Rope access careers

[Keris82]

I'm considering a complete change of direction and doing a bit of personal research. So what I wanted to know is:

- Who here works in rope access?
- What kind of rope access do you do?
- Do you work away from home a lot?
- What qualifications did you require for your job, other than Irata?
- At the age of almost 40 is it feasible to start off at the bottom of the career ladder again when I have a mortgage to pay etc?

Any advice would be welcome.

Thank you 

 

[mikem]

You have to be prepared for the cold.

 

[Keris82]

You have to be prepared for the cold.

That would depend on the type of career though. Some rope access is indoors like set design

 

[Badlad]

Me.  Since 1984, six years pre IRATA.  I has been a very good career for me.  Currently my only involvement is as an IRATA assessor, but over the years have been involved across a number of industry sectors.  I got into it through caving, of course, but from a bricklayer/building background.  I've done geo, construction, inspection, oil & gas, training - worked home and abroad.

PM me if with a phone number if you'd like to chat and ask more.  Must dash just now.

 

[Cantclimbtom]

I'm considering a complete change of direction... ...
...
- Do you work away from home a lot?
- What qualifications did you require for your job, other than Irata?

My experience of the industry is a bit in the past now, but in my experience no employer is going to pay you to have "fun" hanging about buildings/cliff/masts/whatever. Roped access is merely a means of getting to a work site that is in an awkward place. That work can be many things from ultrasound inspection of welds, paint inspection, building maintenance, window cleaning, you name it....

What qualifications you need depends on what job you plan on doing when you are at your work site. because Roped Access isn't exactly a specific job as such (until you become an experienced L3, which may take a few years)

Most likely you will work away from home, but again depending on what job you do. The less specialist you are the more likely you'll get whatever work you can wherever you can. Also whether you afford to swap careers depends on your personal circumstances, someone with a specialist skill may earn more and be more likely to find work than a general low skilled "grunt"
Be aware there are probably more L1 around than L1 jobs, well historically anyway, I may be out of date.

It could be a good skill in combination with an access relevant skill and as a sideline?
Hope that helps

 

[Mark Wright]

I've worked in the rope access industry for the past 36 years, many of those years with Badlad, and the types of work have been very varied over the years. I've worked on some of the largest construction sites, not just in the UK, but all over the world, semi-submersible offshore Drilling Rigs and fixed Oil and Gas Platforms, Supertankers and, for the past 12 years, running rope access training courses and carrying out examination and testing of safety systems on many of the worlds largest Superyachts.

Bob Dearman started his rope access career following an IRATA course with myself when he was 60. He went on to set up his own rope access company before finally retiring.

Unless you are very very lucky all the work will be away from home Monday - Friday.

I've managed to have a very successful career in the industry with no other qualifications other than an IRATA Level 3 and a 1st Aid Certificate, although they have now lapsed.

There are a wide range of other qualifications that will make you stand out from everybody else looking for work. When the oil finally runs out there will be a lot of offshore rope access technicians looking for work.

I would recommend calling some of the bigger companies and asking them what sort of qualifications would be useful to them.

Some employers will pay for some of the specialist training they require but you will need to pay for your own IRATA Level 1.

Again, unless you are very very lucky you are more likely to be self employed, working for a number of different companies until you decide which sector you enjoy the most, and have the full time jobs available.

Having a mortgage you do need to be prepared for periods without any work.

My first telephone call would be with Can Ltd, in Chesterfield. They are one of the oldest and largest rope access companies in the world, and where I started back in 1986. The MD is also a caver.

I'd then give Spanset a call and book an IRATA course.

Mark

 

[Keris82]

My experience of the industry is a bit in the past now, but in my experience no employer is going to pay you to have "fun" hanging about buildings/cliff/masts/whatever.

Of course, I appreciate that. But anything has to be better than being chained to a desk all day. I'm going insane and want to do something more fulfilling

 

[Mark]

Hi Keris

Ive been in the game since 1984 (I started with CAN on a Geo job in Scotland, having worked in a fluorspar mine before then)

I Worked for another company (Technitube Ltd) from 1986 - 1993  and then left to set up my own company (High Peak Access)

They really were the glory days of rope access (we were on film stars money)

It really isn't what it used to be but there is still a good career to be had from it, as Mark W says, there are lot of out of work techs at the moment, (some excellent guys some not so good)

If you have a job already, I would recommend taking a weeks holiday to do an Irata Course, once you have passed, get in touch with the companies local to you and see if they have the odd few days work (weekends or days you can get off)

See how you get on and if it suits you, weigh it all up and maybe take the plunge and go full time

Where exactly are you based?

We do a lot of work all over the country maybe if we are in you're neck of the woods you could come over and see what you think

Mark

 

[Ian Ball]

Good luck Keris, give it a go, you won't know unless you try. 

 

[Steve Clark]

I've employed quite a few rope access firms for various jobs over the years on various construction sites. - cleaning glass & steelwork, painting, localised pointing, changing structural-siliconed glass units on office blocks (genuinely frightening), installing & removing safety nets above picker height, applying vinyl graphics, repairing fragile roofs etc.

I'd say for most of these, the actual job is pretty mundane and boring after the novelty of sitting in a harness wears off. You're earning more, but it is mostly basic labouring.

The really professional guys doing L3 cover for high level net rescue and for some of the more complex tower crane erections/dismantles seemed to be enjoying their jobs, pay and drank a lot of tea. We were paying for their brain and experience. Obviously had thousands of hours in by then.

The lads hanging directly off strops, scraping icicles & cleaning diesel soot off the white trusses in an indoor ski slope at -6degC whilst it was a sunny day outside - not so much......

