Is there someone under the other chief who you can talk to??ÿ How does that person feel about their situation??ÿ If they like the work split, then I'd not mention your gripes, but lobby management to swap with that person for a while "to expand your experience and mentoring" as someone suggested above.
If that can be done it will probably calibrate your expectations and possibly cause the other crew to expose the situation if you are being taken advantage of, as they find the experience different under him.
It seems like achieving the 3-year goal would be very important, and if an opening develops in your company, you seem to think it would be a good place to stay.
Please discuss with the owner, if you like working for him.?ÿ It is impossible to accommodate an employee if you don't what is bothering them.?ÿ You might mention that you desire to broaden your horizons and see what else you can do to make that happen sooner than later.?ÿ?ÿ
Contact the apprenticeship coordinator, or whatever the appropriated title is, and request a change of assignment.
Maybe petition to journey out based on previous criteria, if appropriate. Based on your description of duties, sounds like you're ready.
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Good ideas guys, thanks for the responses.
I made it a policy to keep my mouth shut during apprenticeship. But there are lines there and I need to go about it the right way.
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Definitely finishing my program, updating my resume and thinking about making a switch if necessary.?ÿ
Asking to switch crews would be alright short term. Could ease things temporarily.
But as much as Ive despised doing two peoples work, the other chief is a soft talker with a heavy accent, and the type of guy that??ll leave at midnight after a full days work, drive 8 hours, work 10 more. Wake up, drive back 8 hours to work the next day. And charge no OT. Not eat or piss the entire time, and get a double queen room when two kings are the same price.
Soooooooo, yeah. Company favorite, but not mine.?ÿ
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Screw the union.?ÿ If you're an LSIT now, you can get a job everywhere else and do better.?ÿ I literally turn recruiters away daily and I am careful to where I apply because they are absolutely interested in people willing to climb the path of license and will be glad to Interview you and likely hire you.
Do what you need to do, but don't let someone or some company burn through you at this point.
Go find your next opportunity it's waiting for you there right now.
Leaving the program without finishing might mean not being able to work for another union-controlled business?
@bill93?ÿ
another union-controlled business?
those words say it all.
I won't buy or live in HOA Controlled houses, because they cloud my fee simple. Survey license doesn't need a union, maybe it is for the non licensed for job and career security.?ÿ
it's a decision to consider though for sure .
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@bill93?ÿ
another union-controlled business?
those words say it all.
I won't buy or live in HOA Controlled houses, because they cloud my fee simple. Survey license doesn't need a union, maybe it is for the non licensed for job and career security.?ÿ
it's a decision to consider though for sure .
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I would maybe try to stick it out until this apprenticeship thing is done.?ÿ I say that because I don't know anything about survey unions and am not sure how badly it would screw you up to leave now.?ÿ But I've found when I was at places that I knew I didn't want to stay that just having an exit strategy relieved quite a lot of stress, so maybe it would work similarly for you.
Anyway, pounding hubs isn't so bad, imo.?ÿ I started out doing that and then shifted to office things as part of the PLS route and now I love any chance to jump out and pound hubs again. ?????ÿ
I agreed with a lot of the others here, about leaving and finding a better job.?ÿ
But then you mentioned union, and apprenticeship, etc., and will admit that's foreign to me, and probably to many others, as most surveyors and technicians are not part of a union.
So, you really have to weigh what's most important to you, sticking it out to attain whatever union designation, positions, and benefits it provides, or leave and see where your LSIT status and experience will land you.
It??s not that I??m tired of pounding hubs or really any part of the work.
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Its that I honestly don??t know what a chiefs job responsibilities are vs mine.
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can you sit in the truck and drive around and let your apprentice do 99% of jobs most days? And when construction staking, sit in the truck with a walkie talkie and give call outs, because the ground is uneven and it hurt your feet??ÿ
just give me the data collector at that point and go home. Pay me the chief wages.
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with the union, if I quit now I??d lose 3.5 years of progress and have to start over if I came back. I have to finish this.
when I do, I??m journeyed out to a chainman status, and can always come back to a union shop and make prevailing wages.
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I definitely need an exit strategy. I wasn??t aware that an LSIT could net you a solid job in many places. I was just told not a lot of people go for it, so I went for it.
