Lads telling war stories about pulling in €1,000+ a week back in the good days

Rabidlamb

I've a neighbour who drove diggers & the like during the boom.
About once a month we end up on the beer where he tells the roon the same stories about the huge money he made during the boom, he pulled double shifts working on the M7 prior to the Ryder Cup & was taking home €1,400 a week after tax.
Now this lad hasn't worked a day since 2008 & not looking good for the future either.
Another friend offered him a job labouring with his landscaping company for €12 an hour & he took offence to it, he won't speak to the friend anymore, he feels insulted.

There are people who need to get over the glory days, they keep expecting them to return & to be the norm again.
The fact that a unskilled labourer who left school without a Leaving Cert could earn them sums of money shows what a ridiculous bubble we found ourselves in.
All it gave them was an unrealistic impression of their earning ability & this perception needs to dissolved.

chin_grin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4CtWb4tJBg

ScumLord

Rabidlamb wrote: »

I've a neighbour who drove diggers & the like during the boom.
About once a month we end up on the beer where he tells the roon the same stories about the huge money he made during the boom, he pulled double shifts working on the M7 prior to the Ryder Cup & was taking home €1,400 a week after tax.

He probably didn't deserve anywhere near that money either. Them motorways aren't built right according to the people I know who worked on them.

Another friend offered him a job labouring with his landscaping company for €12 an hour & he took offence to it, he won't speak to the friend anymore, he feels insulted.

He's a dick head and he'll more than likely die poor with that attitude.

Jester252

I would love a job

FatherLen

ScumLord wrote: »

He's a dick head

This.

paddy147

Rabidlamb wrote: »

I've a neighbour who drove diggers & the like during the boom.
About once a month we end up on the beer where he tells the roon the same stories about the huge money he made during the boom, he pulled double shifts working on the M7 prior to the Ryder Cup & was taking home €1,400 a week after tax.
Now this lad hasn't worked a day since 2008 & not looking good for the future either.
Another friend offered him a job labouring with his landscaping company for €12 an hour & he took offence to it, he won't speak to the friend anymore, he feels insulted.

There are people who need to get over the glory days, they keep expecting them to return & to be the norm again.
The fact that a unskilled labourer who left school without a Leaving Cert could earn them sums of money shows what a ridiculous bubble we found ourselves in.
All it gave them was an unrealistic impression of their earning ability & this perception needs to dissolved.

No offence here ......but......

1-How do you know the man is unskilled?

2-How do you know he left school without a leaving cert?


PS-You need a ticket/licence to drive plant machinery and to me that is a skill.Not everyone can drive plant machinery.

Where To

Lads around here used to light cigarettes with 50 notes for the laugh.

They're the ones now complaining about howthe government is screwing the country

mirwillbeback

ScumLord wrote: »

He's a dick head and he'll more than likely die poor with that attitude.

And lonely. :eek:

Mr. Incognito

paddy147 wrote: »

No offence here ......but......

1-How do you know the man is unskilled?

2-How do you know he left school without a leaving cert?


PS-You need a ticket/licence to drive plant machinery and to me that is a skill.Not everyone can drive plant machinery.

Yes they can, you could learn in an hour

It is not a "skill"

paddy147

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Yes they can, you could learn in an hour

It is not a "skill"

So driving and operating a 20 tonne dumper truck or a large excavator isnt a skill then??

At least Walter Mitty told stories that made people laugh/smile.

Mr. Incognito

paddy147 wrote: »

So driving and operating a 20 tonne dumper truck or a large excavator isnt a skill then??

No

Bad Panda

Rabidlamb wrote: »

I've a neighbour who drove diggers & the like during the boom.
About once a month we end up on the beer where he tells the roon the same stories about the huge money he made during the boom, he pulled double shifts working on the M7 prior to the Ryder Cup & was taking home €1,400 a week after tax.
Now this lad hasn't worked a day since 2008 & not looking good for the future either.
Another friend offered him a job labouring with his landscaping company for €12 an hour & he took offence to it, he won't speak to the friend anymore, he feels insulted.

There are people who need to get over the glory days, they keep expecting them to return & to be the norm again.
The fact that a unskilled labourer who left school without a Leaving Cert could earn them sums of money shows what a ridiculous bubble we found ourselves in.
All it gave them was an unrealistic impression of their earning ability & this perception needs to dissolved.

Ooh a builder. Big f*cking deal.

Work you loser! (Not you OP).

paddy147

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

No

fair enough,thats your opinion.

