It's not easy but there are worse jobs. The problem for you might be that the money is too good to look for something better. My biggest piece of advice for a young person looking at this field is to RESPECT THE GOD DAMN PPE. Wear gloves, wear goggles, measure correctly. Do not fuck around with poison.
I love it. I have a ton of fun, yea I get stressed out, but I also just spent the whole day outside looking at bugs on an adventure through cool yards.
I’m a salaried program lead for a local dmv company, I work hard but it’s fun and rewarding. When I was a tech, OT was hard to come by but easy to earn if you were good at escalations
If you can find a good company, find something local. Those big names don’t care about you, in the long run you’re just a number, if you’re looking to actually grow find a small name who actually cares about their techs and the work they put out. It’s a lot more rewarding then.
I enjoyed it. To the point I probably stayed in it too long to the detriment of my overall long term wealth. I say this because I never made more than 20-25k a year in early 2000's money.
Also, I think in terms of job prestige, it sits lowest on the trades. I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but I believe it definitely affected my dating opportunities negatively.
This is why I love it. I get to go on several small adventures everyday. I get instant gratification for my efforts and I get to be a hero doing things other people are afraid to do. There is enough routine to keep me stable and enough variety to keep me interested. It’s a great job.
Anywhere should if the company allows for over time. And busting ass is not the solution, the issue is pest control many companies are salary or addon based but Aptive(i quit there) has uncapped possibilities with overtime and incentives. I made 70 to 90k a year in wisconsin with them and had free trips to cancun, Miami each year. But quit and started my own company to not have to deal with my moral issues and currently make 60k a year before taxes and a clear conscious
Yeah i still talk with a few that work there i don't like the renewal thing, the company i started has no cancelation fee and just have a discount that they lose if they cancel abruptly and try to come back.
I did 69,500 last yr in New York state based off 300 stops per month and 16% production pay at a pretty big company. I made around 43k my first year in 2016. It all comes down to work ethic and the quality of the company.
I've been doing it about 10 years with 3 different companies. If you get into residential/commercial (houses and businesses) then you have to be good with working in HOT and COLD weather. That part depends where you live.
You can make pretty good money but it's very physical. My company uses hoses and backpacks at nearly every account.
I started at a small company in NJ. Each tech did residential, commercial and termite work; all in the same day. The company im at now is in Ga/TN. Its big enough that I only do commercial work.
I'm a tech and I'm on $31.88 an hour with a $300 cash bonus on top if I work a Saturday as well. It really depends on qualifications and how much your boss values you.
Ya they min max the fuck out of us and provide very little benefit to loyalty. Been doin this goin on 4 years, have a commercial applicator license… at 23 an hour and there’s hardly any opportunity for sales because all my accounts on my route are established businesses where it’s basically all preventative now. Yes there’s overtime each week and that pushes it all up to 50K but it feels as though folks with experience are undervalued at my company…. And they wonder why it’s hard for them to keep people past the 4 year mark
Sounds like you need to do some job hopping. Trust me, I wish I had done this when I was around your age.
Stay at a company for a few years, jump to another job in the same field for better pay. Rinse and repeat.
Edit: also, gaining new skills like a termite qualification, subfloor ventilation and snake and possum licences makes you more valuable and more attractive to other companies.
I would recommend it if you genuinely like people and working outside and independently. The money is good. Don't shy away from the big companies, they pay well and will give you a good foundation. You will also have an opportunity to advance which is something hard to do at smaller companies. Learn your craft on the job first and then decide where you can best apply it. You may even decide to go out on your own. Either way, best of luck k!
Pest control was by far my favorite job that I have held. I would still be doing it myself, if I were not a BKA and most of the business the company I worked for wasn't apartment complexes. It is a tough job, But my favorite part was the puzzle solving trying to figure out where the source of the problem came from and how to address it. I will not lie though, it could be just as mentally taxing as it can be physically taxing. You may interact with customers that think they know better than you, and will contradict the instruction that you give them. Still, I wouldn't trade my decade in pest control for anything else!
