experiences after first 12 months in tree surgery

[dandkgroundcare]

god when i first started in the early 90's i was on youth training scheme with fountain got paid £27.50 a week and loved it then as much as i still do now everyday is different.

only thing that has changed in that time is the regs

[Ty Korrigan]

Hello,

As some may have read, I'm in Bretagne, France.

Normally, I'm a gardener looking after second homes and whatever comes my way.

Rather than employ tree surgeons here and lose out on work, I took some time out to retrain in '08 and now offer tree services along with my 'collaborator' who acts as my bad tempered groundsman. (good cop bad cop..)

I did try working for 2 French companies to gain some experience but sadly realised very fast that nothing was to be learned there.

So I decided to go back to trading under my old name and also under the umbrella of my collaborator.

We cut grass one week and do hedges, trees and other stuff the next.

Rained hard recently so we started our winter project early. A manor house, clearing its grounds ready for the builders.

All burn on site and 400euros a day for 2 men with cash paid to a U.K bank from Saudi.

Some good climbing to be had and alot of felling which I love as I'm always trying for the perfect cut.

With the pound falling against the euro, times are tough out here but we still get the work coming in although we have dropped our prices when dealing with retired folk as they really are feeling the pinch.

I may be 40 and too old to ever be a fast climber but I'm much younger in terms of fitness levels.

I feel safe in the tree and enjoy the work immensely and wish I'd done this 20years ago.

However, I also wish I had done some time with a really good firm so as to build up on my experience first.

Ah well... who would employ a 40 year old 10 week tree surgeon eh...?

Better off going it for myself.

[Jon Lad]

I have a lot of respect for people who come into this job later in life. When you're young accidents are things which happen to other people and you don't think about how dangerous it is. Combined with how physically demanding and mentally stressful climbing is, I think it is tough for someone to begin a career in tree work when they are older and shows real strength of character to stick with it.

[bggc]

Hello Ty, i'm sort of with you on you're final point about going it for yourself, i hope nobody gets me wrong but us newbies could be waiting around forever to try and hook up with a firm or such like to pick up the valuable experience we need. I'v always tried to do everything properly if i can and i'v never been one for just winging it, if you do you could destroy your name overnight and never pick up any work ever again aswell as hurt yourself or somebody. I have to say though, this is one cracking site with loads of knowledgable members willing to help people at all levels of the trade so where better for us to start?!

[Frank]

Hello Ty, i'm sort of with you on you're final point about going it for yourself, i hope nobody gets me wrong but us newbies could be waiting around forever to try and hook up with a firm or such like to pick up the valuable experience we need. I'v always tried to do everything properly if i can and i'v never been one for just winging it, if you do you could destroy your name overnight and never pick up any work ever again aswell as hurt yourself or somebody. I have to say though, this is one cracking site with loads of knowledgable members willing to help people at all levels of the trade so where better for us to start?!

 

I wouldnt advise anyone to "go it alone" until they are 100% sure that there isnt a tree in the world that they couldnt handle, or have enough contacts to make big jobs easier, i.e tractor/trailers etc. The one thing about this job is that every tree is different, a different scenario, a different situation, the only thing that can help you sometimes is by calling on EXPERIENCE. Laying bricks is the same from job to job, just in a different place or a different shape.

 

Like you say, just winging it could be disastrous, as could doing an 11 week course and then setting up on your own.

[Jon Lad]

bggc are you wanting to get into tree work and stop doing ground maintenance? Or do you just want to diversify into another area in addition to your existing business?

[bggc]

Evening Jon, to be honest i'll keep the grounds maintenance side of things going and try to slowly introduce more and more tree work, if the works there then great i can sink my teeth into it but i'm not expecting it to be that straight forward. As Frank has just pointed out i'd be daft to take anything on thats out of my league, ideally i'd like to forge a working relationship with another Arborist in the region if possible to maybe pass jobs on to in return for involvment on the job so as to pick up experience, i do fear the cold shoulder though!

[Jon Lad]

The only problem is local tree firms you approach might think that: 1. They would get a chance at quoting for the work independently of you passing it on. And 2. For them they might see it as teaching Archie, someone who eventually might be a competitor.

What do you do by way of tree work at the moment?

[bggc]

Exactly mate, that's why i fear the cold shoulder. I don't specificly advertise myself as a Tree Surgeon or Arborist at the moment but i do still get asked to remove Conifers now and again, nothing too big, as well as odd pruning jobs where the customer points out something they want removing for a specific reason.

[Jon Lad]

Have you thought about doing any arb qualifications? RFS Certificate or I.S.A. Certified Arborist? It might give you more confidence dealing with customers and when you talk to local tree firms.