Zonda999

I hear plenty stories like this too. Lads who pulling in huge money only about 6 years ago. Albeit, they were working hard but I totally agree, it gave them a totally unrealistic expectation of the working world. Plenty lads I know/knew dropped out of school around 4th year to do some construction related job, most of them immigrated by now, either that or on the dole doing the odd bit of cash in hand work.

I feel sorry for them in a way because they probably weren't warned, but I doubt they'd have headed any warnings tbh, the thought of €600+ per week(Or a lot more as in the OP's case) was too much to turn down. All said, many of these were never the most academically motivated either so I dunno would they have pursued a third level education in any case..

And its true too, its plenty of these people complaining about the 'government fault' and all that jazz now. Don;t know what t make of it tbh..

And another thing, practically none of these had any sense of financial planning either, as far as I can see. I hear stories too about how they could drop €500 on a bank holiday weekend, truly mad I know, but they could earn that again the following week,and the show rolled on so to speak.. We will never see times like it again I reckon, might be a good thing..

MadYaker

paddy147 wrote: »

So driving and operating a 20 tonne dumper truck or a large excavator isnt a skill then??

It really isn't. Technically you're not considered a "skilled" worker unless you have a degree of some sort.

ScumLord

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Yes they can, you could learn in an hour

It is not a "skill"

Of course it's a skill, you can learn the basics easily enough and it's not that hard to operate but like with any skill the more you practice the better you get. Some people can do fantastic things with a digger, some people shouldn't be let near one. Tis a skill though.

neil_hosey

paddy147 wrote: »

So driving and operating a 20 tonne dumper truck or a large excavator isnt a skill then??

it doesnt require you to spend years in college/training to acquire. that is the point i think he is trying to make, and a valid one.

paddy147

Its still a skill,and it takes alot of skill to operate these large plant machines correctly,and safely too.

Bad Panda

paddy147 wrote: »

Its still a skill,and it takes alot of skill to operate these large plant machines correctly,and safely too.

A skill anybody can learn, like driving.

It's not that you need an aptitude for that kind of thing, which imo, renders it not a skill as such.

ScumLord

ScumLord wrote: »

Some people can do fantastic things with a digger, .

What? like dig?

whistlingtitan

RVP 11 wrote: »

ScumLord wrote: »

Some people can do fantastic things with a digger, .

What? like dig?

Lol

whistlingtitan

RVP 11 wrote: »

ScumLord wrote: »

Some people can do fantastic things with a digger, .

What? like dig?

Lol

Rabidlamb

paddy147 wrote: »

No offence here ......but......

1-How do you know the man is unskilled?
He was sent to young offenders prison when in his teens for jacking cars.
Spent years running away from foster homes.
He boasts about never even doing the inter cert & being on the big money.

2-How do you know he left school without a leaving cert?
See above

PS-You need a ticket/licence to drive plant machinery and to me that is a skill.Not everyone can drive plant machinery.
A learning curve of a week is not a skill.
Flying a plane is a skill.

His past problems were years ago as a kid.
He's in his 40's now & has a family with responsibilities.

ScumLord

Bad Panda wrote: »

A skill anybody can learn, like driving.

Just about anyone can drive but some will be better than others, otherwise you or I could hop into a F1 car and drive as well as a world class driver. Skills are learned patterns, essentially anything you learn is a skill that you can improve on. Golf is a skill you learn, you can do it from the start but you won't be good at it.

RVP 11 wrote: »

What? like dig?

Track across large gaps, down step ravines, level off ground. They can do things you wouldn't even consider possible.

fishy fishy

MadYaker wrote: »

It really isn't. Technically you're not considered a "skilled" worker unless you have a degree of some sort.

i would disagree.


A skilled worker is any worker who has some special skill, knowledge, or (usually acquired) ability in their work. A skilled worker may have attended a college, university or technical school. Or, a skilled worker may have learned their skills on the job

Al Capwned

ScumLord wrote: »

Of course it's a skill, you can learn the basics easily enough and it's not that hard to operate but like with any skill the more you practice the better you get. Some people can do fantastic things with a digger, some people shouldn't be let near one. Tis a skill though.

Correct. Some really talented drivers could part your hair with a 30 tonne digger.

Bad Panda wrote: »

A skill anybody can learn, like driving.

It's not that you need an aptitude for that kind of thing, which imo, renders it not a skill as such.

Not anyone can learn how to correctly and safely operate large plant.



The guy the OP is talking about is a tool btw, I'd gladly take a €12/hour job this minute. Gladly.

davet82

i keep hearing similar stories too...

i hear 'when do you think it will get back to normal', which always makes me laugh...

THIS IS NORMAL FFS!

