Foundry job available in my area-wish me luck

[xmas74]

It's about the best pay I'll find w/o driving for an hour. This will be my fourth attempt to get a position there. They make decent pay and have good benefits so it would be worth the hard work. And there's nothing in the job description that I can't do since it says that they will train you for it.

Wish me luck. Each time I've applied I've been one of the only women to even show up, only to watch them hire some kid who just dropped out of high school and has no experience whatsoever. I need this job so that my daughter and I can have a better life than we have now.

[lizziegrace]

1. All the best!

[xmas74]

5. Not a field I'm interested in

but the money is decent.

[miss_american_pie]

2. Good luck

[xmas74]

6. Thank you.

At least it pays better than office!

[Midlodemocrat]

3. *fingers crossed*

prayers, good thoughts, mojo headed your way.

Good Luck!

[xmas74]

7. I need it.

[AirmensMom]

4. Good luck, xmas!

[xmas74]

8. Thank you.

[idgiehkt]

9. what is a 'foundry'?

Here there is a plastics factory they call a foundry, i think. They pay really well but you have to work twelve hour shifts. They offered me a job but it was 6 pm to 6 am and for some reason I get sick about 3 or 4 in the morning if I'm still up.

Good luck, hope you get it. Are they union?

[xmas74]

10. Foundries are usually plants-very hot working conditions.

This is molds.
This is the best pay in the area-quite a bit more than any secretarial jobs I've done in the past and more than what I make now, along w/ good benefits.

No union here, though but the pay is very good and so are the benefits. Even though I'm not trained in this area and had never planned it I need this job. The pay is better than anything else in town, which will make up for the overnight shift and the furnace conditions in the plant.

[Gormy Cuss]

11. Here's a vibe to make them realize you're persistant.

Four times shows that you really want to work there, at least to any chucklehead who's paying attention.
A second vibe to help bolster your confident, can-do attitude when you are interviewed.

[xmas74]

12. I know they're probably calling me a ballbuster every time

I walk in the door.

Yes, I do want to work there. I would make $5 more an hour than what I already make at my current job. The benefits are excellent-I could finally afford to take my daughter off of state-assisted health insurance and insure her through work. And I would have weekends off-a rare find in my area.

They always seem to hire 18 year old boys who work for a month or two and then quit, off to a party or whatever. And they whine about the working conditions, saying that it's too hot for them. Me-I'd act like I was in a sauna because I'd be glad to know that I'm making decent money to support my daughter. They whine about not getting time off to go out while I'd be happy to get a weekend off to take my scout troop camping.

I'm short and I look about 10 years younger then I really am. (I'm 32). Plus, I look rather feminine. All that does count against me in a man's world. But I can do the work and would be glad to, just to have a decent paycheck to support my daughter. I wouldn't whine and complain because I know the office work I'm trained for pays nothing around here and I'd be happy just to make some money. And I have family around town to watch my daughter while I'm at work all night.

I just wish they'd see the positives. They haven't in the past.

[skygazer]

13. Tell them that

Tell them you want this job, you can do the work and you'll work harder, stay longer and be more productive than the kids they've been hiring and losing.

I've worked much of my life in jobs that were supposedly "men's" jobs. Several of them I landed by being insistent and persistent, not mouthy or rude but firm and confident in myself. I once refused to leave the office at a book bindery when a male super refused to hire me - I told him he was wrong and that he'd never regret taking me on and he finally hired me just to get me out of there.

I've worked road construction and carpentry, heavy farmwork, was a snowmobile mechanic for a while and just out of high school in '79, I was the first girl hired at a dog track to work in the paddock area. It was never the men I worked side by side with who gave me a hard time - they saw that I could work and respected it. It was the corporate types who gave me the hairy eyeball.

Good luck to you. I know what it's like to need that extra money - that's what got me into construction.

[xmas74]

17. Thank you.

Lack of child support and a weak economy has made me decide to no longer use any of the skills I've trained for and go to a nontraditional route.

And I've spoken to a few men who work there. They've told me on many occasions that they know I can do the work-I just have to get that past management. Their attitude is that at least they know I will show up and that I would be willing to carpool. Of course, they're also hinting at me to make chocolate chips cookies twice a month for work.

