So, I’m in charge of tryouts and interviews with my company when we hire operators on for the company and I can tell you that it’s very rare that I tryout a guy who can do basic tasks or finish grade with efficiency. Most everyone who sends in their resume, or talks on the phone with the office says they can do it all, but 9 out of 10 times the person who shows up for a tryout doesn’t have a clue how to properly operate a piece of excavation equipment . The majority of people I pass on are guys who are stuck in their ways and have been told by someone, who doesn’t know better, that they are good at what they do. I can’t tell you how many times someone has come on my site saying they got 20 years experience doing this and that, but when I give gem a simple task, they fail miserably. Most operators out there are guys who are from the residential sector digging house foundations to mine workers, or on pipe crews who are mostly punch workers who only care about when they’re going home and not wanting to learn about what they’re there to do.
That said, I commend you for coming here and asking for advice because that speaks volumes of what you’re made of. We’re always learning, and it’s better to ask for advice than to trudge through life thinking you know it all