Hi All, First post and new to this forum. Will be as brief as possible... 48 yrs old and have been in landscape and/or golf maintenance/construction for over 30 of those. Have had scattered experience over that time with many earthmoving pieces, backhoe/loaders, ex's, skids even a handful of times have had opportunities to mess with dozers. From the beginning, excavation equipment was what got me into Golf Maintenance in the first place, but have spent the past 20 years (successfully) as a Superintendent, and can not say that my primary responsibilities have been equip operation. Few questions and looking for your honest opinions if I may... With experience being so important when even being considered for a position operating, is what I speak of above even going to get consideration or an opportunity to try? I have to believe that a positive track record as a good employee over the years with some "old school" work ethic deserves attention in your business. I certainly respect my more experienced veterans/friends when it comes to just about anything...am I assuming correctly that these attributes are something that a potential employer may value even with the lack of experience operating on a daily basis. Being from the Boston area (northeast) what would one expect for compensation at this stage of the game, assuming that steps one and two get consideration?!! Thank you in advance for any responses, as I have made a fair living in the golf industry but would like to "adjust" things a little bit and do what I really always wanted to, and the time is now. Cheers all and thank you...I'm all ears if you can assist!
My personal take on this and do not take it personally. If I was hiring and I had a choice between a green 48 year old and a green 20 year old, assuming that both were willing to show up every day and work, I would take the 20 year old every time. At 48 it takes a lot more time for auto brain to muscles coordination to train to do a task automatically. At 48 by the time a employer gets a hand to where he is top notch he is getting ready to retire. At 48 you simply are not physically able to hang as long as a 20 year old, especially if you are green and wasting time, moves, and energy. I am over 48 by a lot and I see it in me every day even thou I have been quite regularly running machines my whole life just because I enjoy it. Again just looking at it in a pure business sense. I wish you all the luck in following your dreams.
But 48 year olds who show up to work not drunk every day are not so hard to find as 20 year olds who do the same.
I think it depends on the type of work you apply for. If it involves landscaping and grading, nothing is more landscaped than a golf course. I don't think you'd make what a golf course superintendent would but you'd have a good idea what the finished job should look like. A lot of newbies get a good enough attitude because they don't have the experience and/or the patience to learn how to do a 100% job.
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I totally appreciate the honesty and frank comments. I agree with many levels regarding wanting "young", but have certainly over the years appreciated the retired guy's ethics and attitudes. Not that mowing equip is in the same league! But curious if the fact that I haven't done site work makes one green in your opinions? Put me in a Cat and I would appear that way, JD controls you'd say "I can work with this guy". Ive done well mind-erasing H pattern into joystick controls, that's how I learned. And for the fun of it I can stack or feed a stockpile without rolling a dozer over lol. I wouldn't be adept at fine grading ones driveway today, but have done a lot of different golf projects, etc. with all kinds of equip, so I appreciate the reply that I feel confident knowing and envisioning what a finished product should appear to be. Thx again.
As a small business owner who values ethics in my team, there still is the proving. And some of yours will come down to how proficient you are with the sticks & pedals. Read CM1995s post on the Hierarchy thread (that is close to this one). Looks to me you need to try and find someone where you can hire in at the bottom, and then prove yourself. With values and work ethic, you'll be seen soon. Your next job may be higher up in that company, or another one you all have worked with. There are times in a small Co. they want to move you up, there just aren't any spots. So you have to move to another one to go up. Do it without burning bridges. For what it is worth- most of our techs are gray haired. The young ones come & go- we've kept the gray hairs. And when hiring, we're now leaning towards the older crew that is stable and makes better decisions.
Can't say I agree with everything written about getting older, as some people age differently. I've seen guys in their thirties who know the lot and won't change, and some in their fifties who don't struggle to adapt to major changes. The trick is not to think "old". As you're moving to something related to your previous experience, it shouldn't be too big a step. It's not like you've decided to retrain as a brain surgeon or lawyer. In my opinion it's more down to how much you want to do something. I work with a 71-yr old who isn't frightened to learn new tricks. The only downside is when older guys move into a new profession, they often expect the same money that they've worked up to in previous work, and don't like taking the initial knock-back in the pay packet.
Been there done that at 38 moved from mechanic to Utility worker(glorified janitor) to gain access to bid rights to get a Operations position in a power plant. Learning new game and strategy as well new architecture at just under forty was ROUGH. Had not been thru that much schooling since trade school in the 70's.
Thanks again guys for your input. So at my age of 48, I feel that I've still got "ground game" in me and more than willing to put in what I need to gain credibility and prove myself. Again, have been operating some form of heavy machinery since a young age, over 30 years ago pushing 35 probably. Just not slinging pipe or installing utilities, strictly excavation/earthmoving. Honestly, after supervising for 20 plus years I would hire me. Not to sound funny, I just want to work and be the best I can at whatever it may be. I wanted to stick with operating since 20, but got into golf maintenance/const as I picked that up quickly and knew I could make more money. Now being between jobs, getting my 2A (finally legal) and ready to "move on", I feel that with all of the experience gained over the years would mold quickly and effectively into a valuable employee for an earthmoving company. A plus is also my respect for experienced/silvery hair guys that make it look easy. I'd like to finish off my career as one of them! Thanks again.
It doesn't really matter what you think. What matters is what a potential employer will think. Attitude and willingness to learn are great assets but you have to get your foot in the door first. Selling yourself is part of that. I knew a guy years ago that said anybody can run an excavator... knowing how to make the finished job look like it's supposed to is the hard part.
You might try the sand/gravel pits or outfits that do demo or tear-out. When I worked in bigger pits, we always hired guys to run skiddys and smaller loaders to clean up around the conveyors, crusher and wash plants. Just general pit duty maintaining settling ponds, wash pits and waste areas. It would be easier duty where grade and finish wouldn't be critical, give you a chance to put in some machine hours getting more comfy with control and feel. One employer ran a separate crew for concrete demo, a 315, 308 and 2 272D skiddys with grapples plus dump trucks. The heavy highway crew ran 2 general skiddy/loader operators just to pick up loose ends and transport materials. One thing - if you hear the words, "that old scraper", run fast, run far.
My experience with the young guys hasn't been good. They expect a lot of pay for little work and have little to no loyalty. I personally looked for experienced people (older) when I was a bigger operation. The work ethics in young people just doesn't seem to be there.