Blue Collar and Proud of It: The All-In-One Resource for Finding Freedom, Financial Success, and Security Outside the Cubicle (19 page)
Authors: Joe Lamacchia,Bridget Samburg
Tags: #Business
There are a variety of specializedmasons in the field. Some do a bit of everything, while others focus on honing their skills in one area. For example, refractorymasons specialize in the installation of firebrick and tile in high-temperature boilers or furnaces, which are often found in industrial establishments. Brick masons and block masons build and repair walls, floors, fireplaces, and chimneys. Stonemasons tend to build stonewalls, aswell as set stone exteriors and floors.They work with natu-ralmaterial such asmarble or granite as well as artificial substances such as concrete.
Masons who have versatile skills in exterior stone, brick, and concrete as well as interior tile and marble setting will have better job opportunities. Themore you can do and themore willing you are to learn different skills, the better off you will be when it comes to career growth.
Work Setting
Masons usually work outdoors, but in contrast to the past when work slowed down in the winter months, new processes and materials allow more work to continue through variable weather conditions. Still, many shift to inside jobs during the colder months. Some restoration masons find themselves repairing fireplaces inside and therefore can continue working during inclement weather.
Success in the Real World
Matthew Gillard, Mason, Amesbury, Massachusetts
“I was disenfranchised with school, ” is howMatthew Gillard describes his life as a young student. He was frustrated and angry, too. Although his scores were quite high on IQ tests, Gillard had been put into a special education class starting in the fourth grade of his Amesbury, Massachusetts, elementary school.He blames it on all of the acting out he did after his parents divorced.Gillard felt like a failure, and he wasmiser-able in the classroom. “Iwasmuchmore creative withmy hands, ” he adds.
By the time he got to high school, Gillard started working for his neighbor, who was amason.Gillard would clean bricks and help out on jobs during the weekends and summers.
AlthoughGillard enjoyedmath andwoodshop classes, he had no intention of following his friends to college.He told his parents hewas going to take a year off, but really he was just delaying having to tell them that he wasn’t going the college route. At the end of the year, he told hismother that he really wanted to be a mason.He had enough of a taste to know it was something he wanted to pursue.
“If you want to do it, do it and be the best, ” Gillard’smother told him. She suggested that he callRichard Irons, the premier restorationmason in NewEngland, and ask for a job.It took a fewcalls and some perseverance, but Irons toldGillard he could try out for a day.If Gillard didwell, Irons said he’d be hired.Thatwas inApril 2001, and nowGillard is being groomed to take over the business when Irons retires.
For Gillard, masonry combines his love of math with his creativity, as well as his long-standing interest in history.He startedworking at just $10 an hour, but by the time hewas twenty-three, he had bought his own house andwas expecting to make close to $100, 000 in 2008. “The sky is the limit, ” he says. But that’s only for people who are willing to work hard, who are passionate andmeticulous about theirwork. “We pride ourselves on being the best of the best in the industry.”
He loves working with his hands, being outside, and the diversity of the jobs. Some days Gillard is designing brick walls, fireplaces, or patios. Other days he’s laying brick or restoring 250-year-old fireplaces. “It’s physical. I don’t have to go to the gym, ” says the trimtwenty-seven-year-old. “I feel healthy.” The downside is the uncertainty of work and the possibility that the next job won’tmaterialize.That can be unnerving, but that’s why perfection and reputation are important.
Working on an old house with an antique fireplace that dates back to the 1700s gives Gillard an immense sense of pride. “I’ll pick up a brick and I think of the lastmason.He’s dead and gone, and hiswork is still sitting here proudly.” It’s the fireplaces that are especially unique for him. “The fireplace is the center of the home, ” says Gillard. “It’s nice to be part of that. Itmakesme so proud.”
Training and Certification
Most masons pick up their skills informally and on the job, while observing and learning frommore experiencedworkers. Some receive initial training in vocational education schools, and others complete a formal apprenticeship. Individuals who learn by doing usually start out as basic helpers, laborers, ormason tenders. These workers carrymaterials, move or assemble scaffolds, and mix mortar. They also may learn restoration skills and cleaning or repointing techniques at the same time.
