etc..that and all the hideous needs for certifications. You may do better financially by sticking with what you know and finding a niche you can tolerate.

[FATHER ZED]

Thank you both for these last couple of replies....

 

Having slept, and put everyones' contributions in some sort of perspective,

 

I think I asked the wrong question at the start of this thread!

 

I should have asked: "is this feasible?"

 

Everyone has shown a good deal of wisdom in their replies, and it's certainly

made me think.

 

I suppose I forget I'm 40 some of the time.

 

As a bit of a 'bolshy git' at heart, I suspect I'm inclined to ignore this

fact some of the time too

 

What will I do?

 

I'm not completely sure.

 

The house will go on the market in the next week (I've been doing this

pile up to sell),

 

... and if I'm lucky it will sell quickly - it's a nice gaff, I fancy my chances that someone will fall in love with it like we did.

 

I'll move....

 

The time frame of all this will have an impact - I might be too late to get on to a

course this year anyway - It already been quite near to September .....

I'll lose 6 weeks exchanging contracts...

(although I know the short courses are less rigid)

 

On the plus side, I've got some options at least!

 

And more options if I ditch the idea of climbing.... which isn't necessarily the

be all and end all ... like you say Taupotreeman, there are other roles I could look

at!

 

Possibly putting my eggs in a few different baskets could be the way to go....

I'm not averse to gardening and brush-cutting... for instance, I could do

these things to prop me up, while I explore what sort of tree work I can get,

or what i can do well ....... There's a few ways I could approach this.

 

Thanks again for your time and patience, everyone!

 

I really do appreciate it !!

[adman]

hi everyone on arbtalk, i'm adman (dean lofthouses wee 'nephew').

hi father zed, read this post with interest and tbh i agree with the others. it's probably not a great industry to start off in 40+ trying to be a climber.

i'm 43 and would say i'm quick & efficient at tree work, but this comes from 14 years experience and being involved in rock climbing all my life. i think you'd get alot of injuries which would waste/ hold you back too much.

other important thing to consider is you need a huge amount of experience & gut feeling to see you through tight corners, and this is only got from years of time to build this up. i came from forestry before i was involved with tree surgery, so i already had good basic skills & instinct, but i'm still learning lots of things that paper qualifications won't give you...and they tend to be the more important lessons and techniques.

take care & think hard before you change your spots!!