I'm a utility locator, preventing damage to communications lines in Northern Colorado. My team and I work M-F10 hour days, and rotating weekends (8hrs) (sometimes the load is heavier, or my team drops the ball) and the entire team has to work an additional 8.
As the lead for my team, I take on the most difficult projects as one CenturyLink 864 count fiber can put an entire city out of internet or phone reception, I take that “stress” and liability as I love my job and thrive on it.
2021 or newer company truck, gas card, laptop, phone, all the equipment I need, 3 weeks of paid training, $200 boot voucher after 1 year, 50% match on 401k, decent benny's, solid PTO, be outside/drive all the time, and no experience or education required
That last part wears on most though.
Outside all the time. 99°, doesn't matter. Contractors are gonna dig, homeowners need fences, gas lines need replacing.
In some areas my company hires dogshit supervisors and district managers, although I've struck gold with the best pair of bosses I've ever had, and a pretty solid team to bat.
With all that being said, as a lead my duties were previously just to be a glorified locator talking to dickhead contractors, and helping my team with whatever projects they needed help with.
Past experience with other leadership roles in other companies told me to just do what I wanted; and I wasn't wrong.
I redefined my role, with my supervisors full support and trust:
Additional one on one training
Support with blueprint/locate ticket understanding
Continued training as our field is complicated as fuck
Personal development
Assistance with developing contractor relationships
And just being a guy to shoot the shit with through good/bad times
We're alone most of the time, so I ask every new hire immediately if they have headphones. Music, audio books, podcasts, whale sounds, and talking to eachother is almost crucial to maintaining your sanity. Personally I go between all of the above. Dragonforce, hardstyle, STDWYTK (Stuff they don't want you to know), indie pop/rock, answering 50+ calls a day, and right now the Witcher series.
Now for the negatives:
You're alone most of the time (unless my supe or myself pulls up and works with you for a while)
Our trucks have mostly monitored driving statistics (hard braking/hard accelerating +/-8mph per second) which negatively affects your safety score
In unsave work zones
Bugs, snakes, chinchillas, flying demons with black and yellow stripes
Being in the elements
Finding shitters (you learn to build the confidence to piss almost anywhere and BodyArmor bottles are the best piss bottles)
And the hours.
I've read so many horror stories about the dogshit companies/industries so many of you get fucked by and I feel for all of you, deeply.
I have a $20k welding/fabricating cert I use for leisure; realized it's more for fun and art for me.
Started at $19.75, area bumped to $22 a few months later and 3 up to 5% raises in the first year (4mo, 8mo, 12mo) and 3.75% annually after that with $1 raises randomly for doing a good job. I'm at $26.50 after a year, with the OT I'm making more than ever with no more student debt with a company that's never going to be outsourced, suffer a lack of work (construction never ends), and where the field locators are the ones bringing in the profit is fully recognized.
Sorry for the long post, just needed to share the full picture. Also for the formatting (mobile).
Ask all the questions you'd like, I'm an open book.