They've made a point about how fast I can type, stating that means that I could probably keep up w/ any line that they have there. They've said that I need to stress my skills and turn them into positives on a line.

Guess I'll just have to keep applying every time they have openings until they realize I'm not going away.

[Gormy Cuss]

14. Listen to skygazer

and remember that when you DO get hired it will set an example for your scouting girls too.

[xmas74]

18. I know.

And it will give me more time to spend with them on the weekends. It will also give me more money to spend on supplies.

It's a win-win for the troop.

[Crabby Appleton]

15. Good luck

I worked in a foundery many years ago.

[xmas74]

19. It's the only decent pay around here.

I've been trying for the past 18 months now to get on there. Maybe this time will be the charm.

[WCGreen]

16. Foundry work is dirty and hard and

after a long day, rewarding...

Cause you made something...

You used a process to create something...

I worked with my dad making molds for poured aluminum ...

I had to go to the foundry twice a week...

[xmas74]

20. Rewarding.

I like that.

I want to learn many different skills. I don't just want to be the person who can do "only one thing". And I want to make a living wage for my daughter.

[idgiehkt]

27. the best money I ever made was loading trucks in a plant

I like that kind of work. It's hard to get in sometimes, because they discourage the women. I started on an assembly line and then got my forklift liscense. You don't have to tell me these plants would rather hire men, I know, at least when it comes to the lifting (some of which really is too much for women, and some just isn't) and when it comes to the lifts. Women work their asses off in these plants though, I know that. I really hope you get this if this is what you want. The foundry here really is the best pay in the area; they start at $14.00 an hour. You can do it, I'm sure of that. There is just so much competition for these jobs. Good Luck!

[xmas74]

30. Most of my competition has been from younger men.

The older men have their jobs locked in w/ plants that no longer even hire. They make excellent wages.

I know they look at me, think that since I'm a woman, I'm short and I look younger than I am that I will not work out.

I just want a chance. Most of the men in different factories and foundries I've spoken w/ have said that the women tend to work harder.

[idgiehkt]

34. that's been my experience.

I worked alone, but on the first shift the guys would park it on a forklift and drive around the plant all day while the women were on the floor working moving stuff with pallet jacks and doing all the lifting. Women do work their asses off. I worked in a factory temp job just recently until my carpal tunnel flared up again, and the women on the two lines I was on scared the hell out of me. I mean, they took that shit seriously, lol. They really take pride in their work and stuff. The guys I've worked with have always been a little bit slicker about how to look busy without really doing anything, even the engineers. I can't tell you how many times I had to butt into what looked like a very serious conversation betweent techs and maintenance guys and the engineers and when I got within earshot realized they were talking about sports.

[xmas74]

35. I'm not surprised.

In some places women know that they are viewed as "temporary" help. They tend to work harder to make sure they still have a job to come back to the next day.

[tigereye]

21. best to you, X-mas!

[xmas74]

22. Thank you.

Another advantage: I don't have to spend a ton of money on office clothes! Woohoo!

[Book Lover]

23. All my hopes

I'm crossing my fingers for you!

[xmas74]

25. Thank you!

[mvd]

24. Good luck, xmas74!

Sending good vibes!

[xmas74]

26. Thank you!

More money for Big Brother feeds!

[malta blue]

28. Best of luck to you...

[xmas74]

31. Thank you.

[Guava Jelly]

29. good luck

got my fingers crossed for you

[xmas74]

32. Thank you.

You know exactly what the job market is like around this area. People would be fighting for that pay in parts of KC so you can imagine what a difference it would make in a smaller town.

[Guava Jelly]

33. What type of foundry is it?

What do they make?

[xmas74]

36. Molds.

I'm looking for the site but haven't found it yet.
It's located in Kingsville so it's about 10 miles or so from Lone Jack, Lees Summit and that whole area. Easy drive for me but also easy for that area too.

Starting pay is anywhere from 10.88 upwards of 18 an hour in some jobs. I know some factory jobs in KC barely starting at 9 an hour.

