Rates of pay?

[swinny]

]

 

 

New outfits? Just like they were you mean?

 

Nothing wrong with one man bands or lawn mowing companies that dabble in small tree work. Can be a profitable buisiness model. It certainly worked for me when I was getting started. Just because you can use a chainsaw doesn't mean you're special. Particularly with the huge amount of college leavers with their CS courses under their belt.

 

I'm with those who mentioned the cost of living. Thats the real issue. The fact that this country is screwed. You can't tell me that the current generation has the same opportunities (as things stand, it may get better but I doubt it) as the generation that went before.

 

I blame the baby boomers and the banks.

 

 

*closes cat box quietly, exit dovecote stage left...*

 

Exactly! I was born a few decades to late 70's 80's and 90's would have been great to work in!

[egnsean]

Although I wouldn't word it in quite the same way as Huck, I do agree in with his family ways, my family structure is pretty much the same. It's not Neanderthal, quite, perhaps not PC in some eyes these days, but it has worked for us as a family for 25 years.

I agree, before it became the norm for women to work and then a necessity there were far fewer social problems ie drugs/juvenile crime ect, being a housewife and mother is a full time job if done correctly not neanderthal just a Fact.

[Big J]

Before I went self employed I often bitched and moaned that I was worth more. The company I worked for did extract the michael somewhat by putting me on a base salary but had me on 24/7 call out for no extra. This included holidays. I was finally made redundant and had little option but to go self employed. That was a massive learning curve. It's not until you actually run a business you realise just how difficult it is and how much time, money and effort it takes. You don't take in to consideration how much extra needs to be earnt in order to pay for holidays (if you're really lucky), breakdowns etc. Neither do you allow for how difficult it is to get the work in the first place in a cut throat market. Eventually I couldn't cut it against the big boys who were having their own price war and took a job with local council. I still keep my private business running and that now provides a little extra for me to do the things I want to do but it does entail working saturdays, half sundays and all public holidays. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Just because you're good doesn't mean to say you're going to get great money unfortunately. There's always someone willing to undercut you for a half ass job and just because you own the business doesn't mean you're bringing in good coin. Some have to sacrifice the holidays and even a regular wage for a long period just to get the business etablished and then staying in business and being able to continually compete with the multitude of new outfits, one man bands, lawn mowing companies that can "trim your tree Mrs" and various others? well that's a whole other ball game.

 

A similar experience to my own I would say.

 

Not working in the domestic market means that whilst the work is more regular, the potential reward is lower. I've had far too many cutters come and sub contract for me over the last few years, and each of them has gone the way moaning about wages/work. In fairness, I make so little from the forestry it's barely worth my time but I do it to basically cover our rent (I work for the estate we rent our house from) and ensure that the fairly specialised, delicate and highly publically visible work that needs to be done on the estate is done to a very high standard, by someone who has a vested interest in the place.

 

I think that many people in the industry do have an over inflated idea of what they are worth. It's worth bearing in mind that you could do most of your tickets inside a month for a few grand. Compared to a university education in say engineering, architecture or medicine it's both a tiny investment of time and money. Climbers insisting on £200 a day should be reminded that in industries such as engineering or architecture, £200 a day wages is rare outside of senior management.

 

For me, the amount of tickets or experience a person has is almost irrelevant. It's all about attitude and work ethic and these are qualities that you cannot teach.

[Jesse]

Hello people!

I only just joined yesterday so this is my first message. I just wanted to know about some of the rates of pay climbers are getting out there if you wouldn't mind sharing it? I been doing tree surgery for around 7 years and currently working on the railway. Been working there for 2 years and earning £100 a day self imployed. It's been constant work, but I can't see myself earning more there. As that's the sort of rates he pays. Can anyone share there wage that is self employed?