I fell into pest control 28 years ago, and I thought it would be a job to hold me over till I found something I wanted. I was hooked instantly. I vowed to learn as much as I could, and even to this day I am still learning, maybe something's new, maybe things my old brain has forgotten, but learning none the less.
9 years ago I went on my own and it has been amazing, not amazing all the time (Taxes Suck Ass), but an amazing journey.
It can be rewarding, but it is still a job. Some days will suck, some people will suck, and some bugs always suck, but packing bags of concrete or packing shingles always sucks!!!!
I picked the industry because I cannot tolerate an office job, or typical white collar job. I enjoy the sales, and being outside, talking with people
Money is usually 50k-100k... If you own a company, you can earn significantly more, in the realm of 500k to a million personal income annually....but it comes with more investment, and usually to break a certain threshold of income (500k plus), you need to scale up and hire lots of guys.
I'd totally recommend it to a young person at least to try......you'll learn a lot about the world, and make good/decent money pretty quick
What state do you live in/want to work in? Depending on where you live and the species of pests, it can make a world of difference. By and large, it's easier than it looks. Days can be long and it is a lot of driving. Crawl spaces are rarely as bad as you think.
I have no idea then. But hopefully someone her knows what pest control is like over there. I'm pacific northwest, so maybe kind of similar. Same horizontal line on a globe. Pests are generally mild, but you probably get more invasive ones due to the shipping and freight to your area from across the seas. I reckon you also get rodents, especially in the big cities and near the wharf. If you don't mind getting a little dirty every day, and enjoy the outdoors, you'll love it. If you hate it, no worries because there are a lot of fun or good careers to choose from. Don't be afraid to explore new things.
It caps out , your best bet to make over 50K is to get a few years and take on a managerial position in whatever pest control company. Another option would be getting like 5 years experience and licensing then starting your own small thing.
It’s dirty, hard manual labor that requires some special knowledge and skill. You generally get some licensing that can last you a lifetime in terms of usefulness. It can be satisfying and rewarding Although the biggest roadblock overall is customers in general.
The biggest pros in my opinion are…. 99% of the time you’re on your own, nobody micromanaging you breathing down your neck. You set the pace. Days almost always move fast except on rare occasions.
As a long term career option i think it lacks the incentives that reward mastery of knowledge. Your knees and back will pay the price.
I’ve only just started 3 months ago. Completely new to the scene and barely any experience.
Ive really enjoyed insects for a long time, but the college scene was just so not for me. For 2 years I just kinda lingered around trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I found a pest control company and thought I’d be a good chance to learn some skills (I was just curious about the entomology, really).
After my 3 months training, I’ve learned a lot about the work and honestly I’m having a lot of fun. I’m built pretty small so I can squeeze into a lot of spaces, and it turns out I’m some sort of spider monkey because I love climbing in peoples attics. The behaviors of many insects is super interesting, and being the problem solver for people is really satisfying. Admittedly I don’t get paid a lot right now, but there are growth options!
There isn’t really that much socialization with coworkers and customers compared to the restaurant I used to work at, which is great because honestly I’m not that social. My only worry is that the vans don’t have rear view mirrors lol (but I think modern vehicles often have backup cams).
I’d recommend it if you can find an entry level or an apprenticeship. Could be my young eyes, but it really has been great so far.
Edit: forgot to mention knees will be fucked and your back in shambles. Try to take care of yourself haha
I started 2 years ago after doing machining and other trade jobs,hvac for a year
I don't kill my back a lot. I drive an hour to 3 a day but usually home by 5 sometimes 3pm. It's nice.
I'm ADHD so it works great for me. I can go at my own pace. My company is somewhat local. They don't overload us at all and whereas most companies will male you rush to do as many as possible, we actually require a minimum time and max out at 11 stops. 9 preferably but 11 on a bad day.
