Twenty-five years ago, Ron Richards got hooked on insulation through a
friend. As an installer, he found the hours severely long and the work tough.
However, the money at the end of the day made it all worthwhile -- for a while,
that is.
According to Richards, people don't dream of installing insulation. "I
don't think I know anybody that ever started in this trade that ever intended
to really stay -- like, 'Hey that's what I want to be!'" says Richards.
So how did he start? "It was a friend of a friend kind of thing," he says.
Making double the money during overtime hours, the money was too good to
pass up. "You'd stay maybe for a month, and you'd come home at the end of
the month with $10,000 clear in your pocket!" he says.
According to Richards, the money can hook, line and sink a person into
the insulation industry. However, he says, insulation gets stressful after
a while, and the money isn't always a fair reward. "So people get trapped.
They could probably do a lot better for themselves, because it's very stressful
being on the road all the time."
But what started out as a temporary stint in the insulation business has
become a career for Richards. He's moved his way up the insulation ladder
and finds his current position quite satisfying. He is a project manager in
charge of making sure installations go exactly as planned. He doesn't actually
install anymore, nor does he feel up to it. "Well, I'm getting older, so I
don't like to crawl around in those plants."
Insulation work is, after all, not for the weak. It's physically demanding
and you have to be able to withstand some discomfort in the workplace. "You
have to be fairly physically fit....What happens typically in our business
is you're subjected to extreme variables in temperature -- from either extreme
cold to extreme heat."
If it means being outside and working with her hands, Susan Hogstrom can
deal with the cold. Hogstrom started out in the insulation industry as a secretary
at her dad's office. It was then that she realized desk jobs just weren't
her thing. " I can't even take a phone message!" she says.
"Then one day, my dad was out and one of his [insulators] came in...and
he was talking to me about it, and he absolutely loved the job. I said to
myself, 'If somebody loves something that much it can't be all that bad.'
And so I decided to try it and get into it, and I enjoy it," says Hogstrom.
In particular, Hogstrom likes the mobility. Her job often takes her away
from her hometown just outside of Philadelphia. "I like the fact that you
move around from job to job. You're not always stuck in one place. I've worked
as far away as D.C., and west as far as Pittsburgh. I could go further but
that's as far as I've gone at this time."
With new places come new faces, and Hogstrom loves the interaction with
new people. "You see new people. You meet people. I've always been treated
well," she says.
As it is for Richards, money is a draw for Hogstrom. Though she can think
of more appealing jobs, Hogstrom says the money is as good as it gets in the
trades.
"The money is good. I can't deny that. The whole package is quite high
when you consider even just the take-home amount. I couldn't make as much
in any other job, because I'm not trained for anything," says Hogstrom.
At the end of the day, however, money isn't what it's all about. Hogstrom
quite simply loves her job. "I enjoy it. I don't mind getting dirty. I couldn't
take an inside job!"