Employment Tips?

jollygreen said:

Well I did it! Took me 2 and a half years from when I first posted this lol (I didn't actually move and start job hunting until 09/18 though), but I finally got a grow job. Official Grower title =D I moved to Denver because it's way easier to get your foot in the door here since there are so many grows/dispensaries. My boss has grown for like 25 years and told me right away he was going to train me like I'm replacing him, and that the last 3 guys he hired are all now head growers elsewhere. Was only $14/hr but when I heard that I jumped on it. I've probably quadrupled my knowledge in the 5 months I've been there and I'm loving it so far. Perfect place to learn and they let me experiment with a plant here and there if I want to. I just wrote up my first action plan suggestion for them and I think they might approve it and my boss hinted at a raise! We have Fusarium fungi attacking one specific strain, so we guessed that it's probably systemic and dormant in the mother plant. I suggested that we soil drench with diluted Physan 20 fungicide which gets absorbed and circulated through the plant killing fusarium and creating a protective film for 2-4 days (after which it biodegrades into Nitrogen (I think, couldnt find any study saying that but I know it degrades quickly and is harmless when diluted). Then after that hit it with a beneficial soil bacteria that will colonize the roots and compete with/block any surviving fusarium trying to re-colonize. My boss told me our CEO asked about me in a front office meeting and wanted to know my name since he always sees me staying late working overtime. I feel like if I just keep my head down, keep studying and keep grinding I might be able to move into a head grower position in the next 2-3 years. I still have a shit load to learn though lol. Hopefully I can at least find like an assistant manager job or something before too long.

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jollygreen said:

Hey all,

Been on this site for a while now, active on and off and am incredibly thankful for all the tips and feedback I've received on here! I stopped growing about a year ago due to security concerns and now I've been focusing on continuing to study in my spare time. I am 100% sure that I want to make a career in the industry, and I'm moving to Colorado in May to try and get some more quality experience and learn from some professionals.

Basically I'm just looking for any general advice/business tips, and wondering if anyone can make some recommendations for good places to try and seek employment (I want to work in a nursery if possible and get my hands on plants ASAP, but I'm willing to do other stuff like budtend or trim if it's necessary to get my foot in the door).

I don't care where in CO it is, I don't know where I'm moving yet but it's going to be where the best job opportunity is, I don't care what city/town I move to really as long as it's not completely in the middle of nowhere (would be awesome to be less than an hour from a city like Denver, CO Springs, Boulder, Fort Collins, etc).

Any advice/tips/good locations for job opportunities are much appreciated!

Thanks guys,

-jg

PS: If this is not a proper are to post this, let me know I'll take it down/move it but from quick glance this looked like the most appropriate area.

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Renfro said:

Well first thing to do is get your support badge (key badge if you will be making major grow decisions).

Know that you will be starting on the bottom run of a ladder with almost no room for upward movement. You got the laborers and the master grower/s. So you will either get paid really low and do all the menial work or you need to be qualified to gain employment as a master grower (not many positions available). Even as a master grower you will find the pay isn't as great as you would expect since there are plenty of other people willing to take the job (supply and demand).

Also good to know that smoking on the premises is prohibited by the state and the legal grows have cameras everywhere with big brother watching.

You may find that working in the industry is basically just another job.

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NoobgrowerLbc said:

i dont have a clue what a master grower does.

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Renfro said:

I don't think anyone knows...

Really though they are in charge of making all the critical grow decisions. Nutrient schedules, when to harvest, pest management strategies are a few examples. They are also responsible for ensuring compliance to state regulations.

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Renfro said:

Well first thing to do is get your support badge (key badge if you will be making major grow decisions).

Know that you will be starting on the bottom run of a ladder with almost no room for upward movement. You got the laborers and the master grower/s. So you will either get paid really low and do all the menial work or you need to be qualified to gain employment as a master grower (not many positions available). Even as a master grower you will find the pay isn't as great as you would expect since there are plenty of other people willing to take the job (supply and demand).

Also good to know that smoking on the premises is prohibited by the state and the legal grows have cameras everywhere with big brother watching.

You may find that working in the industry is basically just another job.

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jollygreen said:

Lol both jobs I've had people get stoned routinely before, at and after work. I have a few times but don't anymore. I upgraded to my key badge about 2 months ago since they reimbursed me for it. I get what you're saying, definitely gonna be a lot of grinding through the muck. As far as the low pay, it is fairly low but most places I've applied at start you at 14-16/hr for a normal grower job. Maybe 16-18 at a few places? The pay isn't great but there is almost unlimited overtime available if I need some extra $$. Also they already gave me the alarm code and I'm often the only person in the building so I know they trust me. They told me that I'm #1 in line for a raise too. I'll probably stick around and learn and soak up as much as I can for another 6 months or so, then find a higher paying job if they don't give me more money. The other benefits are just really nice. Nobody breathing down my neck, team mostly all gets along. They don't hassle you at all if you're late here and there (I work like 95hrs+ every 2 weeks so that probably helps). All things considered I'm really happy with the amount of knowledge I'm getting so it definitely makes up for the $14/hr. Also, our the company's potency is at an all time high and their microbial testing is at an all time low since I started =D Not that it's all my doing, but I know I have been a good part of it with my contributions. All I care about right now is absorbing as much information as possible. I'm starting up my home grow here again in a month or two too, giving LED a shot for the first time since I have trouble controlling temperature in my environment. My dream is to open my own smaller craft-style grow (like connoisseur grade all organic living soil style) down the road in 5-10 years, so right now I'm just in study mode.

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HashBucket said:

It's been a few months OP.
Great journey.
Any updates?

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jollygreen said:

That place I was working at got bought out by a bigger company. It was a trip...I started dating this sexy blonde chick that joined about 3-4 months after me. Fooled around with her in every room of the building since we closed together a lot lol work dynamics changed a lot when it got out... eventually turned into a ton of drama. My boss had a crush on her so started giving me bad reviews. Then got pretty weird and ended with me and her both quitting and telling off the manager (dude pulled all kinds of bullshit). They were getting bought though and I was going to quit later on anyways probably. So I found work at another smaller grow.. dude has 4 different locations and wanted me to drive between all 4 of them for entry level wages, no reimbursement for gas, no benefits lol, 1 single time off request annually... and constantly just being an arrogant piece of shit while I'm breaking my back for him. I started putting out resumes and now I'm at a medium size grow with several bays and teams have some autonomy over the feed schedule, etc.. very relaxed with decent benefits and a lot of little perks. Multiple opportunities to move up too if I want to. So right now I'm just working and self-studying still. I'll either stay here for like a year and try to get a lead position just to build my resume, or find passively put my resume out until a smaller craft style grow with better pay/benefits comes up. If some of my investments take off a little more, I'll probably try to find a house to buy so I can start growing at home again. I just want to take it easy, learn, get experience, study, keep trying to advance my career and actually start enjoying all the amazing shit CO has to offer.

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