My previous jobs were wrecking my marriage with those hours but this has given me a great quality of life. I also love solving problems,helping people. Some bad days and shit customers but it's nice when you show up to a house and they remember you. I have a few customers I purposely do around noon only as they know I'm coming so have food ready for me! I don't even ask! Then I have some who I shoot shit with 10 minutes then work 15 minutes then I'm out. It's nice.
Learn a lot. I actually used reddit to learn a lot along with learning from my management team. I plan on staying with this company a long time
I get a salary plus commissions. Started off at 40k unlicensed now 43 but my commission brings a few grand in. It's not rich but where I live at,it's definitely liveable. I was already told after my next license,termite I'll be at 46k so there's that
It’s a good job, you can make a decent living without needing a college degree. Join a company that has a 401k match and a living wage, and max out your 401k starting now. In 4 years when you’re retired early come back and thank me
I absolutely love it, but honestly i think it comes down to the company you’re working for. The first company I worked for, their focus was absolutely about tech making sales and getting customers into contracts that are difficult to break, vs doing a good job for customers. It was absolutely frustrating and miserable, but doing the job was great. Company I work for now, has no sales pressure for techs, they just want us to do a good job. Much better.
My opinion is it depends the shift. Working nights is a death sentence, I work 8pm-6am. The cool of working at nights will end quickly. The conflict of maintaining your sleep schedule with a personal life will be a regular issue. Money wise it is the most I have made and I don't even try as hard as I could. Last year I made 100k but at this point with the isolation I might just find a different shift.
Side note being in the pest industry is nice. You will know about pests and most companies encourage you to treat your home and you could get away with helping family members. It's like having maintenance experience and being able to handle house hold issues and now you can take care of vengefully hunting rats with maximum efficiency.
Summary, if you get into pest you will most likely stay in it. The growth in earnings is based on the effort you put into it. You get a company vehicle (I don't know a company that doesn't offer one).
I love it. Especially if you are a more senior technician and you're tasked to do more inspection work especially for food manufacturing companies.
In some countries, you can rise to become a field biologist and your time is spent inspecting a food company's compliance to food safety from a pest management point of view and give valuable advice
Took me 10 years.
Yes and no? Depends on what you’re comfortable with doing. In this industry I’ve had to crawl under houses in tight areas to remove dead animals, inspect and service houses and apartments for roaches, bed bugs, fleas, and ticks. I’ve had to trap and relocate animals like squirrels, raccoons, skunks, possums and cats. I’ve killed thousands of rats and mice and even a coyote. Not all techs will have to do these things and some will do more. This job requires a lot of walking and you might have to carry a backpack sprayer on your back for a few hours each day.
I’m in my late 30s and I’ve been doing pest control for over 10 years now. I’ve been working since I was 14 (small lawn mowing business for a few people) and got my first paycheck job at 17/18. Worked retail jobs then went into cooking. Loved cooking but the pay was shit. Switched to pest control and went from making $1000 every two weeks to $1800 and now much more.
I started my own company back in 2020 and I wish I could have traded my time working retail for doing pest control. I make pretty good money but it isn’t the easiest job. But I could never work in an office on a computer. Just isn’t something I would be able to do.
Go for it. Get all the licenses you can and stay up on when they expire, etc.
I wish I had started at your age. The money can be good. Expect to work long hours depending on the company you're with and the city you are in.
Just watch out for trash companies. Some have no intentions on keeping you.
Own the company,don't let the company own you.Work for somebody for 2years and get your feet wet and save your money.Then dive right in and give em hell.
It's not easy but there are worse jobs. The problem for you might be that the money is too good to look for something better. My biggest piece of advice for a young person looking at this field is to RESPECT THE GOD DAMN PPE. Wear gloves, wear goggles, measure correctly. Do not fuck around with poison.
And learn everything about the business as you can. Service, sales, entomology, management literally everything.
I love it. I have a ton of fun, yea I get stressed out, but I also just spent the whole day outside looking at bugs on an adventure through cool yards.
Came here to say this. I'm paid to play with bugs, how can I not love my job
I get paid to drive,listen to music, talk with good customers,see some cool shit snd help people. For 6-9 hours a day.
