Requesting advice: How do I become as cool as Junkyard?

[WRA]

I've lurked on the forums for about 6 years now, from the end of high school, through college, through dropping out of college, and into my career as a lowboy driver.

There have been many threads that have spawned long reading sessions, and from Georgia Iron's 953 saga, Junkyards work thread, the endless photos on the Old Iron forum. All of these catch my eye and interest.

How did you folks develop all of these different skills over the years? What would you recommend to a 24 year old who is new to the industry?

I got into heavy construction not long after I got my CDL, working for a small utilities contractor in Raleigh, NC as a lowboy and dump truck driver. I ended up enjoying the work there greatly, I went in having never run anything more than a forklift, and left feeling ok on an excavator, loader and skidsteer. I helped out in the shop there, servicing the trucks I drove, I worked with the pipe crews when I wasn't driving. I sometimes got sent on oddball jobs on my own, cleaning up jobsites, loading out precast, disassembling shoring and hauling it, etc.

I left that company about 4 months ago, and went to a much larger site development contractor as a lowboy driver. I made the switch because I felt as if I wasn't getting enough practice moving oversized equipment. I was moving a 240 sized excavator maybe once every two months at the first company, but now I'm moving several 350 sized machines a week.

But now I am wondering what my next moves should be career wise. I'm interested in working on equipment, welding, and becoming a better operator. Is there a way to make this happen? What would y'all recommend?

 

[petepilot]

I've lurked on the forums for about 6 years now, from the end of high school, through college, through dropping out of college, and into my career as a lowboy driver.

There have been many threads that have spawned long reading sessions, and from Georgia Iron's 953 saga, Junkyards work thread, the endless photos on the Old Iron forum. All of these catch my eye and interest.

How did you folks develop all of these different skills over the years? What would you recommend to a 24 year old who is new to the industry?

I got into heavy construction not long after I got my CDL, working for a small utilities contractor in Raleigh, NC as a lowboy and dump truck driver. I ended up enjoying the work there greatly, I went in having never run anything more than a forklift, and left feeling ok on an excavator, loader and skidsteer. I helped out in the shop there, servicing the trucks I drove, I worked with the pipe crews when I wasn't driving. I sometimes got sent on oddball jobs on my own, cleaning up jobsites, loading out precast, disassembling shoring and hauling it, etc.

I left that company about 4 months ago, and went to a much larger site development contractor as a lowboy driver. I made the switch because I felt as if I wasn't getting enough practice moving oversized equipment. I was moving a 240 sized excavator maybe once every two months at the first company, but now I'm moving several 350 sized machines a week.

But now I am wondering what my next moves should be career wise. I'm interested in working on equipment, welding, and becoming a better operator. Is there a way to make this happen? What would y'all recommend?

make yourself the best at what you`re doing at the moment. learn from your mistakes and take every opportunity you get to learn something new

 

[funwithfuel]

Find your operating engineers local and apply for apprenticeship. Earn while ya learn . Dont ask to be a seat warmer, tell em you wanna bend wrenches. Lifetime career, good money and benefits. Work year round, not just good weather.

 

[AzIron]

Take it from a guy that is hitting 30 years old you have not even hit your stride yet give it it 10 more years and you will have more to contribute than you can imagine

Do what you feel is challenging witch you wont always find at the biggest company but the bigger outfits stay consistent on what they hire you for so you get practical experience it takes 10000 hours to master something it takes a lot less to be proficient figure out if you want to be the best at one thing or good at a lot of things

 

[Junkyard]

Oh lord. My head won’t fit through the door now! Haha!

The best thing I did early on was find the older quiet guy that seemed to get things done in a flash and become friends with him. The harder they are to befriend the more you’ll learn once you do. Many times I’d work off the clock to learn from them. I got more than my share of $hit along the way but looking back I wouldn’t trade a minute of it. Those men taught me more about life than they did about turning wrenches.

Some of my experiences were dumb luck. Right place, right time. If you love the work and want to learn it won’t take long for the right guys to see it but don’t expect them to give up the knowledge without a little bit of grief. Show them by example that you’re willing to work and learn. Be early, stay late. Keep your rig clean. Notice stuff on the machines as you move them....damage, hours on service, leaks etc.

One of the best tips as a lowboy hand is to learn their pattern, if there is one, and when you see an opportunity to increase efficiency then speak up. Something like if I move machine B first instead of A I can then grab C because I’ll be closer and save that time....stuff like that.

Young people willing to learn and work is rare it seems, so the fact that you’re asking about what will expose you to more is awesome! I’d give anything to have a young man or woman here willing to learn.

As far as learning other skills such as operating, welding, mechanic work etc let the bosses know you want to learn, be patient and opportunities will come to help and learn. Read books, search stuff online that pertains to your company’s type of work etc. Gain all the knowledge you can from any source you can.

Calling me cool is like putting an elevator in an outhouse! I am flattered by the thought

 

[Birken Vogt]

One way to learn a lot of stuff is to work all the time and never go home as well. Also leads to good earnings. But you can't do it if you have a family. But it can be a good way to get started when you are young and might help keep you out of trouble also.

 

[Welder Dave]

Don't try to do it all at once. Try to help out if you see someone working on something. You'll learn pretty quick who the good guys are. Some guys don't like teaching anybody or having an audience. You might be able to take courses at a local community college for things like welding and maybe introductory mechanics. Show enthusiasm but don't overdue it.

 

[Vetech63]

Oh lord. My head won’t fit through the door now! Haha!

Beat me to it! LOL

 

[Truck Shop]

Being good at something takes a lifetime, if your doing it right you will never stop learning. In most cases Junkyard is the exception to the rule. Don't get in a hurry get what your doing
down right and work at it everyday.

