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russ91

Well-Known Member
Well at the moment I'm a joiner but would like to get put of the building traid as it's in such a mess at the moment but the only outher thing I know is keeping, any of you guys ever retrained for a diferent job if so is it worth it?
 
hi russ i was a greenkeeper but the money wasnt so good i really enjoyed the job and was outside and left to my own devices but needed to pay bills and with a child on the way and went to a fabrication company started off at the bottom and worked hard and now i run the workshop money is ok and i have the workshop on a night and weekend to do my own thing which is great but much prefared to be outside, but my skills help me in stalking and i can do the things i want so abit of a trade off really i know money isnt everything but its bloody hard when you have a house and family to support . i wish you well in whatever you decide all the best,wayne
 
Cheers Wayne I know what you mean about the money situation but keeping was always my first love but don't know if I'd now be able 2change my life stile to keeping
 
Of course you can and plenty have done so.
Plenty of keepers have had previous jobs although it is a dificult job to get into and often is down to who you know rather than what and just being in the right place at the right time. If it's what you want then go for it.

Word of advice , if you do go ahead, keep any property owned[if you have any that is] and get it rented out, it's always a bit of security if you are in tied accom.
 
Hi Russ
As all of us in the construction game know that work is getting scarce its also happeninig in other trades mate see if you can get a weekend job keepering at first to make up the pennies and to see if you still enjoy it then make the transition over but dont give the day job up just yet you may not get back in all the best in finding what you want
Paul
 
Hi Russ,
I too was a joiner/general builder, I shut the doors to my business about two months ago for the same reasons as your finding. I now run a pub and I'll tell you I won't be looking back its the best move I ever made.
So my advice is follow your heart, life to short to be stuck in a job that you hate.
Good luck
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Hi Russ,
I too was a joiner/general builder, I shut the doors to my business about two months ago for the same reasons as your finding. I now run a pub and I'll tell you I won't be looking back its the best move I ever made.

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Not wanting a row but...... I would have said it was out of the frying pan into the fire.:eek: Unless you have a thriving food side to the business of course, and even that is getting tougher each month.

Research for the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) showed 52 pubs closed every week in Britain for the first six months of the year, an increase of a third on the same period last year.
Pubs closing down 'at record rate' | News

That was in 2009 and the rate has hardly slowed thru out 2010. With VAT due to increase on Jan 4th its not likely to slow down very much in 2011. Osbourne is also getting set for another hefty rise in duty.

God luck with the pub I hope it works out for you.
 
Well at the moment I'm a joiner but would like to get put of the building traid as it's in such a mess at the moment but the only outher thing I know is keeping, any of you guys ever retrained for a diferent job if so is it worth it?

My advice is don't look to full time keepering! Find something else that you want to do, and do the keepering in your spare time. At last that way you'll be able to pay your bills and have a reasonable standard of living for you and the family without the Mrs having to work full time as well.
 
Evening Russ,

It is fair to say that things in construction are rubbish. It has been tough for over a year now and I can't see any major improvements on their way for some time. Having said that it may not be the right time to move out of it. Whilst you're gainfully employed it may be wise to stay put until the climate changes and the risk of needing to return only to find no vacancy is slimmer. Essentially - not burning your bridges should the keeping not work out.

I've known a few guys change careers completely, and have benefitted massively from it (after the initial period). I just don't see many people in our game doing anything other than keeping their heads below the parapet at the moment.

Maybe I just need bigger balls to make the jump myself?!