 

[Keris82]

Thank you all, your comments are helpful and gives me some food for thought. I am based in Kent by the way.

 

[georgenorth]

Hi Keris,

I?m also in rope access and agree with what the others have said. I?ve only been doing it for about 4 years, but am relatively lucky to have a permanent contract with time split between the office, yard and site. I work for a geo company so most of our work involves combinations of drilling, masonry repairs, and deveg. There?s a lot of this work available, but you?ll need to be prepared to ring around various companies to find out who?s taking on techs.
Unless you?ve got a trade skill then geo and window cleaning are the 2 common routes into the industry. Definitely be prepared for working away from home, zero hour contracts, and mundane work when you?re starting out (although you might get lucky!).
In terms of courses, then I?d advise getting your CSCS green card as well as the ropes ticket. It?s a requirement for getting on a lot of sites. I?d definitely avoid doing any other courses- if you?re any good then your employer will probably pay for further courses if needed!
As long as you?re reasonably fit then your age shouldn?t be a problem. You?ll definitely want an exit strategy from doing manual work though!

Hope that helps - any specific questions then drop me a pm.

George.

 

[Badlad]

I agree that it is often hard to get a start as a fresh level 1.  I suspect a number of those I've seen on courses over the years never got any work at all.  Much would depend on you and your ability to make use of any opportunities and your drive to find work and stand out from the rest.  The bottom line is that without other skills or qualifications a newbie level 1 is just not that employable.  Once you have experience and are working with others then that sort of networking can keep you in employment so you hear about the better jobs etc from within the trade.

The best way to get work is if you have friends already in the biz who will recommend you to the boss.  The next best way is to get your CV out and, most importantly, follow it up with personal visits to companies and phone calls.  Putting a face to a name and gentle pester power works. 

Having said all that you also need to be good at the job, good at time keeping and willing to do a bit more.  That usually ensures that you are top of the list for jobs and least likely to be laid off when works starts running out.

You need to put up with a lot of hard work and sometimes miserable conditions for several years until you can get yourself up to level 2 and 3.  Then you will have reached the El Dorado of rope access where good money can be earnt on regular employment.

Good luck

 

[SamT]

I thought about it a long time ago (when I was young and fit) and was warned off it. The fun dangling off ropes bit soon looses its novelty and you're just left with the shitty end of the job, which is as described above, crappy, dirty, uncomfortable manual labour until you've served a long apprenticeship and can step up into the cushty jobs.  As time has gone by, I've seen that its been borne out.

I think its fanciful to think you could step into stage rigging/film/set work with out some inordinate amount of good luck, right place, right time etc.  I know some stage riggers that go on tour with bands and I think you have to again have served a long hard apprenticeship as a normal roadie before you land those kind of jobs.  They are away from home for long stints 'on tour' but then get to have a month or two off before landing their next gig.  Its uncertain and irregular work and not guarantee that you'll land another gig when the tour ends.

sorry if that sounds a bit negative and nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. 

 

[Keris82]

I thought about it a long time ago (when I was young and fit) and was warned off it. The fun dangling off ropes bit soon looses its novelty and you're just left with the shitty end of the job, which is as described above, crappy, dirty, uncomfortable manual labour until you've served a long apprenticeship and can step up into the cushty jobs.  As time has gone by, I've seen that its been borne out.

I think its fanciful to think you could step into stage rigging/film/set work with out some inordinate amount of good luck, right place, right time etc.  I know some stage riggers that go on tour with bands and I think you have to again have served a long hard apprenticeship as a normal roadie before you land those kind of jobs.  They are away from home for long stints 'on tour' but then get to have a month or two off before landing their next gig.  Its uncertain and irregular work and not guarantee that you'll land another gig when the tour ends.

sorry if that sounds a bit negative and nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. 

Thanks SamT. I'm under no illusions that it would be easy to get in to and figured it could be quite miserable. I wanted to put the feelers out and get other people's input so I can make an informed decision. Perhaps it's not the right route for me. I think I'm having a mid life crisis and desperate for a change of direction  Maybeil I'll try dog training although people say never work with children and animals!

 

[SamT]

Got a mate who packed in as a mortgage adviser and converted his garage into a dog grooming 'parlour'  - basically cuts hair and trims toe nails.

Loves it and is doing quite well.  :-\

 

[Keris82]

Got a mate who packed in as a mortgage adviser and converted his garage into a dog grooming 'parlour'  - basically cuts hair and trims toe nails.

Loves it and is doing quite well.  :-\

Dream job! <3

 

[cavemanmike]

One of my customers has a mobile dog grooming business (converted transit) and does really well out of it

 

[Stu]

Ex ropey. Don't miss it for many of the reasons already stated.

At the time (25 years ago) I was juggling between access work and outdoor instruction and realised I had to go all in on one or the other. Instructor work has its ups and downs but I don't regret it (though it does share many of the annoyances i.e. travel and time away from family, irregular or non-existent work patterns. Definitely easier on the body).

If you're a climber/caver with some experience one of those tickets would definitely be cheaper and could perhaps be worked in tandem with whatever grind you're facing at work. The industry has, apparently, seen a loss of instructors after C19.

 

[JoshW]

If you're a climber/caver with some experience one of those tickets would definitely be cheaper and could perhaps be worked in tandem with whatever grind you're facing at work. The industry has, apparently, seen a loss of instructors after C19.

Lots of places struggling for instructors. The smart centres are offering more and more permanent full time roles as opposed to seasonal contracts. Freelance work is now commanding higher and higher day rates due to lack of instructors, as lots left the industry to get more stable work.