Apprenticeships formasons are often sponsored by local contractors, trade associations, or local unions.These programs usually require three years of on-the-job training and include classroom instruction in blueprint reading, mathematics, and layout work.
The Numbers
There were 182, 000 masonry jobs in 2006, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 24 percent of masons were self-employed and often worked on small jobs such as patios, walkways, and fireplaces. Jobs in this industry are expected to increase 10 percent between 2006 and 2016, whichmeansmore than 18, 000 newopenings.Employment should be especially steady for those with restoration skills who are capable of repairingmany of the old brick buildings that have started to deteriorate. The demand for stonework in commercial lobbies is also growing.
The median hourly earnings of masons as of May 2006 were $20.66 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $32.43. Apprentices earn much less at first but can advance quickly.
MINING
Miners are currently in high demand, as shortages of skilled workers are reported around the country. “Probably finding and retaining the workforce is the number-one challenge we face, not only because of the demographics but because the workforce in the U.S. has changed so much, ” said Lee Chapman of NewmontMining Corporation in Denver. “There is an enormous people shortage here, ” he said of theNevada gold mines. “Technicians, craftsmen, and blue-collar skilledworkers are scarce. Today, when we post a job we might get 10 applications and nobody standing at the door.”
Mining has long had a reputation for being dirty and dangerous. The industry is in fact safer andmore sophisticated than ever. Recent federal regulations have tightened security, and mining companies are working to ensure improved conditions at the mines. Another misconception aboutmining is that it all happens below ground, butmuch of mining is above ground in open pits, particularly themining that takes place in the western United States.
The Work
Themining industry contains fourmain divisions, which are defined by the resources that are collected: oil and gas extraction, coal mining, metal ore mining, and nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying. Products of themining industry generate themajority of energy used in this country, fromelectricity in homes to fuel in vehicles.Uses of mined materials include coal, oil, and gas for energy; copper for wiring; gold for satellites and sophisticated electronic components; and stone and gravel for construction of roads and buildings. Other minerals are used as ingredients in medicines and household products.
In surface mining, miners typically operate huge machines that either remove the earth above the ore deposit, or dig and load the ore onto trucks. As the term suggests, surface mining does not require miners to work in underground tunnels and shafts. Workers at quarries have duties similar to those of surface miners. Using jackhammers and wedges, rock splitters remove pieces of stone from a rock mass. When it comes to oil drilling, companies select a site on which to install a derrick and begin extraction. This is often attempted off-shore, along the floor of the ocean.
We typically think of people having to burrow undergroundwhen we think of coalminers, but, as I justmentioned, many coalminers work at surfacemines and never go into a tunnel. Coal is a fossil fuel that is used primarily for electric power generation and in the production of steel. Undergroundmining is necessary when the coal deposit lies deep below the surface of the earth.
Metal ore mining is the extraction of gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, and zinc. A massive amount of rock must often be extracted from the ground to obtain a useable amount of thesemetals. Similar to coal, these metals may be mined underground or on the surface.
Employment in the mining industry has been affected significantly by new technology and more sophisticated mining techniques that increase productivity. Mostminingmachines and control rooms are now automated or at least computer-controlled, requiring fewer human operators. Manymines also use other sophisticated technology such as lasers and robotics, which further increases work efficiency.
Work Setting
Work environments vary depending on what is being mined and where amine is located. Working conditions inmines and quarries can be unusual and sometimes dangerous. Surfacemining ismuch less hazardous. Physical strength and stamina are necessary for all of these jobs. Workers in surfacemines, quarries, and wells are subject to rugged outdoor work in all kinds of weather and climates. Some surfacemines and quarries shut down in the winter because snow and ice covering the mine site make work too difficult. Because they are largely automated, oil and gas sites typically operate year-round regardless of weather conditions. Offshore drilling sites may be evacuated in the event of serious hurricanes or storms.