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Marriott Marquis: GRB Convention Center Hotel At 1777 Walker St.


Subdude

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Ahhhh cranes! That's why you're Howard 'huge'

 

All this time I've been giving you too much credit. 

oooops!  i do declare... howard, i thought you were going by the moniker "howard huge" because.....well, i'll just... well, i'll just add this....NSFW!

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There are two sides to this profession in Texas.

Union and non-union.

I am a proud local 450 union member. There is a 3 year apprenticeship program you must complete to become a journeyman operator. When you graduate, all school hours are accredited through HCC and are equivalent to an associates degree.

As far as competition, Houston is the hottest crane job market in the world right now, there are not enough operators to fill these seats, there is a MASSIVE shortage of good hands. There are currently more out of towners here than I can ever recall, operators from New York, Chicago, Miami, California, they are ALL coming to Houston for jobs, and that is STILL not enough.

This current boom we are in (crane job wise) is projected to last for at least the next 10 to 15 years here in Houston. Many of the out of towners I have met are moving here permanently.

The amount of projects going up right now that require cranes is endless, and not just in construction, but in the petrochemical plants, which is where the majority of my work is.

The South Texas Nuke project is a go again, from what we are being told, that in itself is about 10 years of work. Then you have Exxon Baytown using Bechtel and Linde to build one of the largest ethylene cracker units in the world at their refinery. That will create thousands of jobs.

Also Enterprise Products Partners just inked a 30-year agreement with the Port of Houston Authority for land to build the world’s largest refrigerated ethane export plant on the Houston Ship Channel.

That is thousands more jobs for years, and the list goes on and on.

Good time to be in my industry, as long as the bottom doesnt fall out of oil again like we saw in the 80's, god forbid.

Where would one go to enter an apprenticeship? Do you get paid during that time? Can you avoid working the high cranes if afraid of heights?

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Where would one go to enter an apprenticeship? Do you get paid during that time? Can you avoid working the high cranes if afraid of heights?

I wish you luck here. America needs skilled tradesmen: crane operators, pipe fitters, welders, plumbers, computer lathe operators, electricians, etc.

Hell, try to find a professional welder. It's hard. Finding a jack ass with a mask is easy. Finding a trained welder is hard, everywhere.

Don't know about licensed crane operators but it is likely the same.

Tradesmen can make very good money for the skill and craft they possess and many young people would be wise to get the credentials and training to gain those skills. It is a solid path to a life firmly in the upper middle class in many cases.

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