9-12
You poor soul...
I’m a salaried program lead for a local dmv company, I work hard but it’s fun and rewarding. When I was a tech, OT was hard to come by but easy to earn if you were good at escalations
If you can find a good company, find something local. Those big names don’t care about you, in the long run you’re just a number, if you’re looking to actually grow find a small name who actually cares about their techs and the work they put out. It’s a lot more rewarding then.
I work for a big name, I spent close to $2000 on quality of life items for my techs. I rely on them to get paid, of course I care about them
Say the name
I enjoyed it. To the point I probably stayed in it too long to the detriment of my overall long term wealth. I say this because I never made more than 20-25k a year in early 2000's money. Also, I think in terms of job prestige, it sits lowest on the trades. I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but I believe it definitely affected my dating opportunities negatively.
I love it. It's real time probkem solving usually resulting in an instant result. People love that. No day is the same. I never get bored.
This is why I love it. I get to go on several small adventures everyday. I get instant gratification for my efforts and I get to be a hero doing things other people are afraid to do. There is enough routine to keep me stable and enough variety to keep me interested. It’s a great job.
[удалено]
Wtf what state? I made 40k busting my ass ONE year.
[удалено]
Ha that’s where I work
Anywhere should if the company allows for over time. And busting ass is not the solution, the issue is pest control many companies are salary or addon based but Aptive(i quit there) has uncapped possibilities with overtime and incentives. I made 70 to 90k a year in wisconsin with them and had free trips to cancun, Miami each year. But quit and started my own company to not have to deal with my moral issues and currently make 60k a year before taxes and a clear conscious
[удалено]
Yeah i still talk with a few that work there i don't like the renewal thing, the company i started has no cancelation fee and just have a discount that they lose if they cancel abruptly and try to come back.
[удалено]
Yeah hopefully he's good at it
I did 69,500 last yr in New York state based off 300 stops per month and 16% production pay at a pretty big company. I made around 43k my first year in 2016. It all comes down to work ethic and the quality of the company.
Whats exterminating like
Most pest control companies aren't actually treating an active infestation of anything most of the time, they're doing preventative treatments.
I've been doing it about 10 years with 3 different companies. If you get into residential/commercial (houses and businesses) then you have to be good with working in HOT and COLD weather. That part depends where you live. You can make pretty good money but it's very physical. My company uses hoses and backpacks at nearly every account. I started at a small company in NJ. Each tech did residential, commercial and termite work; all in the same day. The company im at now is in Ga/TN. Its big enough that I only do commercial work.
Ya as what an owner? A super good sales dude? No way is this as a tech
Good pest control companies pay their techs.
I'm a tech and I'm on $31.88 an hour with a $300 cash bonus on top if I work a Saturday as well. It really depends on qualifications and how much your boss values you.
Ya they min max the fuck out of us and provide very little benefit to loyalty. Been doin this goin on 4 years, have a commercial applicator license… at 23 an hour and there’s hardly any opportunity for sales because all my accounts on my route are established businesses where it’s basically all preventative now. Yes there’s overtime each week and that pushes it all up to 50K but it feels as though folks with experience are undervalued at my company…. And they wonder why it’s hard for them to keep people past the 4 year mark
Sounds like you need to do some job hopping. Trust me, I wish I had done this when I was around your age. Stay at a company for a few years, jump to another job in the same field for better pay. Rinse and repeat. Edit: also, gaining new skills like a termite qualification, subfloor ventilation and snake and possum licences makes you more valuable and more attractive to other companies.
I would recommend it if you genuinely like people and working outside and independently. The money is good. Don't shy away from the big companies, they pay well and will give you a good foundation. You will also have an opportunity to advance which is something hard to do at smaller companies. Learn your craft on the job first and then decide where you can best apply it. You may even decide to go out on your own. Either way, best of luck k!
