CABL Forum - Re: Question--Is there money doing Cable work?

It does seem to be that many people are speaking ill of our industry these days. I hear the same things, "Cable is dead", "Our insustry will not exist past (fill in a date two years from today) due to (fill in your favorite complaint here)", "Get out now, you can't make a living anymore", and so on and so on.

It is my personal belief that most of this feeling of bad mojo is nothing more than the tail end of what the larger contracting firms that bought up or crushed the smaller (less than 100 employees) companies by a cascading series of lowball bidding and introduction of poorly trained people being paid peanuts to cut like monkeys on crack. This equated to 3 men in the place of 1 well trained man and many, many late uptimes for the customer (we still do work for them don't we) over the last 8-10 years.

And so it seems, the last of the big rebuilds are done. What is to become of all those folks that have been doing this work. Well, based on some of the "quality" I have seen over the last double handful of years I am reasonably sure they are not the ones out driving our industry to flex and grow with the times. That was the place of those "Big Small Companies" that we worked/sub'd from not so many years ago. You know, the companies that employed people that could think on their feet. The people that were taken care of when work was slow, the people that could come up with a half dozen suggestions for work that could be presented to the MSO in the hopes of generating new work,

Or, in a nutshell, the cable professionals that are created by starting at the bottom, watching (and getting a crick in your neck from watching your lineman) a person that actually posseses the skills to build from the ground floor up and learning as you go. Who is the Fool that decided someone could be shown the basic mechanical operation of a (coring tool, lasher, meter) and be expected to know how to (install, troubleshoot, build) just because they are presented the equipment and a cursory explanation of how to use it. Who is that Fool and why didn't they come with a birthmark on the forehead saying, " Danger Will Robinson, Danger!"

So, is there money doing cable or not? Of course there is. If you are in possesion of the skills to handle any aspect of cable from a fresh reel of strand, to setting up the return at the last LE in a cascade of 10 actives. Really now, does anyone believe you can learn all there is to learn in 2 years? I have been at this for 17 and I still run across the occasional, "What is really the best way to get from point A to point B?" type of situation. And I started out tossing up a bug or weaver to my lineman (or fear the wrath on one of those sucker's coming at your hard hat to get your attention!) Now, the real work is in long term plant maintanence and correction of some of the foolishness you see long after the rebuild company is gone. So you work out a fair deal with some MSO folks you can trust (this part of our business has been hurt the worst) and do a little construction, a little design, a little splicing and activation catching those de/re's in the area that won't get handled by the inhouse folks. Add the vgr's, bonds and DG's and all of a sudden you have enough billing for a reasonable day. You did manage to generate a relationship with the mid level MSO managers while you were doing their rebuild I hope.

You do that and you will make money. Granted not the stoopit money we have been spoiled with but better than most of your neighbors are making I would venture. So find a system or two that are close enough for day trips (or the occasional motel room when things are really hopping) and stop burning fuel chasing all over the country for a lower rate than we used to get. Let the Crack Monkey's tear stuff up for pennies on the dollar. After all, someone who actually knows what they are talking about will at some point be needed to set these poor hacked systems right again. That person could be you! I hope you have been feeding that grey stuff in your crainum more than just bud and thc over the years. You just may need it's services. It takes some getting used to having an address that isn't a motel for more than 8 months, Lord I know that! It just seems that chasing the big bucks around the country (it gets expensive moving the trucks and equip 1500 miles) has come to it's end. All that work we have been doing is still out there though. Every MSO really has a need for a few good Dawg's to make sure their 20 Milion dollar ReBuild doesn't look like a practice in how to abuse BAFF's instead of putting in a SS or two. Find one you like, approach them, get your company in order and be professional. Move nearby, make friends with the System Engineer Guy and get the real skinny on the system. Actually enjoy getting up and going out to work again.

Be realistic. How much do you really believe your never seen the inside of a college (or high school) got more tat's than teeth know what the system's gonna look like by reading (and understanding) a design print knowing what questions to ask and who most likely has your answer self is worth. Be Honest with yourself.

Does it matter where you are? Absolutly
Does it matter what equipment you own? Absolutly
Does it matter if you appear professional? Getting my drift I hope.

Holy Hell, I didn't realize my soapbox slipped beneath my feet. ;)

Seriously though. This is not the same industry we the true professional cable folks have had the pleasure (and displeasure of course) of serving over the last decade. It has changed and we need to adjust with it. There are still miles and miles of fiber to be run. Someone has to connect these systems to each other when, oh say, Time Warner and Comcast trade geografically located systems. Who is most qualified? I believe it to be my Brothers and Sisters in this industry that have been able to adjust with the times and will do so again as it is time to rebuild our relationships with those MSO construction managers and take our places back as the system contractors that help keep an MSO's customer base happy and surfing the internet. It is time to toss down the false Kings of the large uncaring contracting firms and retake our places inside the castle's court. We build the silly things, who is better prepared to be kind to it and keep it healty?

Grow and Expand with the flexibilty of the Industry or get rolled flat by it. I could care less. I do know that there is work to be had, you just have to be a bit more clever to make it feasible these days. I believe in this industry and have since I saw my first group of linemen drinking beer in the parking lot building their equipment for the next day. This is what I do for a living and I wouldn't have it any other way. For all the times I have hated being a part of it over the years I still wouldn't have it any other way.

I hope that there are still others out there that feel the same. These systems don't take care of themselves and the inhouse folks (bless their baff installing soul's) will keep us busy for many, many more years.

Even a no college degree havin' ink from around the country wearin' bitchin' about my day as a backward form or braggin' doin' self.

I, as always, wish the best to all the Bretheren who still Believe.

Now, get rid of this soapbox before someone gets hurt allready.

SOME DISCLAIMERS:

If you are offended by this, oh well.
To any Inhouse Folks:
Keep up the good work, you people are my bread and butter.
To any large Contracting Firms:
You guys have had all the fun for the last ten years. You work with too slim profit margins and some have forgotten a basic fact. Treat the working man/woman with respect and they will always put your best interests first. Failure to do so results in quality people moving on when they want to not when you would like them to. I have done work for both kinds and sadly say from first hand experience that the latter outweigh the former. Oh yeah, keep hiring and not properly traing people, it generates unbelievable amounts of work after you are gone. Thanks for the effort.

Mark
just one 'ole Dawg barking at the moon...

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Re: Question--Is there money doing Cable work?