Popular Post Howard Huge Posted October 7, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted October 7, 2014 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 awesome illustration howard! you rock! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 wow, you a crane operator? did you take the photo? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 He's one of those Russian guys who climb skyscrapers because Momma Babushka didn't cook them enough potatoes. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Or put too much vodka in the bottle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Huge Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 wow, you a crane operator? did you take the photo?Yes and no. One of my fellow operators took this pic. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Thats awesome! thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
por favor gracias Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) I concur. Great shot Howard, thanks! Edited October 9, 2014 by por favor gracias 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Wow. I didn't realize this and the Hampton inn/home wood suites were already above ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Lots of cranes 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Looks like we are finally starting to see some columns rise from below the street! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Looks like we are finally starting to see some columns rise from below the street!doh.. i forgot to post photos. its been above ground for a week or so now. Wow. I didn't realize this and the Hampton inn/home wood suites were already above ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Howard Huge Posted October 20, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted October 20, 2014 Life of an operator 23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrLan34 Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Life of an operator  haha badass!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdueenginerd Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 ha, love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonMidtown Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 LOL -- you couldn't pay me enough to get up there, but what a view.....wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Huge Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 LOL -- you couldn't pay me enough to get up there, but what a view.....wowNot even for $150,000/year? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 How do you go to the bathroom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Not even for $150,000/year? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 ok, you have definitely earned this one... and stop bragging by showing your socks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxtethogrady Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 How do you go to the bathroom? I wish people would stop asking me this. I have too many images of a pug stuck in my head... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Huge Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 How do you go to the bathroom?Bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Huge Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Wow, are you serious? Beats the hell out of being an airline pilot (among many other things).Dead serious.Some of the older, tenured guys i work with pull in $200,000+ a year, easy, but thats only because we are in Texas, a "right to work", good ol boy, anti-union, southern, republican area.Up in NYC, where the unions are strong, tower crane operators in Manhattan are pulling down half a million dollars a year. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dakota79 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Dead serious.Some of the older, tenured guys i work with pull in $200,000+ a year, easy, but thats only because we are in Texas, a "right to work", good ol boy, anti-union, southern, republican area.Up in NYC, where the unions are strong, tower crane operators in Manhattan are pulling down half a million dollars a year.$500k in NYC is about the same as $200k here. Our affordability is one of the best in the nation. I've had friends move to NYC because their pay is being doubled. Then the call me and say they are struggling to make it in a tiny apt etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Dead serious.Some of the older, tenured guys i work with pull in $200,000+ a year, easy, but thats only because we are in Texas, a "right to work", good ol boy, anti-union, southern, republican area.Up in NYC, where the unions are strong, tower crane operators in Manhattan are pulling down half a million dollars a year. Clearly the anti-union climate has put you crane operators in a tough situation. May I ask what the competition is like for these jobs, and the learning curve? It seems like this would be a pretty good deal for a lot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Huge Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 (edited) Clearly the anti-union climate has put you crane operators in a tough situation. May I ask what the competition is like for these jobs, and the learning curve? It seems like this would be a pretty good deal for a lot of people.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. Edited October 21, 2014 by Howard Huge 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate4l1f3 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 All that sounds interesting. Do you like what you do? What do the hours look like? How about pros and cons?I've always wondered about the higher paying construction jobs. I'm pretty much clueless as I know jack about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Huge Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I love what I do.The pros are, well, look at that picture up there to get an idea of the average day of work.The cons, extremely long hours, lots of shift work, nights, super early mornings and not really having a set schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate4l1f3 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Haha yeah looks like you got enough time on your hands up there to do your taxes. I'm 29 and am considering doing something totally different than what I'm doing now (work loss prevention retail). Work is SUPER laid. I make my own schedule and I'm basically not tied to being there I can leave anytime during the day. I visit several stores daily but of course the $ could be better. It's just hard to leave a job with so many "extras". Thanks for the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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