Hit 30 year mark in this trade. Never thought I'd see that.

Started working on Otis elevators back in 93 in Chicago. Passed 30 years last month. Funny thing is I remember complaining about field wiring back then and it's still the same headaches today. Any other old timers hit a milestone that surprised them?

3 comments

3 Comments

grace60717d ago

30 years in the same trade sounds like a prison sentence to me. I've seen guys like you who never branch out and it's why the industry is stale. You're still complaining about field wiring from 93 because nobody forced a real change. You just got comfortable. The old timers I respect are the ones who pushed for better standards, not the ones who bragged about surviving the same mess for three decades.

mila_brown1017d ago

One of my buddies has been a welder for 25 years and he's the one who actually rewrote the safety manual at his shop. He didn't just show up and survive, he spent years getting the owners to modernize the gear. Old timers like that earn respect, the ones who sit around bitching about the same problems for three decades without doing anything are just coasting. You're right that the industry needs guys who push for real changes, not just the ones who treat longevity like some badge of honor.

carr.elliot13d ago

My buddy in the pipefitters union spent two years hounding management to replace the old respirators because half the guys were getting sick, and they finally did it after he brought a stack of medical records to a meeting. That's the kind of old timer who actually makes the next guy's job safer instead of just collecting a pension.