 

[doublewide]

Be obsessive, but not compulsive. I believe in baptism by fire. Bite off more than you can chew,.. and then chew it. Don't make excuses for your mistakes, beat yourself up over them and you'll never make it again.

 

[DMiller]

Key point
Listen
A lot and often while being quiet

One snide remark and you likely lost support from the person speaking to
Be nice ask questions but don’t become the suckup as there will likely be more than one of you listening
Don’t interrupt a old hand if offering advice think on whats offered
Again ask questions as being mute won’t help much
Offer assistance when appears a need
Follow instructions when given

Then one day will realize you are the one being shadowed
I do not know it all will never
Know my limitations and short comings work to improve nearly everyday
Be appreciative to those that give advice that worked or is a defined help work to improve that advice that didn’t

And always be yourself

 

[Muffler Bearing]

wow, such great responses. I'll just add, don't be afraid to move on. Through my 20's and early 30's I hopped shops like a frog. Try it all, as soon as something gets boring, or you think you've plateaued. Go find another shop/experience.

 

[Welder Dave]

Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. It doesn't look good on your resume to have never spent much time anywhere. You don't learn much if you keep switching jobs but on the other hand if there's no opportunity to learn anything then maybe it's time to start looking elsewhere.

 

[Birken Vogt]

I never hopped much and kind of wish I had now. I don't think anybody cares about longevity [or even skill] any more, they are just looking for a body to fill a spot. I was brought up the old way with wanting resumes to look good and all that but I don't think anybody ever scrutinized one. I always got any job I applied for which I took as a matter of pride back then but now I think I was not aiming high enough.

 

[Muffler Bearing]

I always heard that it would look bad, but then it never did. And after a while you just list the last three anyway.It does get trickier when you are pulling a 401K around with you,and I wish I had paid attention to that sooner.My problem was I couldn't decide if I wanted to be on-road or off-road, so I bounced between the two.
I know it's crappy to say this, but I also avoided out-dated fleets and equipment. I'm sure 3406's, 8V92's and Big Cams were incredible engines. But if I started to notice too many of them, I'd split. I've never set the scroll position in a mechanical pump, and this morning when I fixed a common rail problem quickly I had no regrets

 

[DMiller]

I tried to keep up with all them for awhile, finally wrote down a Cheat Sheet and stuffed into a file. Amazing how many places one can work in over 40 years. For a heads up, I had to document ALL My working career including spots of Unemploy to access the Nuke Plant, had to have references, had to get verifications from Witnesses and had to have independent friends as reference that could reference to others that knew me.

 

[WRA]

Oh lord. My head won’t fit through the door now! Haha!

The best thing I did early on was find the older quiet guy that seemed to get things done in a flash and become friends with him. The harder they are to befriend the more you’ll learn once you do. Many times I’d work off the clock to learn from them. I got more than my share of $hit along the way but looking back I wouldn’t trade a minute of it. Those men taught me more about life than they did about turning wrenches.

Some of my experiences were dumb luck. Right place, right time. If you love the work and want to learn it won’t take long for the right guys to see it but don’t expect them to give up the knowledge without a little bit of grief. Show them by example that you’re willing to work and learn. Be early, stay late. Keep your rig clean. Notice stuff on the machines as you move them....damage, hours on service, leaks etc.

One of the best tips as a lowboy hand is to learn their pattern, if there is one, and when you see an opportunity to increase efficiency then speak up. Something like if I move machine B first instead of A I can then grab C because I’ll be closer and save that time....stuff like that.

Young people willing to learn and work is rare it seems, so the fact that you’re asking about what will expose you to more is awesome! I’d give anything to have a young man or woman here willing to learn.

As far as learning other skills such as operating, welding, mechanic work etc let the bosses know you want to learn, be patient and opportunities will come to help and learn. Read books, search stuff online that pertains to your company’s type of work etc. Gain all the knowledge you can from any source you can.

Calling me cool is like putting an elevator in an outhouse! I am flattered by the thought

Thank you for the response! I apologize for the late reply, I haven't made the time to respond until tonight.

I've been applying some of the advice that the folks here have given. My rig ( 05' W9 with a C15) is down with an idiot check engine light and low power. I'm doing what I can to see what the mechanic is doing to troubleshoot it without being a nuisance. I've also been working on my personal cars as "free" practice.

 

[WRA]

wow, such great responses. I'll just add, don't be afraid to move on. Through my 20's and early 30's I hopped shops like a frog. Try it all, as soon as something gets boring, or you think you've plateaued. Go find another shop/experience.

That's the hardest thing for me, but I know I will eventually have to do it if I want to expand my skill set. That being said, I have had 14 different jobs from retail, trim carpenter (now wood butcher,) to OTR driver, and I'm 24 now.

I would like to get into logging or clearing down the line. I like to get to a point where one day I could move equipment, work on it the next, and operate it the rest of the week.

 

[Muffler Bearing]

This actually interests me because I have a new coworker your age. He told me he's worked in "a lot" of shops and I'm just trying to understand the thought process. Are you saying that you literally have 14 previous work experiences you would list on an application? At what age are you beginning your "work history"?
Do afterschool jobs before you're 18 really count?

 

[DMiller]

Starting in 1971 I had five Payroll jobs(Including US Military) by the time I got thru with Trade School in 76, is not hard to end up with a great deal of entry level positions. From 76 to 1982 I had nine varied positions(shops or locations or type work) with many during same time period(full payroll and self employ) working multiple jobs. That was all before I turned thirty.