Well, The Sewage Plant Is Hiring
Looking for work? Not finding any? Maybe you're not looking in the right places. You should follow your nose. To the sewage plant, or maybe the slaughterhouse. There are jobs available, but don't think you can just waltz in there and be get hired automatically.
From the AP:
When officials in Stamford, Conn., posted a single position at the local sewage plant, more than 300 people raised their hands — about twice the number who would seek such jobs before the recession.
About 100 of them made the cut and were allowed to take a test and interview. The work: Drying up wastewater sludge and operating chlorine tanks.
After months of unemployment, that job sounded appealing to 26-year-old Gary Cappiello of nearby Norwalk. Cappiello had worked in the maintenance department of a Target store before being laid off in the spring of last year.
"I'm just applying for anything now — even if the job is low-paying or not a comfortable position," he said. "It's just getting to a desperate point. The bills need to be paid."
Recently, he found out he didn't make the cut at the sewage plant.
Competition is heating up for slaughterhouse jobs too. Tyson spokesperson Gary Mickelson says they've seen "an increase in the qualifications and experience of those applying."
Now hiring: Everywhere you didn't want to work [Yahoo!]
(Photo:Daquella manera)
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Comments:
Mike Rowe? Got any other suggestions for us, Mike?
It's a dirty job, but somone's gotta do it.
When I worked at a fish factory (I changed jobs this year) and they had a glut of people with Class A cdls 5 or more years of experience and hazmat applying to be delivery drivers. The transportation manager said he couldn't hire any of them because they would jump ship at the first opportunity.
"Now everyone who's got a job has got his dues to pay,
Working for a paycheck and getting through the day,
But if you're bored or otherwise inclined to be a slob,
Grab some boots & lose that suit & get a Dirty Job"
"Dirty Jobs are everywhere,
Just take a look around!
They're hmm hmm hmm and blahlblahblah and even undergrooooouuuund!
You don't have to buy or steal and you don't need to rob,
All you got to do is get yourself a Dirty Job!"
I forgot some of the middle. Now that song will be stuck in my head for the rest of the day. :)
Well - my dad worked at a sewage plant until he retired. He started as a shift worker at an entry level position and managed to become plant superintendent. He wore a tie and jacket to work and retired with a pension and benefits. I never once heard him complain about his job. Seriously, he worked for the state government and had great benefits. And no, he never smelled bad (I know some of you were thinking it).
Best advice is from the most psycho of movies: The Silence of The Lambs. Put mentholated ointment under your nostrils to prevent any unpleasant smells from overwhelming you.
Not my advice, but learning from what I saw and it makes sense.
I started out at a sewage treatment plant in the 80s, now I make >100K + benefits + pension. Beats blogging for a living!
This job stinks!
@changed my name: Yeah, OMG, it's better to be unemployed than take a less-than-fashionable job. Follow your dreams! Live the life you imagine!....all while waiting in line for your food stamps.
When people can't get real jobs they get government jobs. Nothing like getting a job that is basically impossible to get fired from no matter how incompetent you are!
I took a field trip to a sewage treatment plant once. In addition to learning that because of the aeration in sewage treatment tanks, it's impossible to float if you fall in, I found that the pay was actually pretty good, both for the science-y jobs and the more mundane ones. Besides, I'm willing to bet you get used to the smell after awhile. You could do worse.
But you totally get to meet the Ninja Turtles.
We go by a sewage treatment plant when we take stuff to the city dump. The smell reminds me of the beach. Since they are always having sewage leak problems.
Are unemployed Americans now willing to take the jobs that (supposedly) only illegals would apply for? I'd like to know whether major employers of illegals are now hiring legal workers.
@I Love New Jersey: No, some of us get them because we were young and full of hopes and dreams and wanted to change the world from the inside out.
But yeah, thanks to the Peter Principle, I'll eventually be head of some agency and I'll remember to look you up.
I guess all of the military with their government jobs are worth nothing to you either.
@Shoelace: Probably not, because they'd still have to pay the legal workers minimum wage and have a minimal regard for their safety.