ScumLord

ScumLord wrote: »

Track across large gaps, down step ravines, level off ground. They can do things you wouldn't even consider possible.

I wouldn't consider them worth talking about.:pac:

paddy147

Rabidlamb wrote: »

His past problems were years ago as a kid.
He's in his 40's now & has a family with responsibilities.

Well fair play to you for splashng/adding in red the mans past history and his families past history all over the internet.

You must be very proud of yourself so.


PS-The more diplomatic thing to post would be "he told me himself"....and just leave it at that.

Rabidlamb

davet82 wrote: »

i keep hearing similar stories too...

i hear 'when do you think it will get back to normal', which always makes me laugh...

THIS IS NORMAL FFS!

There was a down home chap being interviewed on Prime Time recently.
They were talking about the huge unemployment figures & emigration in his area, his response was "Why can't we just go back to building houses again so there's jobs for these lads".
Christ on a bike . . .

Unavailable for Comment

Rabidlamb wrote: »

... he pulled double shifts working on the M7 prior to the Ryder Cup & was taking home €1,400 a week after tax.
Now this lad hasn't worked a day since 2008 & not looking good for the future either.
...
The fact that a unskilled labourer who left school without a Leaving Cert could earn them sums of money shows what a ridiculous bubble we found ourselves in.

A skill is the ability to do something well. It doesn't matter if it's because of having an aptitude for it or not. If his job is running a digger and he can do that well why shouldn't he be paid for that?

It's important when remembering the "glory days" that it wasn't builders getting €1400 for working double shifts, i.e. €700 a week that drove the boom. It was easy access to and reckless abuse of credit that drove it.

Zonda999

davet82 wrote: »

i keep hearing similar stories too...

i hear 'when do you think it will get back to normal', which always makes me laugh...

THIS IS NORMAL FFS!

That really gets to me too, people who say this have zero concept of economics, obviously.

http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/shortage-of-homes-for-under-35s-in-cities-to-spark-price-surge-3143917.html

'Shortage of homes for under 35s in cities to spark price surge' is the headline

Probably the kind of headline these same people would like to see. for the record, even the ESRI said on the radio this morning that the rpices on some urban centre might level off and stay that way for a number of years,hardly a 'surge', typical indo rubbish. We will never see times like that again, and it will be for the better of the country IMHO..

ScumLord

alproctor wrote: »

Correct. Some really talented drivers could part your hair with a 30 tonne digger.

Mythbusters sis a special on diggers once, they threaded a needle and poured a bottle of wine using a digger. Those lads spend so much time in them they've gotten pretty good at operating them.

Al Capwned

ScumLord wrote: »

Mythbusters sis a special on diggers once, they threaded a needle and poured a bottle of wine using a digger. Those lads spend so much time in them they've gotten pretty good at operating them.

To youtube!!!......

Rabidlamb

Zonda999 wrote: »

That really gets to me too, people who say this have zero concept of economics, obviously.

http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/shortage-of-homes-for-under-35s-in-cities-to-spark-price-surge-3143917.html

'Shortage of homes for under 35s in cities to spark price surge' is the headline

Probably the kind of headline these same people would like to see. for the record, even the ESRI said on the radio this morning that the rpices on some urban centre might level off and stay that way for a number of years,hardly a 'surge', typical indo rubbish. We will never see times like that again, and it will be for the better of the country IMHO..

In next weeks Sindo
"Never been a better time to buy" Bendan O'Connor
"Soft landing at last" Alison O'Riordan

Choo choo choo . . . . hop aboard . . . we're restarting the gravy train.

Zonda999

And another thing, some of these guys who are complaining that they can;t get scant work anywhere now, are the same people who screwed their customers over only 6 or 7 years ago. we all now there were plenty *'cowboys' on the go doing piss poor construction work for the going rate at the time. I've zero sympathy for these guys

Then again, there are a couple of smallish builders I know (Doing small extensions and the like), who never treated their customers badly, and didn't get carried away with pricing. I met some one I know, like this, a couple of months back, he says he's still tipping(Pardon the pun) away at it, getting healthy work. fair play to him I say. There will always be room for construction workers in an economy, but obviously only a small percentage of the workforce(Probably about 5-6%). I believe during the 'boom', or percentage was 15%+.

snubbleste

Rabidlamb wrote: »

In next weeks Sindo
"Never been a better time to buy" Bendan O'Connor
"Soft landing at last" Aisling O'Riordan
Choo choo choo . . . . hop aboard . . . we're restarting the gravy train.

Ahem, it is Alison. Very important.

bonzodog2

RVP 11 wrote: »

What? like dig?