 

Like whats been said, if you are getting that every day all year i'd say stick with it, you could always just tell then that you have reviewed your own rates and are putting a small increase at say 5%or 10% at the end of the month or year, if you do it each year at least your getting a bit more and on that increase they are unlikely to get rid of someone as reliable as you have proven to be, sometimes you have to push a little bit in life to get what you want. Company's who have reliable staff don't like loosing them, they may ask you not to divulge your pay rise with anyone else. Keep what you get quite.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

 

I think that many people in the industry do have an over inflated idea of what they are worth. It's worth bearing in mind that you could do most of your tickets inside a month for a few grand. Compared to a university education in say engineering, architecture or medicine it's both a tiny investment of time and money. Climbers insisting on £200 a day should be reminded that in industries such as engineering or architecture, £200 a day wages is rare outside of senior management.

 

For me, the amount of tickets or experience a person has is almost irrelevant. It's all about attitude and work ethic and these are qualities that you cannot teach.

 

Whilst I would agree with much of this I wouldnt agree that middle management/pen pushing roles are worth anymore than the top rates a climber/foreman would receive. Both roles require different skills, both high levels of skill and experience, but one thing that is not factored in is the short lifespan of a climber, many will bang on and on about this guy or that guy at 70 still doing the climbing blah blah, but these are exceptions to the rule.

 

A bad climber will kill somebody, a good climber is jugling many responsibilities, the poor one couldn't give a hoot. You get what you pay for in this world.

 

I couldnt get 200 pounds a day if i tried as a freelance climber, not and be busy 6 day weeks, theres so many factors in determining your own value, I have always relied on my capacity to do ANY tree thrown at me and to complete works in the most efficient way possible. This alone means I will always get a little more than the average Joe fee wise, but it also means i will not be called in for average jobs that Joe can do.

 

I had to swallow my tongue recently when doing a job where a young lad had been hired as freelance for the day, a basic couple of tickets two saws selling himself as a groundy/feller for £130 a day and fresh from tickets! Now That isnt much below me money wise, and I think there is something very wrong with these young boys assumptions about this industry, and there is only one reason they are assuming they are entitled to such disproportionate wages.

 

And if i am wrong, and these lads are entitled worth 130 a day, than Im worth 260 a day and not a penny less!

 

I didnt know what he was charging till I was asked what I would have paid him for his efforts that day ( I had to tell him to pull his finger out a couple of times) I said 60-80 a day, the Bossman choked:lol:

 

The mid to 80's to 2000 were probably peak time, but a decade of over enthusiastic teens and delusional collages building them up into a frenzy has seen an end to the Hay making, if you want to continue making Hay, I would suggest a new industry would be the best plan or to add as many strings within this one to your bow as is possible. Set yourself apart be so usefull in so many areas of this industry as to become almost indispensable, and rack up them hours of experience too.

 

If I was a young lad looking for a decent wage in this day and age I would be looking to Law, H&S sector, or the biofuel sector, which is about to balloon, or a bit of all three

[swinny]

He wouldnt get that up here tony!

[Hodge]

He wouldnt get that up here tony!

 

He would round here if being a rent boy😁

 

 

Sent from Hodge's eye phone using the new fancy Arbtalk Mobile App:)

[swinny]

He would round here if being a rent boy😁

 

 

Sent from Hodge's eye phone using the new fancy Arbtalk Mobile App:)

 

You familiar with the going rates lol

[Hodge]

You familiar with the going rates lol

 

Sshh, don't want all the arbtalk lot to know about my sideline.

 

 

Sent from Hodge's eye phone using the new fancy Arbtalk Mobile App:)

[Andy Collins]

1970s.... 3 day weeks, strikes, pay cuts, blackouts, extortianate costs of living

1980s.... 1 in 10 unemployed, no chances no breaks no good, I had to do three part time jobs, starting at 5am til midnight to earn enough to live on. 3million unemployed. The plus side was lack of crappy tickets needed, I could finish a job Friday, start a new one Monday, no problems, it just wasn't full time. Went plastering, loadsamoney!!!!!

1990s another crap decade begins, slump, took a crap warehouse job to ride the economic slump, had a fiver left over after bills were paid.

96 things finally pick up and I earn good money in tree work. It took me 16 blooming years to strt to earn sensible money. No easy route, no good wages straight from college. Life is tough.

Would I want to be starting out now in this game? Definitely not, too crowded, too many in it, fighting for crumbs, the Arb sector will collapse under its own weight sooner or later.