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I am mulling over moving back home to Michigan from California in the next few years, so that complicated things. Need to look into licensing requirements and what the job market is over there.?ÿ
having options will relieve stress a bit. But dang I??m pissed at my chief for taking advantage of me. I don??t know how to handle it in a positive way, and again, I cannot find anywhere that says exactly what my and his job duties are.
It seems to me that this thread is highlighting the problems with the unionized career path. It's not a meritocracy.?ÿ It is all about time in service - seniority.?ÿ Once you have the seniority you can do no wrong.?ÿ In the mean time you need to do your job well enough to avoid getting fired. There is little to no benefit to doing your work extraordinarily well.
And four years to get to "chainman"!!! Considering no one has used a chain in a hundred years. At least they could modernize the classification nomenclature.?ÿ?ÿ
I think that you might hang on until you reach that next level, then take a little time away from the union life to find out how the other half lives. It may or may not be for you.?ÿ
Congratulations on getting your LSIT.
I have witnessed employment situations where it appear certain employees can do absolutely nothing and their managers take no action against them.?ÿ In some cases it is a matter of what they know about certain things that makes it worthwhile to keep them around.?ÿ In other cases it's because of who they know, for example, they happen to be the reason behind XYZ Corp sending all of their business to the firm.?ÿ Just saying obvious production evaluation is not always why things are done the way they are.
Sit down with your union steward and have a frank discussion with them. That's what they're there for. You'll probably piss off that party chief who is taking advantage of you and the situation, but like Winston Churchill once said, 'You have enemies? Good. That means you stood up for something'.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
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interesting,
I have no prior experience in construction or surveying. So I have no idea how any of this works. After I got married I had to get serious and find a career. I saw you can take a math test and get a job surveying with the union, so I went for it.?ÿ
and you??re right - 4 years to get to ??chainman? ?ÿ
Its an outdated program literally from 1982. But I??m not going to complain about it. There??s lots of useful info there. But not many people take it seriously as I have.
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I have realized through this thread that it doesn??t matter at all how much I try and learn on my own. This chief is holding me down and using my back to pay his bills. It took a few years to realize the slow manipulation and abuse of my labor and volunteering for tasks, solving problems, going the extra mile. It hasn??t done me much good.?ÿ
I just wanted to put myself ahead of the other guys. But all it??s done is caused me stress.
the other chainman for reference, has been late to work repeatedly for years. Excuses one after the next. They literally bought him 4 new tires. So he doesn??t get any more flats. He??s next in line to chief when one of these two are done. I thought I could leap ahead of him, but they??ll probably just reward him instead.
Damn I??m tired of complaining. I??d love to get in with a mentor or even just a plain teacher. Show me things. Yell at me, I don??t care. I want to expand and grow, but also pay the bills. I need to figure out my career.?ÿ
thanks for the replies.
4 years to get to a chainman rating does sound strange to my ears.?ÿ But no need to get hung up on terminology.?ÿ When you make a resume, I would recommend highlighting what you can do vs the anachronistic job title.
Consider what you will lose if you tap out.?ÿ Do you know what the benchmarks are for vesting in retirement contributions??ÿ If earning your rating would make you more marketable in the union system throughout CA, then I'd say definitely finish.?ÿ There are good union shops.?ÿ There are even companies that operate both union and non-union shops, and are therefore able to service multiple sectors of the economy.
Regarding Michigan, if memory serves, they require a 4-year surveying degree.?ÿ I think they have some of the most restrictive licensing pathways, and they also have at least two 4-year survey programs in the state (Ferris State and Michigan Tech), so they are, historically speaking, well supplied with those candidates.?ÿ Put this another way:?ÿ I meet a lot of 4-year survey degree grads from Michigan here in Alaska who would love to return home, but who earn twice as much money here.
Don't let the b@stards get you down.?ÿ Play to win, lazy PC or not.
dang, that is disappointing with the licensing requirements in Michigan.
I only have an associates in science. The thought of going back to college now after spending the past 4 years going to ??school? is depressing.?ÿ
Being away from family sucks. They??re all back home in Michigan.
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Maybe licensure isn??t the path for me.?ÿ
Appreciate the response though. Thanks for your time.
@native1 Get licensed.?ÿ You said you're in your mid-30s.?ÿ Yeah, it would have been nice to be licensed before now.?ÿ But it will be way worse to be unlicensed in your 50s than in your 30s.?ÿ You do NOT want to be unlicensed field staff getting sent hither and yon with very little say-so in later life.