Job Shadow Experience

Job Shadow Reflection Essay

My landscaping job shadow took place in Dallas, Ga on Tuesday of February 8^th and the business of this company is located at 300 WI parkway Dallas, Ga. I was able to arrange this shadow because my old boss from construction gave me the owners phone number. Some of the work they do is design and installations, draining solutions, retaining walls, etc. I shadowed the business owner and came to realize that he doesn’t work in the field but rather has other individuals that work for him. The employers that work for him were digging trenches and putting in a drainage pipe to prevent the water from killing the grass. I chose this job shadow because recently I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to do when I’m older and have been working at different jobs that sound good to me personally. This will give me a reassurance for if this will be a job I really want to be doing after I graduate college.

The landscaping company is a small operation in which is being build upon so that one day they will have a larger business. The company is a family business that Greg Brooks and his family had started when he was 20, that grew into a successful thriving business. The jobs are assigned by customers calling about a problem they have with their landscape and the boss, Greg Brooks, scheduling a time with them that’s convenient for both him and his customers. Then he will go do a quote for them on the day of scheduling to explain to them what’s happening. After he explains the problem, he will give them one or more solutions that they can do to fix this problem and depending on what they choose he can insert it in his phone and give them an estimate for how much its going to cost them. Then if they agree he will send out a team of workers that will work most of the day for multiple days until the job is done and the customer is satisfied. The people who work there are experienced in what they do and have a very good work rate that is efficient for the business. There is a lot of diversity among the business having a mix of Hispanic, White, and Blacks all working together. The employees must have three-to-four-year trade skill training and at least a high school diploma. I like this type of environment because it gives me a chance to interact with different diversities of people and also I like to do more outside work than I do inside work.

The workday starts at 9am and ends around 5pm sometimes earlier or later depending on the job. There are breaks during the day but the breaks are on your own time so you can take one whenever you need. I observed the workers digging trenches and installing drainpipes, along with planting trees and filling in the surrounding area with rocks. First, I helped the workers dig a trench for the pipe to go into and then I got to dig a trench that connected to the gutter and the drain piper. After that I had to cut out and dig holes to put the trees into, but the holes were not easy to dig because of all the rocks and roots that were under the dirt. Once I finished that I helped put the rocks in that surrounded the trees. At the end of the day, I helped clean up and load all the tools into the trucks. The whole time I knew what I was doing because I have used each tool that was there helping my dad around the house and had experience with those tools. The only thing I had to do was watch to see how to dig the trench the right way and how to plant the trees so that they would grow correctly.

I learned many different things from this job shadow experience. For one I learned that the boss doesn’t work in the field unless his employees don’t understand or need help with something. He really helped me realize all that is done in the workforce and if I was to become a worker what I would need to work there. Getting to go and experience what working for a landscaping company really means has helped me understand the job that I will be doing if I ever work there and what all goes into the job. I really enjoyed my time being there and hanging out with the boss that started the whole business. I’m not really sure if I would like to work in a similar place or work field as that because I’m just exploring jobs to see if I like them but I am considering it as one of my options. I would need to go into trade school for three to four years to gain experience to work in the landscaping business. I would recommend this business for people who like doing manual labor and like to work outside because its hard work but that’s what keeps me from being bored and not doing anything. Your constantly working and always have something to do whether its shoveling rocks out of a bag or installing a retaining wall.