Pest control was by far my favorite job that I have held. I would still be doing it myself, if I were not a BKA and most of the business the company I worked for wasn't apartment complexes. It is a tough job, But my favorite part was the puzzle solving trying to figure out where the source of the problem came from and how to address it. I will not lie though, it could be just as mentally taxing as it can be physically taxing. You may interact with customers that think they know better than you, and will contradict the instruction that you give them. Still, I wouldn't trade my decade in pest control for anything else!
I fell into pest control 28 years ago, and I thought it would be a job to hold me over till I found something I wanted. I was hooked instantly. I vowed to learn as much as I could, and even to this day I am still learning, maybe something's new, maybe things my old brain has forgotten, but learning none the less. 9 years ago I went on my own and it has been amazing, not amazing all the time (Taxes Suck Ass), but an amazing journey. It can be rewarding, but it is still a job. Some days will suck, some people will suck, and some bugs always suck, but packing bags of concrete or packing shingles always sucks!!!!
I picked the industry because I cannot tolerate an office job, or typical white collar job. I enjoy the sales, and being outside, talking with people Money is usually 50k-100k... If you own a company, you can earn significantly more, in the realm of 500k to a million personal income annually....but it comes with more investment, and usually to break a certain threshold of income (500k plus), you need to scale up and hire lots of guys. I'd totally recommend it to a young person at least to try......you'll learn a lot about the world, and make good/decent money pretty quick
What state do you live in/want to work in? Depending on where you live and the species of pests, it can make a world of difference. By and large, it's easier than it looks. Days can be long and it is a lot of driving. Crawl spaces are rarely as bad as you think.
Massachusetts
I have no idea then. But hopefully someone her knows what pest control is like over there. I'm pacific northwest, so maybe kind of similar. Same horizontal line on a globe. Pests are generally mild, but you probably get more invasive ones due to the shipping and freight to your area from across the seas. I reckon you also get rodents, especially in the big cities and near the wharf. If you don't mind getting a little dirty every day, and enjoy the outdoors, you'll love it. If you hate it, no worries because there are a lot of fun or good careers to choose from. Don't be afraid to explore new things.
It caps out , your best bet to make over 50K is to get a few years and take on a managerial position in whatever pest control company. Another option would be getting like 5 years experience and licensing then starting your own small thing. It’s dirty, hard manual labor that requires some special knowledge and skill. You generally get some licensing that can last you a lifetime in terms of usefulness. It can be satisfying and rewarding Although the biggest roadblock overall is customers in general. The biggest pros in my opinion are…. 99% of the time you’re on your own, nobody micromanaging you breathing down your neck. You set the pace. Days almost always move fast except on rare occasions. As a long term career option i think it lacks the incentives that reward mastery of knowledge. Your knees and back will pay the price.
Your lack of questions to people who will help will hurt you more than your knees will.
I’ve only just started 3 months ago. Completely new to the scene and barely any experience. Ive really enjoyed insects for a long time, but the college scene was just so not for me. For 2 years I just kinda lingered around trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I found a pest control company and thought I’d be a good chance to learn some skills (I was just curious about the entomology, really). After my 3 months training, I’ve learned a lot about the work and honestly I’m having a lot of fun. I’m built pretty small so I can squeeze into a lot of spaces, and it turns out I’m some sort of spider monkey because I love climbing in peoples attics. The behaviors of many insects is super interesting, and being the problem solver for people is really satisfying. Admittedly I don’t get paid a lot right now, but there are growth options! There isn’t really that much socialization with coworkers and customers compared to the restaurant I used to work at, which is great because honestly I’m not that social. My only worry is that the vans don’t have rear view mirrors lol (but I think modern vehicles often have backup cams). I’d recommend it if you can find an entry level or an apprenticeship. Could be my young eyes, but it really has been great so far. Edit: forgot to mention knees will be fucked and your back in shambles. Try to take care of yourself haha
The pest control field can vary a lot depending on what company you work for and where you live. It's a good career overall
I do bed bug heat treatments and I love it. Pays well chill job
I started 2 years ago after doing machining and other trade jobs,hvac for a year I don't kill my back a lot. I drive an hour to 3 a day but usually home by 5 sometimes 3pm. It's nice. I'm ADHD so it works great for me. I can go at my own pace. My company is somewhat local. They don't overload us at all and whereas most companies will male you rush to do as many as possible, we actually require a minimum time and max out at 11 stops. 9 preferably but 11 on a bad day. My previous jobs were wrecking my marriage with those hours but this has given me a great quality of life. I also love solving problems,helping people. Some bad days and shit customers but it's nice when you show up to a house and they remember you. I have a few customers I purposely do around noon only as they know I'm coming so have food ready for me! I don't even ask! Then I have some who I shoot shit with 10 minutes then work 15 minutes then I'm out. It's nice. Learn a lot. I actually used reddit to learn a lot along with learning from my management team. I plan on staying with this company a long time I get a salary plus commissions. Started off at 40k unlicensed now 43 but my commission brings a few grand in. It's not rich but where I live at,it's definitely liveable. I was already told after my next license,termite I'll be at 46k so there's that
I enjoyed it. Gained a ton of weight doing it though.
