I need your guys advice, im 18 and live in NJ, and I want to become an operator but i have no idea on how to get into the buisness. The only machines ive operated are, a ford 675d backhoe and a small kubota tractor and the seat time ive had with those machines is nothing at all to brag about. Any help from you guys on what i should be doing would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dan
Hey Dan, You sound alot like me at 18. I got hired at a concrete and paving company as a laborer and stuck around till someone saw that I was resposible enough to start training. Show up for work everyday, ON TIME, sober,always have your PPE (personal protective equipment), carry a pen and note pad... little stuff like that. If you can show your bosses you are dependable chances are they will start moving you up. There isn't alot to pick from in our work force here in N.M. It's not hard to rise to the top of the class in a short time if you show a little gumption! Oh yeah one more thing... we can't give away 50K a year jobs down here because 7 out of 10 people can't pass a drug test. Good luck, Eric.
show them that your interested and that your willing to learn and work , and ask for seat time in whatever you can whenever you can Eric where in NM are you ?
Silver City. I work at the Tyrone mine for Freeport McMoRan. What do you do up in Gods country??
Cool deal im only about 3 hours from you , just up here in the mountains running dozers and backhoes
Alright! Good having another New Mexican on board.
Thanks for the help guys, i guess its time to start calling up contractors.
Yep thats pretty cool Sorry didnt mean to hijack your thread
yes, and obviously always put in the extra work, be the guy that says he will come on the weekend to finish the job. Shows the employer that your worth his time to show you some tips. Good luck
Hey Eric, where do I send my app? I can pass the drug test without studyin, and I show up on time every day.
I would say another thing is that you aren't a operator now so you would be hired on as the extra guy at low pay to start. At least that's what we do. If you do all the things that the guys have said you will be given all the seat time you can handle in short time as you show the responsiblity for it. When you are learning the first thing is to think of safety. Also the last thing! If you take your time and try to get smooth and treat the machine like you own it your pay will rise quickly. We sometimes give raises every paycheck to guys if they put in the effort for it. If someone try's we aren't going to train them and then let them go somewhere else!
Another thing in your search. Even though you call one day don't be afraid to call the same contractor every week if you really want to work for them. On Friday we had no openings and on Monday a scraper operator quit so we had a opening!
Thanks Joe, i actually picked up my first application today, hopefully something good happens.
All i can say is just do your job! And lisen to your BOSS. One more thing being a operator IS NOT ALL THAT. It can some times suck ***:Banghead
It may suck *** at some points but right now its the only job i want.
Right now this industry seems impossible to get into. I cant catch a break lol.
Tell You What IF YOU REALLY WANT TO LEARN TO BECOME AN OPERATOR --learn to stay after work digging ditches , pushing dirt, screening rock --whatever you can run that day ---FOR FREE ---tell the owner you can fuel all the equipment and grease it---this is the way I learned ---I would not pay for a rookie to learn on my time, but if he is a good hand I would let him run all the equipment after work to learn to become a better hand and the pay raises will come ........ It also doesn't hurt to have a friend that can stay after work to teach you :-- Thanks JD -- :notworthy
Lot's of good advice in this thread. Have you tried your local IUOE apprentice program? Keep looking, IMO don't call, go talk to the foreman, face to face. That's basically what I did, got lucky, got alot of seat time with the first job, not much money, but that wasn't the main point, it was seat time! Which lead me to get my second job, which in turn helped me become an 1st year apprentice. Don't give up.
engineer 714 did you get a job yet or still looking?
here here!!!!!:drinkup:drinkup:drinkup:usa
Im actually on my second try for the union apprentice program, first time i passed the test but didnt get an interview and now im waiting for the results for my second try and i wont get those results untill april :Banghead. Talking to a formen face to face would probably be a good idea but i dont know if i could just walk on to a job site like that. Im still looking lol. I cant even tell you how many contractors ive called in the past couple months lol. For now im in college so its not that big of a tragedy that i havent found a job yet, but i cant wait for the day to turn in my books for a hard hat.
Hopefully instead of trading my books for a hard hat i trade them in for a union book lol
Did you get on yet??? I am in the same boat, but I just turned 31 so time is not in my favor. When I was a teenager, I was helping at a gravel site in Jamaica driving the loaded trucks to the front of the yard for the waiting drivers, loved it to death, but I always wanted to be in the cab of the loader. I never forgot about it, even while in working in the hospital I knew I wanted to work with heavy equipment. My IUOE here in GA said they are not taking any applications til August, is this possible? So many other states with worst money troubles than GA still running their apprenticeship programs, why is here different. I tried calling different contractors but all say the same thing "sorry, can't help you.
Have you thought about taking a certified NCCER class? Just a thought.
Hi guys.....I'd hat eto invade your thread, but my name is Gina and I am looking to apply for the Local 12 apprenticeship program. I think I would rather be a surveyor than an operator. They are accepting apps. starting january of next year....My Dad was....well is still a member of local 12 (30 some odd yrs now...he runs a loader). My question is what sort of things will they be looking for on the exam...I would like to prepare myself a bit if i could. I would ask my dad but he didn't do the apprenticeship, he just put himself on the C list and worked his way up....Any help would be great!!!! Thanks guys!
what you have to do is start out as a labor then work your way up and dont be afraid to ask questions. sooner or later you will get some seat time like i did
Still nothing i cant even get on as a laborer no one is hiring. I couldn't even tell you how many companies i've called in the last two years lol. Ive taken the union test three times and passed it all three times but no interview i just gotta keep trying.
Did you try DOT? They will train you to operate machinery within 8months of hire.
NJDOT is on a hireing freeze i was gonna get in with NYCDOT as a laborer but i had to change my address and get a cdl and i couldnt get all that done by the time they needed it so hopefully next year that can be something to fall back on.
I applied for NYDOT also, same thing here, need to get a Class A CDL with Air Brakes, when I get those they said I can try again, I am in a similar position, I am considering to apply for the Local 612 heavy equipment program, but I will have to relocate to Wash. state, not a problem because I want so badly to become an equipment operator, good luck with your search
Anyone hireing in jersey...worth a shot lol
I am in the same boat, but I am 34 & want to operate so bad I can taste it. But, I am not shure I would look good compared to some 18 year olds laboring (I am not fat, just not in the shape I was at 18), also I have a family, & mtg...so financial demands are tough on me. So, when just walking onto a job site, ask for the foreman, & then...is where I need help. I have always been a quiet, get it done person, but am not good at selling myself. I don't have hardly any seat time, but can weld, turn wrenches, & I am an electrician. What, as a jobsite forman do you want to hear from a stranger just walking onto your jobsite?
Where are you from in NJ? ive been trying to get my boss to hire a laborer. I cant do everything by myself.
central jersey