For the entry-level jobs there is little education required, but to be a licensed sewage plant operator at the minimum level you have to have a GED, training, pass the test, and then have continuing education. The pay is not bad. If you're low on the totem pole you get stuck working during the Superbowl, but other than that... Licensed operators are quite high in demand. (Oh yeah, that "training" involves a lot of chemistry and biology, as does doing your job on a daily basis.) One of the few places in town I know of that has a GCMS is the wastewater treatment plant lab. The lab monkeys get paid $50,000/year out of college to incubate bacteria samples.
This reminds me of the debate a few years back when San Fran proposed to rename a sewage plant after George W. Bush. They meant it as an insult, obviously.
But the moment you stop and think about it, I'd be damn proud to have something like that named after me.
Laugh all you want, but it's honorable work, and absolutely essential to modern civilization. I've got more respect for people working in a sewage treatment plant than for "upscale one-on-one personal trainer schedulers."
Hats off to you, Mr. (or Mrs.) Sewage Treatment Plant Employee.
A good friend has a PHD in Civil Engineering, specializes in wastewater design and operation.
A good portion of the people working at the wastewater facilities are highly educated (even entry level slots often require a Bachlors or Associate Degree) and for those college students seeking a long term career (rather than just a job), water and wasterwater operations is one such potential career.
@y2julio: bah hogwash. productive lives are very overrated. I've spent my entire day online and I feel great.
well... everbody poops. don't see that going out of fashion anytime soon.
@Tankueray: Most of the young nd full of hopes and dreams and wanted to change the world from the inside out people who went into government service that I know either quit in disgust or became a whistleblower.
@clickertrainer: Yeah, unfortunately, there are all these romanticized notions we have of how careers should progress/be pursued. I love Dirty Jobs because it shows, in its own way, there is tons of noble, off the radar and less than glamorous jobs out there. You can tell the bourgeois a-holes by the people who are grossed out or say "I would never do that, no matter how much you paid me." A job is a job. But no, for many, it's how you define yourself. People say, "I AM a lawyer, I AM a waiter, I AM a clerk." No, I say, I work as a_________, or my job is_________. Maybe semantics, but I think it's an important distinction.
But there's no reason to sneer at people for following their dreams, just for failing to accept reality. Blogging and writing in general usually does not pay very well, but if this is what you want and you accept it, more power to you. OTOH, if you drop out of high school and move to Hollywood to become an actor, and 10 years later you're still a busboy, well, as long as you acknowledge that's nobody's fault but yours.
A case in point-I've always wanted to be a writer. I don't know how people blindly drop out of school and do something in a field they haven't broken into. I went to school and started a stable career. But that's not the "right" or "noble" or "artist" way to do it. So many comedians/actors/musicians, etc drop out of school and you hear about how they made it. But you don't read about how 99% of the comedians and musicians who make the same ballsy moves never catch a big break. I'll keep working and pursuing writing in my spare time, thank you very much. And anyone who thinks that makes me less of a writer can shove their own insecurities up their ass.
@I Love New Jersey: Some people, such as myself, wanted a job with the federal government because it's stable and offers excellent benefits. Not every youngun is an idealist and not everyone is as cynical as you. I'm just a disillusioned idealist, not a bitter, cynical, sardonic one. But I guess not being too bitter makes me naive, am I right? My aunt just retired from the Census Bureau. Great job, great benefits, got to make good use of her statistical training. Nobody retires an idealist, but you deal with disillusionment in all facets of life if you're at least mildly intelligent and worldly wise. Politics, disappointment, inefficiency, corruption, nepotism, all the negative things that rob a young person's idealism and turn them into a bitter, depressed cynic can be found outside of governmental jobs.
my girlfriend was recently applying for a job at a bank, any bank, for any position. she has background as a secretary and office related work, as a assistant manager at subway, and as a manager and co-runner of a barista cafe in a financial building. she soon found out that even for a basic teller position, everyone else applying was 10x more overqualified than she was. everyone else at the first group interview (for a single teller position at wells fargo) had a degree in business and years of work experience (she is only 20). one lady had a law degree. obviously she didnt get the job. she has since been given the runaround through multiple interviews at multiple banks including 4 different BoA branches and despite having been given the highest praise by the bank managers, still no job!