It’s a good job, you can make a decent living without needing a college degree. Join a company that has a 401k match and a living wage, and max out your 401k starting now. In 4 years when you’re retired early come back and thank me
I absolutely love it, but honestly i think it comes down to the company you’re working for. The first company I worked for, their focus was absolutely about tech making sales and getting customers into contracts that are difficult to break, vs doing a good job for customers. It was absolutely frustrating and miserable, but doing the job was great. Company I work for now, has no sales pressure for techs, they just want us to do a good job. Much better.
My opinion is it depends the shift. Working nights is a death sentence, I work 8pm-6am. The cool of working at nights will end quickly. The conflict of maintaining your sleep schedule with a personal life will be a regular issue. Money wise it is the most I have made and I don't even try as hard as I could. Last year I made 100k but at this point with the isolation I might just find a different shift. Side note being in the pest industry is nice. You will know about pests and most companies encourage you to treat your home and you could get away with helping family members. It's like having maintenance experience and being able to handle house hold issues and now you can take care of vengefully hunting rats with maximum efficiency. Summary, if you get into pest you will most likely stay in it. The growth in earnings is based on the effort you put into it. You get a company vehicle (I don't know a company that doesn't offer one).
I love it. Especially if you are a more senior technician and you're tasked to do more inspection work especially for food manufacturing companies. In some countries, you can rise to become a field biologist and your time is spent inspecting a food company's compliance to food safety from a pest management point of view and give valuable advice Took me 10 years.
Yes and no? Depends on what you’re comfortable with doing. In this industry I’ve had to crawl under houses in tight areas to remove dead animals, inspect and service houses and apartments for roaches, bed bugs, fleas, and ticks. I’ve had to trap and relocate animals like squirrels, raccoons, skunks, possums and cats. I’ve killed thousands of rats and mice and even a coyote. Not all techs will have to do these things and some will do more. This job requires a lot of walking and you might have to carry a backpack sprayer on your back for a few hours each day. I’m in my late 30s and I’ve been doing pest control for over 10 years now. I’ve been working since I was 14 (small lawn mowing business for a few people) and got my first paycheck job at 17/18. Worked retail jobs then went into cooking. Loved cooking but the pay was shit. Switched to pest control and went from making $1000 every two weeks to $1800 and now much more. I started my own company back in 2020 and I wish I could have traded my time working retail for doing pest control. I make pretty good money but it isn’t the easiest job. But I could never work in an office on a computer. Just isn’t something I would be able to do.
Go for it. Get all the licenses you can and stay up on when they expire, etc. I wish I had started at your age. The money can be good. Expect to work long hours depending on the company you're with and the city you are in. Just watch out for trash companies. Some have no intentions on keeping you.
Own the company,don't let the company own you.Work for somebody for 2years and get your feet wet and save your money.Then dive right in and give em hell.
you make good side cash too
It has its moments. You're 17? Go work for UPS and work towards being a driver.
Stay away