DC
 
Hi Doc,
Your not starting a row, that same thought crossed my mind before stepping into this game. However I am not a tennant, I manage the pub for a very large and well known company (fullers). So we have alot of support behind us. We do indeed have a good food trade as well as the 14 bedrooms, but infact our wet sales are just fantastic (touch wood).
So if your ever down in the Portsmouth/Hampshire area pop in and have a beer.
I guess my real point of my earlier post is, don't waste your life doing something you don't enjoy, there's plenty of time for that when you fall off your perch!!!!!
Cheers
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Russ, i always wanted to be a keeper ever since i was i kid. I ended up in the steel industry from school, nothing wrong with that if you like factory work. I worked at the same place for 14 years with the last 4-5 years forever wanting out to retrain as a keeper or ranger. Well, i eventually took the plunge and found some balls to do it so when the chance of redundancy came i went. I enrolled on a HNC in gamekeeping with wildlife management course and did that for a year winning gamekeeping student of the year and i have to say it was one of the best years of my life. That was 6 years ago and do you know what i am doing now......... working in the steel industry again.:doh:
I found that although i had all the qualifications followed by loads of interest there weren`t the jobs out there, especially ones where estates were prepared to take someone on whom was learning as he went along even though i knew in myself that i was more than up to it.

My situation is slightly different to yours but at the time i did and still have a wife and kid that needed looking after, lucky then that i was also a trademan so made money whilst at college and am also lucky that even though i don`t like my job it keeps the wolves from the door.
I would take advice like the others have said, do it at weekends or days off and see what transpires from that, but in any event good luck with what you do.;)

wadas
 
It's not so much that there is no jobs in the construction industry it's the face they want them doing for naff all I'm a full qualified joiner with all the papers and plenty of work under my belt but still hav 2 work 4 under £10 a hour just to get the work last year I could pull in £600 a week easy
 
Russ

The writing was on the wall for the UK construction industry from 2008. The only problem was the lads working on site never bothered to take heed of the warning signs (as per usual) they didn't in the 70's, they didn't in the late 80 early 90's so why should they learn the lessons and do it in the OO's.

Those that did take heed were the big bosses of the major contractors and developers. All of whom have had nice fat pay cheques and continued bonuses all the way thru this recession.
 
Hi
Like you I wanted to be a gamekeeper when I was young.
I was advised by several people i respected to obtain some qualifications first that i could fall back on.
That was a number of years ago, I can say now that it was a good thing for me that I didnt become a keeper.
I am lucky to have a couple of pals that are keepers, and i can see how incredibly hard they work.
Good days at grouse and pheasants dont just happen there is a lot of unseen work required.
I come into contact with guys that attend keeper training courses.
The yougest keeper mentioned yesterday that of all the guys on his course only two are still in keepering.
A lot of guys think it is wistling and shooting vermin.
It takes a great deal of luck to become employed on a good estate, where the owner has a some spare cash that he is happy to spend on shooting.
Working for a syndicate can be bad.
Being given a good property to live in is important.
Being able to handle the beaters pickers up and guns is a work of art.
Having a wife that is happy having you out and about and not being there to listen to her issues.
I can go on and on
All that said if its still high on your priority you may regret it all your life if you dont give it a go.
Try to do some picking up or beating at any top class shoots in your area, this will give you a little insight
All the Very Best
Ian
 
Russ,

Being a keeper is many peoples dream job, I was very luck to go straight into a job on an excellent traditional estate with a very good boss and headkeeper, that position took me to working overseas as a keeper.
On returning to the UK i decided to have a change of career, it was the worst mistake for once out, it was very hard to gain a position as a full time keeper even though i have an excellent track record.
There is massive competition for jobs and to be frank, the best jobs are not advertised and go through the networking system. The jobs which are have a large response, many of which are experienced and very good applicants. You will be lucky to even get a response to an application never mind an interview.
I would also recommend looking for a part-time paid job as a keeper and keep your trade, things will get better given time.
Im lucky to have a good job and also a great part-time keepering job which pays good money, it doesnt have the pressures of a demanding estate and lets me work to my own hours, which can still be very high, so i have the best of both worlds.
Good luck in what ever you choose.

Jamie
 
I had a gunsmithing shop in New Mexico and made a decent living at it. I paid off all of my equipment and bought new tools for the shop, and took in grocery money aside. One day I looked out the shop window and watched my young kids playing. I realized that they would be going off to college in a blink... GULP!

I applied for college the next week and became a Registered Nurse. I miss professional gun work but I put my kids through college and make a good living from my retraining. ~Muir
 
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