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

Rabidlamb · 19-06-2012 11:11AM #1

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 · 19-06-2012 11:12AM

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

ScumLord · 19-06-2012 11:17AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:18AM

I would love a job

FatherLen · 19-06-2012 11:18AM

ScumLord wrote: »

He's a dick head

This.

paddy147 · 19-06-2012 11:19AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:26AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:29AM

ScumLord wrote: »

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

And lonely. :eek:

Mr. Incognito · 19-06-2012 11:30AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:32AM

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??

19-06-2012 11:33AM

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

Mr. Incognito · 19-06-2012 11:34AM

paddy147 wrote: »

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

No

Bad Panda · 19-06-2012 11:35AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:35AM

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

No

fair enough,thats your opinion.

Zonda999 · 19-06-2012 11:37AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:37AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:37AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:38AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:40AM

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

Bad Panda · 19-06-2012 11:43AM

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.

19-06-2012 11:44AM

ScumLord wrote: »

Some people can do fantastic things with a digger, .

What? like dig?

whistlingtitan · 19-06-2012 11:45AM

RVP 11 wrote: »

ScumLord wrote: »

Some people can do fantastic things with a digger, .

What? like dig?

Lol

whistlingtitan · 19-06-2012 11:46AM

RVP 11 wrote: »

ScumLord wrote: »

Some people can do fantastic things with a digger, .

What? like dig?

Lol

Rabidlamb · 19-06-2012 11:47AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:47AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:48AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:49AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:49AM

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!

19-06-2012 11:49AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:52AM

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 · 19-06-2012 11:54AM

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 . . .

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

Comments