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osshole on scored.co
6 days ago1 point(+0/-0/+1Score on mirror)
Worked as an elevator mechanic apprentice for three years. If you enjoy manual labor and building/fixing stuff then you’ll enjoy it but it can be very hard work at times. It wasn’t for me. Here’s some things off the top of my head why I left it:
The work itself is dirty and dangerous. Every day I’d get hurt in some way or another whether it would be a scrape on a sharp piece of metal, a loose strand on a cable cutting my arm, busting open a knuckle on a steel beam while tightening a bolt, etc. just to name a few. I heard of guys getting serious injuries like breaking backs or getting parts of their body crushed by a moving part. The positions you’d had to get in to reach certain parts of the elevator are very awkward and uncomfortable. Constantly breathing in dirty air quality in the elevator shaft, pit, or motor room (I would be picking black boogers out my nose and soot out of my ears in the shower, the water would often times be black from all the dirt on me) and the loud noises messing up your hearing. Almost got killed on one occasion that my partner forgot to reengage the brakes after we changed the pads out and installed them, being on top the elevator we were unhanging the car (basically took all the weight off the machine by mounting blocks that the elevator hangs on while the brakes are being repaired) when the blocks were removed the elevator went up without stopping. Thank God the counterweight hit the bottom before we hit the top (which is how it’s supposed to be designed but some times people make mistakes). I was quite shook for a while after that. Cable replacements were always hard days, some times multiple days long if the building was big enough and the setup was complex.
It wasn’t all bad mind you, when I worked in repair there were several days we’d finish work by noon and go home if the jobs were small but still scheduled for 8 hours. Working in Mod was another story. You worked in one location all day removing the old elevator and putting in a new one over the course of months. That was a lot more work and you had to know a lot. As an elevator mechanic you’ll learn basically every other trade: electrical, carpentry, mechanical, plumbing, welding, iron working.
After three years I had enough. I looked at the people who had been doing it for 20-30 years and they didn’t seem like healthy or happy people. Most of the people my age were in the same boat as I was; pretty much had nothing else going on in life and this was their last resort. The commute into the city sucked, my days would be 11-12 hours long with the commute and I’d be so exhausted by the time I got home. Weekends were a wash as Saturday I’d spend resting/recovering from the week and Sunday I’d spend getting ready for the work week with meal prepping and doing laundry.
If you can stomach the work the benefits are great. I just preferred to live a life where I didn’t need to utilize health insurance because my body and health were destroyed. I could go on and on with my experiences, both good and bad but I figure you get the point of my perspective. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
The work itself is dirty and dangerous. Every day I’d get hurt in some way or another whether it would be a scrape on a sharp piece of metal, a loose strand on a cable cutting my arm, busting open a knuckle on a steel beam while tightening a bolt, etc. just to name a few. I heard of guys getting serious injuries like breaking backs or getting parts of their body crushed by a moving part. The positions you’d had to get in to reach certain parts of the elevator are very awkward and uncomfortable. Constantly breathing in dirty air quality in the elevator shaft, pit, or motor room (I would be picking black boogers out my nose and soot out of my ears in the shower, the water would often times be black from all the dirt on me) and the loud noises messing up your hearing. Almost got killed on one occasion that my partner forgot to reengage the brakes after we changed the pads out and installed them, being on top the elevator we were unhanging the car (basically took all the weight off the machine by mounting blocks that the elevator hangs on while the brakes are being repaired) when the blocks were removed the elevator went up without stopping. Thank God the counterweight hit the bottom before we hit the top (which is how it’s supposed to be designed but some times people make mistakes). I was quite shook for a while after that. Cable replacements were always hard days, some times multiple days long if the building was big enough and the setup was complex.
It wasn’t all bad mind you, when I worked in repair there were several days we’d finish work by noon and go home if the jobs were small but still scheduled for 8 hours. Working in Mod was another story. You worked in one location all day removing the old elevator and putting in a new one over the course of months. That was a lot more work and you had to know a lot. As an elevator mechanic you’ll learn basically every other trade: electrical, carpentry, mechanical, plumbing, welding, iron working.
After three years I had enough. I looked at the people who had been doing it for 20-30 years and they didn’t seem like healthy or happy people. Most of the people my age were in the same boat as I was; pretty much had nothing else going on in life and this was their last resort. The commute into the city sucked, my days would be 11-12 hours long with the commute and I’d be so exhausted by the time I got home. Weekends were a wash as Saturday I’d spend resting/recovering from the week and Sunday I’d spend getting ready for the work week with meal prepping and doing laundry.
If you can stomach the work the benefits are great. I just preferred to live a life where I didn’t need to utilize health insurance because my body and health were destroyed. I could go on and on with my experiences, both good and bad but I figure you get the point of my perspective. If you have any questions feel free to ask.