@EinhornIsAMan!: I will grant you that you see the same exact idealism robbing negative bullshit no matter what your employment, but a lot of people who are driven to the public sector are exceptionally full of hopes and dreams and goodwill, which makes the crashing down to reality a little harder. But it's all virtually the same
@Daveinva: I agree, naming it sarcastically like that would make a great SNL/South Park/Family Guy gag, but would be an insult to the people who work hard at these necessary, unglamorous jobs to keep a city running smoothly.
@EdnaLegume: As a child obsessed with everything scatological, I thought being around poop all day was both hilarious and the coolest thing in the world
Let's not entertain the troll.
@matt1978:
Yes, I love New Jersey's comment was full of douchebaggery...but your comment, insulting people from an entire state, was better...how?
@Daveinva:
I also agree that it's honourable work - anything one does making an honest living is. I don't understand the dig at personal trainers, or personal trainer "schedulers" (I've never met a PT "scheduler", except for someone who works at the gym?) however. Are they not also earning their money honestly?
@I Love New Jersey: Daddy, my zipper's stuck!
Daddy, can I be president?
Daddy, someone flew planes into buildings! What do I do?
@catniplover: It was ineloquently spoken, but I think it was necessary for someone to point out the irony. It's like...the Cacaman complaining that caca stinks! Or something. Unless the name itself is ironic. My measured, polite, response would have been..maybe in New Jersey. Merely making an observation on the information given.
@catniplover: I think honest work is the norm. If you're not a dishonest mechanic, fly by night attorney or ambulance chaser, bail bondsman, drug dealer, pig (kidding), what's the problem?
@catniplover: Also, you do know what state you're defending, right?
Will you at least let us insult people from an entire part of the state? South Jersey?
Kidding
?
Admittedly, I am quite humourless about my beloved home state. I am from South Jersey (Medford), went to school in North Jersey (Rutgers New Brunswick) then lived for a while in beautiful Central Jersey (Hunterdon Co.) right on the Delaware. Next week I take my annual vacation down the shore - Ocean City.
Oh, your comment IRT Love NJ's post was great, BTW. I just don't get the state dissing here. My NJ smells like...zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, basil, etc. fresh from the garden. Try heading a bit south of exit 9 from the turnpike!
I agree. After college I chose to be a waitress instead of getting a "real job" sitting in an office pushing paper around while sitting on my ass wearing stockings...and everyone gave me a hard time because I was "just" a waitress and "wasting" my degree. But to me - I was making an honest living, enjoying my work, and making as much as I would in an office! It was a great time in my life.
What I didn't understand was the "I've got more respect for people working in a sewage treatment plant than for "upscale one-on-one personal trainer schedulers." line. They both perform valuable tasks. Each takes a different type of skill set. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't work in a sewage treatment plant - I suck at chemistry and science. I could, however, be a personal trainer (if I lost about 20lbs). I know about nutrition and exercise and have that type of personality.
I've always been strangely fascinated by sewers and sewage treatment plants. If I ever got a chance to tour one I absolutely would. I wish I could find a show on them. The closest I've come is a National Geographic Special, and A Life of Grime (Someone from the BBC please post that series for sale!)
@loueloui: Look up episodes of Dirty Jobs. That'll give you a good idea of what some of the jobs there are (Hint: they're not the clean ones in the office).
Yeah, I'cve never really understood the prejudice against sewer and water treatment work. The fact is, sanitary sewers are probably (after agriculture) the single most important invention allowing civilization as we know it. And yes, I'm quite serious about that: there's no Rome if there's persistent cholera, etc.
Smelly jobs are better than no jobs...
Aside from that, you'd be surprised by what kind of experience you can get from these less-than-desirable jobs. It proves to a future employer that your not afraid to get dirty and do something nobody else wants to do.