horticulture landscaping meditations

Why landscapers covet municipal jobs

Jumping

I have a buddy-let’s call him Ben-and when I first met him, he was happily plugging away at a private landscaping company. He was the man, and his boss relied on him to get things done. Then Ben did what I encouraged him to do; he got his Red Seal Journeyman trade papers in horticulture.

And that’s why I caught up with him, because I wanted to know how the Red Seal trade papers improved his life. Not all employers will automatically pay more for Red Seal journeymen; some do and then raise their rates. Some people decide to start their own little companies. And the lucky few score cushy municipal jobs.

That’s what Ben did. The question is why? Why leave a steady private sector landscaping job with benefits and tons of overtime.

Why landscapers covet city jobs

Ben gave me two huge reasons for his jump.

One, municipal jobs are physically easier on the body. At a private landscaping company, it was ninety percent labor with driving as downtime. I don’t even believe that; I find driving company trucks stressful. At his current job, Ben thinks his labor duties consume fifty percent of his work time. The rest is occupied with softer activities, such as site checks, hiring outside contractors and even litter picking.

When I did two summers with the City of Coquitlam parks department, physically I felt on Friday the way I do on Mondays. This is because municipalities operate on budgets, not profits. Private companies have to generate profits, which means they have to squeeze your balls. Hard. And the work has to get completed because that’s what the contract says.

Two, money and benefits. You knew this was coming. I’ve seen several young summer workers this year switch to city jobs because the pay is better, and they don’t get home beat up. They value their leisure time.

As for Ben, he couldn’t be happier. He has a fulltime job that pays in the high thirties per hour, and I think that’s appropriate for journeymen. His private sector job paid in the mid-twenties. And his benefits were also weaker.

Municipalities also offer paid sick days off. My city job used to pay for one weekday off per month which was a nice perk. Overall, Ben feels well taken care of. Good for him.

Exploiting myself for profit at a private gig.

The bad news

Now, why don’t more people defect from private companies to cities? Because there aren’t many jobs like Ben’s available and it’s hard to get fulltime jobs. Some people plug away for years in temporary fulltime jobs, hoping to get on fulltime. I didn’t have that much time.

You have to be good, lucky and certified. Ben needed his Red Seal journeyman trade papers, horticulture diploma or seven relevant courses, and he had to pass a knowledge test. And if you read this blog regularly, you will know that the Red Seal apprenticeship program requires four levels, usually taken over four seasons; or you can challenge the exam if you have thousands of hours of experience in the field. Your employer will happily sponsor you because they can count on your services for the next four years. And if you’re lucky, they have a journeyman on staff who is happy to share his or her knowledge.

There is more bad news, depending on what type of person you are. Municipalities are unionized, they have tons of protocols you must follow, and the politics between staff and departments can be crazy. If that doesn’t scare you, then definitely apply.

What’s your goal?

What’s your goal? If you’re looking for a great, well-paid union job that will give you a pension in exchange for your best years, then municipal work makes sense. If your goals are more ambitious financially, then starting your own business makes more sense. Private sector jobs are plentiful and give you work experience. If you’re good, you can do well. Just don’t be surprised if you’re constantly asked to go faster, higher and better.

Grant Cardone says, “You best employees are free!” Good workers can do quite well in private companies; and they attract other great workers.

Personally, I’m hybrid: I have a great private sector job as a landscape manager, and I have my own clients. This gets me to a better level financially. I don’t want to ask a union to negotiate my raises but there is some danger. It’s all based on the assumption that my body will hold out. I also have more fun because I’m in charge.

Plus, asking bosses for small raises every year is unseemly. With a bit of side-work you can make your raises.

Red Seal Vas working solo to create profits.

Conclusion

Set your goals and then crush them. I’m very happy for Ben because he’s a good worker. His private job was getting to be a bit too much hustle. His boss squeezed him hard to generate profits and very little trickled down to Ben’s paycheque.

Today he has a good city job and he’s happier. He also doesn’t get home physically beat up.

If your ambitions are bigger than a union job with a pension at the end, then starting your own landscaping business makes more sense.

You can also consider a hybrid work life with private work and your own clients. But it relies on the assumption that your body- your money-maker- will hold up.

One thought on “Why landscapers covet municipal jobs

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