Working out west vs. east (ex. Nevada, California)

[Beel]

Just wanted to see if I could get some opinions on working out West vs. East. I have given serious thought to moving out to Reno NV to start an excavation business. I have 10 years experience in drill/blast, excavation, and underground utilities. I have blasted in Southern California and North West Washington. Just wanted to see what people thought of the competition in these regions as well as the demand for work, labor unions, equipment availability, etc. Any quick thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks guys!:usa

 

[Hokiesmokes]

When I was in the union I gave thought to moving out to vegas to try to get work. I guess there are unions out there too. I worked with a guy at another job who had gone to texas to do iron work. he said he made good money but there were a lot of migrant workers. As far as starting your own company, I don't really know. I don't know if work is still booming out there or not, this was in 08. The union did say that safety was a bit of an issue out there, but then again, they discouraged you from doing that.

 

[ke6gwf]

I can't say on conditions today, and I mostly have heard stories from Vegas.
I know Vegas is built on the casinos and I think Reno also relies a lot on gambling related income. The gambling industry crashed in the last couple 3 years, and although my impression is that the crash has leveled off, it hasn't recovered yet.

3 years ago when I last spent any time in Vegas, construction still seemed to be booming, City Center was going full blast, etc.
Last year when I spent a week with friends near Pahrump, one who had a large construction company in Vegas was selling MLM products to keep from losing his house. The City Center project (google it, it was impressive) went bankrupt, or was barely saved from going bankrupt. It seems they shut part of the project down at least.

Anyway, from my limited and dated knowledge, I wouldn't go to Nevada looking for work!
(Disclosure: I have friends in Nevada that are already looking for work, back off! )

A little searching on Google should find you a bunch of articles on how things are going there.

Also remember that some of the jobs out there can only work at night much of the year, because it's too hot during the day. The Steelwork in Vegas often shuts down in hot weather except for early morning hours after the steel cools down.

 

[ddigger]

All I could add is the timing could not be worse, for a start up. If you making a living now sit tight.

 

[Wolf]

The demolition business is going real strong in California with tons of government money going into projects like Transbay terminal and wrecking tons of houses in san brunt after gas explosion on rosh hashanah

 

[Reel hip]

All I could add is the timing could not be worse, for a start up. If you making a living now sit tight.

X2 The construction industry in southern california is really slow. But the red tape keeps us busy.

 

[Beel]

I appreciate all the input on the topic, but I'm really not so concerned about the timing of this venture... This is more like a 5 years down the road kinda thing.. I guess I was hoping to get more feedback of when work "is booming" for the Northern Nevada region. I have personally never worked in this region nor do I have a feel for Mevada's market in utilities, road construction, site development, environmental remediation, and demo.

 

[sandnsnow]

Its really slow out here. My Buddy has a dirt company is Sparks and according to him there are alot of companys going under. He will be following suit soon im sure. Good news is in five years you might be the only dirt guy there. Navada leads the country in fourclosures and the unemployment rate is higher than avarage. There is just not alot of work out there. I have a uncle in vagas who drives transfer truck and he is getting about 20 hours a week. Im sure the story is the same all around.

 

[CascadeScaper]

Vegas is completely shot for work from what I've heard.

 

[J Olender]

Work in Ca/Nev

I've been working in Nor Cal for 10 years now, small company doing mostly residential site work, septic installs and service and inspections. I'm still in business and I have some possibilities for more work in the spring, but I don't have a lot of optimism for growth in my business. This state which I'm trying to do work in (Ca) is crushing the life out of me and my business. Nevada may very well be in much better shape. You could look into the Federal Contractors Registry to see if there are jobs being awarded in northern Nevada?!?! It's just a weird time. Some guys seem to be doing ok and some guys just not doing good at all????!

There's my 2 cents, good luck!

 

[J Olender]

http://www.olenderstightspot.com/index.aspx

Here's my web site, just for fun!

 

[Orchard Ex]

I understand that So. Cal. and Washington state is "out west", but I would have never guessed that Reno is considered the "east"... Guess it depends on where you're standing at the moment...:beatsme

 

[Beel]

Actually I was referring to the nation in general. I learned to blast in the Carolina's and South Florida. I can see how that may have been misinterpreted.