cat school has begun

[Mhannink]

well kdhannink and myself had our first day of the think big program here in california and im loving it. this is looking like a good program with a top notch job afterwards. i just wanted to share w/ ya'll our excitment at finaly starting this program

 

[BigYellowIron]

I went thru the think big here in Missouri 6 years ago. Very good program! Never even had to try to find a job. Who is your dealer that is supporting you?





Adam

 

[dpuckett]

What is "think big?" I havent had any trouble finding a job here, but was just curious.



DP

 

[BigYellowIron]

Here is a link to the Cat site:



Caterpillar: Careers>Dealership Opportunities>Development Programs>ThinkBIG

 

[BILLVO]

Around this area of coal mining. A few years of pulling wrenches at a Cat dealership can get you a job at a mine. Pay difference of around $10 an hour higher. Most techs at the mines used Cat as a stepping stone to better pay.



Pay scale here for Cat dealership techs is $18-25 per hour. "Union"

Pay scale here for mine techs is $28-35 per hour. Both union and non union options. North Dakota is a right to work state so not joining the union will not affect wages or benefits. The non union mines pay better and have better benefits here.



Wyoming's Powder River Basin in the Gillette area can't find enough people to fill all the mining jobs there. Many choices in the area also with around 40 mines I believe. And pay is pretty good also.



Also look into a company that supplys tools. The mines around here supply everything you need.



You will be sticker shocked when you find out how much you will have to invest in tools. I could have paid my house off in the 10 years I bought tools with what I had into my tool collection. That is an expense that never ends either. You can conservatively plan on a $100 monthly payment for many years unless you have a good pawn shop near that will actually deal on tools.

 

[nickleinonen]

you can save a good deal on tools if you stay away from snapon/mac/matco for all your basic hand tools [sockets & wrenches] and only use the big priced ones for the specialty ones not available from other places

[proto tools in industrial black finish are great if you can find them at a discount]

 

[Mhannink]

sry for taking so long to respond ive been busy this week.



im working for holt of california in los banos.



think big is a program where the dealership pays for you to go to school. 9 weeks in class 9 in shop for 5 semisters then its 2 years after that you become a journeyman.



the area where i am yeah this could be a stepping stone at the same you can earn 6 figures a year wich is pretty good. there are some other jobs around here but as an apprentice i get 12. 52 an hour 26 is journeyman min wage and it will go as high as 40 an hour. so the pay is pretty good even for cali. anyways my first week is done and im liking it very much.