I am reminded of this :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuWSxFWv3Fo

Zonda999

Rabidlamb wrote: »

In next weeks Sindo
"Never been a better time to buy" Bendan O'Connor
"Soft landing at last" Alison O'Riordan

Choo choo choo . . . . hop aboard . . . we're restarting the gravy train.

Its gone beyond a joke at this stage

To anyone who hasn't read this; I urge you to:

http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/the-smart-ballsy-guys-are-buying-up-property-right-now-1047118.html
Brendan O Connor - ' The smart, ballsy guys are buying up property right now' - July 29th 2007

This is the same guy our state broadcaster is paying on our behalf to entertain us on Saturday nights..

giant_midget

Good thread OP, Im sick of hearing these glory days stories too...a bit boring now, I dont care about how much money you used to make mixing plaster etc, your on the dole now time to re-train. Not going to be another celtic tiger for another 40+ years...get your lazy hole onto a course...

Gone Drinking

Bad Panda wrote: »

A skill anybody can learn, like driving.

Surely anyone can learn any skill? That's hardly an argument..

Rabidlamb

snubbleste wrote: »

Ahem, it is Alison. Very important.

Sorted, needs to be right for when she googles herself.
I just noticed you loose all your Thanks once you edit a post, makes sense I suppose.

bonzodog2

bonzodog2 wrote: »

I am reminded of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

Riveting stuff.:pac:

Dymo

I remember a bricklayer friend boasting in the pub that he earning more than Doctors and Solicitors and he never went to collage and implying how much smarter he was than them wasting there time with this education lark. He's in New York now looking for work.

What pissed me off was the attitude a lot of tradespeople had that they could ask what ever they wanted for jobs to be done and work when they wanted to. €250 a day for a bit of carpentry(9-5). €800 for leveling some gravel. 2 hours work.

ScumLord

giant_midget wrote: »

Not going to be another celtic tiger for another 40+ years...get your lazy hole onto a course...

To be fair though, they've probably left themselves 40+ years of work repairing the terrible half arsed buildings and roads they built during the boom.

mikemac1

Tis true

The brother quit school after the junior cert and pulling in several hundred a week labouring on sites
Like a cash in hand job for the contractor who did the fencing for the new road bypass.
Or being a brickies helper, you would earn 500 a week minium for that job. A brickie could have two helpers, the price per brick was outrageous

Was hard work but the money was not realistic. Ya can moan at Bertie Ahern but nobody could make that last forever

Me? I earned the princly sum of €53 a week college grant and slogging my guts out as a barman for €9 a hour
Was decent for a student but hard work

Al Capwned

Skilled???

Of course it's a skill.....

Zonda999

Dymo wrote: »

I remember a bricklayer friend boasting in the pub that he earning more than Doctors and Solicitors and he never went to collage and implying how much smarter he was than them wasting there time with this education lark. He's in New York now looking for work.

What pissed me off was the attitude a lot of tradespeople had that they could ask what ever they wanted for jobs to be done and work when they wanted to. €250 a day for a bit of carpentry(9-5). €800 for leveling some gravel. 2 hours work.

Ah yes, sure this was the very mantra of the construction side of our 'boom'.

Mindless greed in other words. I'd be lying if I said if I said I didn't get some sort of satisfaction of seeing certain people like this in a pretty poor financial situation now. What's more, many of these are not even trying to make some effort to get a job, or trying to further their education to help them get a job, they are simply waiting for the 'show' to start off again, I can tell you, at the current rate, they will be waiting a long time..

Rabidlamb

paddy147 wrote: »

Well fair play to you for splashng/adding in red the mans past history and his families past history all over the internet.

You must be very proud of yourself so.


PS-The more diplomatic thing to post would be "he told me himself"....and just leave it at that.

Anonymous person on the internet speaks of anecdotal situation of unidentifiable friend.
Christ Paddy you're right, he can't get out the front door with all the media interest & flashing bulbs going off.
Good man, off to the next internet crisis with god's speed, the world wide web needs more true protectors like you.

seamus

Yeah, I recall a conversation with a mate in 2005. He had started a plumbing apprenticeship in 2001, but was still only halfway through in 2005 because he kept deferring the next phases in order to stay on the job. He was being paid €150/day for, in his words, "Making tea and lifting stuff".
So he saw no reason to go back to FAS and get his qualification.

I warned him at the time to get it completed as soon as possible, because at least then he'd have that and he could go and do whatever he wanted. His response was that there was no rush cos, "They'll always need plumbers for building houses"

Predictably in late 2006, his employer let him go and also pulled his FAS sponsorship, and he ended up on the dole with no qualifications and no hope of finishing his FAS course.