new career

[Andy7160]

Hi all

Apologies if this is in the wrong section. just a bit about me, still like to class myself a young man at 34, I am married with family from the sunny North East, served time as an engineer/mechanic then went to work in family business (nothing to do with machinery)

Been interested in plant machinery all my life and I have decided this is the direction I would like my career to go with the goal of owning my own machine.

At 34 would you say I am too old to start learning this game? I have no routes in or connections to this industry so not really sure where would be best to start. When qualified what sort of hourly rate could you expect to earn? Seen lots of different figures branded about.

There are houses being built all over the Northeast at the moment so would like to think there is lots of work out there. Is there still a place for owner operators

Any advice or stories from someone who has been in similar position would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[Wee Jim]

If that’s what you want to do go for it! As for hourly rates etc I think it’s different all around the country. I have seen ops round here getting £15/£18 hour on the Aberdeen bypass ts coming to an end and so will that wage level. I could tell you what the going rate is as I am an owner operator.

[Muz]

If you are OK to share, what are you getting as an hourly rate for man and machine Jim?

[Wee Jim]

If you are OK to share, what are you getting as an hourly rate for man and machine Jim?

I charge £25/hour plus vat for myself and my jcb 19-c

[Muz]

I charge £25/hour plus vat for myself and my jcb 19-c

Sounds cool to me

[v8druid]

I charge £25/hour plus vat for myself and my jcb 19-c

be a few BHL O/ops sick reading that Jim

[JDog88]

Without wanting to hijack Andy's thread I'm also in a similar position myself, albeit slightly younger (just about to leave my 20's behind) and have been looking at getting my >10t excavator card.

My current situation is, I'm currently a desk based engineer (£<30k) (plus mortgage & kid) in a very niche industry and quite frankly dread going to work every morning - Its time for a change. I have looked at getting my CPCS card before but at the time the expense was something I couldn't justify.

Although it is a lot of money still I'm in a position now where i can afford to do it - the question is, is it worth it? I've been in contact with several training companies who have given mixed messages.

I also have the option of renewing my tiling qualifications (previous experience) and starting up my own little business in that field. The longer term there would be to move in property developing. With the excavators it would be an owner operator working my own landscape and groundwork business I'm under no illusion i can just jump into the deep end.

One thing holding me back is the strong possibility of getting my red card and not being able to find work. And without machine hours I can understand that totally. I have a strong will to achieve, big work ethic and can bring other skills to the table; business acumen, estimating etc but should i be focusing my efforts and money elsewhere?

Thanks for any advice!

[v8druid]

Without wanting to hijack Andy's thread I'm also in a similar position myself, albeit slightly younger (just about to leave my 20's behind) and have been looking at getting my >10t excavator card.

My current situation is, I'm currently a desk based engineer (£<30k) (plus mortgage & kid) in a very niche industry and quite frankly dread going to work every morning - Its time for a change. I have looked at getting my CPCS card before but at the time the expense was something I couldn't justify.

Although it is a lot of money still I'm in a position now where i can afford to do it - the question is, is it worth it? I've been in contact with several training companies who have given mixed messages.

I also have the option of renewing my tiling qualifications (previous experience) and starting up my own little business in that field. The longer term there would be to move in property developing. With the excavators it would be an owner operator working my own landscape and groundwork business I'm under no illusion i can just jump into the deep end.

One thing holding me back is the strong possibility of getting my red card and not being able to find work. And without machine hours I can understand that totally. I have a strong will to achieve, big work ethic and can bring other skills to the table; business acumen, estimating etc but should i be focusing my efforts and money elsewhere?

Thanks for any advice!

be under no illusions about this scenario .... you DO NOT NEED any tickets to run machines on your own jobs.

All this ticket shite is a back door closed shop ..... there is no LEGAL requirement to hold them .... it merely supposedly indicates some level of competence, that seat time can not replace .....
there's many a ticketed op. that couldn't dig a hole in a paper bag, but have performed well enough on the day to get a pass

it's a crock of shit .... and a money making scam for certain ppl.

[JDog88]

be under no illusions about this scenario .... you DO NOT NEED any tickets to run machines on your own jobs.

All this ticket shite is a back door closed shop ..... there is no LEGAL requirement to hold them .... it merely supposedly indicates some level of competence, that seat time can not replace .....
there's many a ticketed op. that couldn't dig a hole in a paper bag, but have performed well enough on the day to get a pass

it's a crock of shit .... and a money making scam for certain ppl.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am aware that tickets aren't required to run your own machines but to get jobs on 99% of sites it seems a blue card is required. How are red cards supposed to get seat time?

Maybe buying my own micro or hiring in and working on my own jobs is the way to go but I'm not sure I can start out like that from the outset.

I type this now from my place of work when I'd rather be out earning my own cash but I can't decide the best route to take!

[v8druid]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am aware that tickets aren't required to run your own machines but to get jobs on 99% of sites it seems a blue card is required. How are red cards supposed to get seat time?

Maybe buying my own micro or hiring in and working on my own jobs is the way to go but I'm not sure I can start out like that from the outset.

I type this now from my place of work when I'd rather be out earning my own cash but I can't decide the best route to take!

Like I said .... back door closed shop
ran my own engineering/fabrication/crane hire/machinery movement biz for in excess of 30 odd years .... you have to be totally dedicated to your chosen 'mission', prepared to take **** all out of it for a long time and a LOT of shit ... it does get better though and it gave me a lot ..... eventually .... be under no illusion .... self employment is bloody hard work, 24/7, if you want to be successful.

your life is never your own and you work for hundreds of different bosses .... you sound like you're on a reasonable wage ATM and with young kids, are you prepared to lose out on their childhood / take a reduction in living stds/ etc. no one else gives you a wage at the end of the week / month if you haven't made it .... and it only comes after you've covered ALL the outgoings ... a friend summed it up, recently, with "work, eat, sleep, repeat" .... not original but

it can be very rewarding ...... eventually .... depends on the level of effort and often luck, as to when eventually arrives