[Ptah]

37. Is this it?

http://www.stahlspecialty.com/foundry.html

[Guava Jelly]

40. cast aluminum looks like

I am more into the plastics.
But its all good

[xmas74]

42. I believe dad said it was cast aluminum.

He used to be a diecaster years ago.

[xmas74]

41. yep

[Ptah]

45. I hope they recognize a valuable employee.

I have a fascination with 'how did they make that?'.

You sound like a worthy hire, and I wish you success.

[xmas74]

47. Thank you.

Let's hope they see it the same way.

[Guava Jelly]

39. Cool I am a mold maker by day and a small business owner by night

Day job I make molds for high end cast stone fireplaces.
And at night (when i have business) I cast polyurethane plastics.

Yeah Job market in kansas is a royal pain..nobody wants to pay squat..
good luck again

[xmas74]

43. That's the prob.

I have years of office experience behind me but most only want to pay about $6.15 an hour now. Big difference between now and 6 years ago, when secretarial could still support a family around here.

[RetroLounge]

38. Good luck!

RL

[xmas74]

44. Thank you.

Like I said upthread-not my field of experience. But you understand-when you have children you'll go for the position that pays the best.

[Floogeldy]

46. Too speculative.

I wish you and your daughter happiness and financial security.

However, I have no idea if that job is the answer to your problems.

[xmas74]

48. In the area I live in it is the answer.

It may not make me happy while at work but the weekly check will more than make up for it.

I can't live off of the 7 and 8 dollar an hour jobs that they have around here. My only hope for the moment is to work in a field like this.

[Floogeldy]

49. I trust your judgment.

However, you have already pointed out that their hiring practices are suspect.

[xmas74]

64. So are most of the hiring practices around here.

I had quite a few years of experience in the field I'm currently working in, yet they've hired men off the street at a higher pay who have no experience. And they are promoting these same people w/ 1 month on the job to a higher position when I worked in this field while I was in college and when I left to take some votech classes (office tech classes).

And the office jobs don't pay shit around here. My best bet is to get into a job like this and make friends w/ the men on the line. Not FTF friends-just carpool, softball league kind of friends. That way I know that someone has my back, compared to the mostly women jobs I've worked in the past.

[Guava Jelly]

50. let us know how it goes

[xmas74]

57. I will.

I'm paying a visit this afternoon to request an interview. I've noticed that if I call they seem to put me off, saying that they will call me to set up the interview. They did that twice and no call from them. Third time I drove over there, stated that I was in the area and was wondering about the state of my application. I had an interview w/in 5 minutes that time.

[liberaltrucker]

51. Hot, sweaty work

from what I hear, not bad $$. Good luck!

[xmas74]

58. Hot sweaty work

means that I'll get my workout five nights a week.

And the pay is decent.

Thank you!

[Broken_Hero]

52. good luck...:) nt

[xmas74]

59. Thank you.

[hfojvt]

53. good luck

but a foundry?
That's like only a small step up from coal mining, roofing, or meat packing.

There recently was an opening here in dispatch, pays about $13 an hour, and there are regularly openings on the garbage truck for about $10. That would have been kinda rough this last week, but probably still not as bad as foundry.

[xmas74]

60. Meat packing will always be worse.

I've been there, done that.

Besides, talking to employees there they said that you get breaks every two hours. That's not so bad plus I'll burn off enough calories to give up the gym!

[MissHoneychurch]

54. Best of luck gf

You know how much I wish you the best of everything

[xmas74]

61. And you know I wish you the best at everything too.

I know the work is hot and sweaty but think about how great my legs will look after 8 hours of standing on them. My calves, thighs and butt should look fantastic in just a few months! And my arms will be really toned which has been the hardest thing for me to tone up lately.

[BlueIris]

55. Good luck, xmas.

[xmas74]

62. Thank you sweetie!

[In_The_Wind]

56. Good Luck!!! Good Vibes ~~~~~~~~~

I wish you the very best!

[xmas74]

63. Thank you.

We both know it's not the dream job but you sometimes have to take what you can get. And this is the best money in the area.

We've talked about how little they're paying for work around here right now. This is good money and it's being earned by hard work. I've never been afraid of hard work.

Plus...look at my post to N. That'll explain it all!