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Piramid scam.
Guys at the top make a lot, guys on the bottom usually end up being screwed and work thier tails off for the guys at the top.
I've had a lot of friends work thier first summer in university as painters and about 5% of them looked back on as worth while. 20% of them never wanted to hear of the company again. and there were a bunch in the middle, two of which continued on to run their own crews the following years. (one did VERY well! making over $14 grand her first summer and about 20 grand her second summer). So you definately can make some good money in the program if you work hard for it. They definately have thier sales pitch down cold and make it sound like nothing but awesomeness. The main concern I heard from my friends working as painters was that it was them getting screwed for any mishap all summer and not really much skin (or wages) comparatively off the back of the managers.
I took a management postition with them for a few weeks before my conscious caught up with me about 4 years ago. I don't know if they have changed thier ways but I doubt it given how profitable it was for them.
If you'll be managing your own crew, fine at least that way you're in charge of how much you can work and earn but don't sign up to be a painter unless you know the guy (or gal) you're working for knows their stuff and is ambitious (ideally someone who managed a crew before and had a succesful summer).
Most of the peeps doing the recruiting are the top people from previous years who will speak very highly of the program.
If you want to start your own painting company I would suggest going through the Ontario Summer Company program where they give you up to $3,000 start up for your summer business with no need to EVER pay it back. That way you can still work on your own terms and keep every dollar you make. With $3,000 you can have a very good summer start up and the program is there to help you out and guide you through it. There is a reason the Government will not approve you for Summer Company if you mention you want to run a College Pro type of business, they don't approve. (go ahead bring it up in an interview with your local small business enterprise center rep! lol and see the look on their face).
Again good things can come of working in these programs no I'm not completely bashing them but if you're doing it to be 'entreprenueral' and use it to gain management type experience, why not do it all on your own terms and have a even more rewarding summer.
my 2 cents.
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Dave (aka: Upgrade- live pa)
| quote: | Originally posted by Lightshow
i wear sunglasses for the same reason everybody wears them in a club. 1: people look cool in sunglasses
2: it gets awefully bright as the night progresses |
*nusty does not wear sunglasses at night, they make it hard to see and you could trip
Last edited by nusty on Sep-21-2005 at 06:18
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Back in the early 90's it was THE university student job of the summer so I have many friends who worked for them. Description of the pyramid is pretty accurate. My friends who made any real sort of cash were managers. Not easy work if you are not used to any sort of manual labour but definitely not as strenuous as construction or contracting work. If you are a painter, don't expect to walk away from the summer with lots of cash.
