'Dirty Jobs' Mike Rowe Gives Advice

Mike Rowe in his series on high rise window washing.

A Fan Asks Mike Rowe For Life Advice… His Response Is Truly Brilliant: Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs  is an awesome guy. He can build or fix anything, he’s very entertaining, and has a great sense of humor. Mike also tells it like it is and gives great advice to others. A fan wrote him and asked him for some career advice. Mike Rowe has featured before on the blog for his window cleaning antics here.

Hey Mike!

I’ve spent this last year trying to figure out the right career for myself and I still can’t figure out what to do. I have always been a hands on kind of guy and a go-getter. I could never be an office worker. I need change, excitement, and adventure in my life, but where the pay is steady. I grew up in construction and my first job was a restoration project. I love everything outdoors. I play music for extra money. I like trying pretty much everything, but get bored very easily. I want a career that will always keep me happy, but can allow me to have a family and get some time to travel. I figure if anyone knows jobs its you so I was wondering your thoughts on this if you ever get the time! Thank you!

- Parker Hall

Hi Parker,
 

My first thought is that you should learn to weld and move to North Dakota. The opportunities are enormous, and as a “hands-on go-getter,” you’re qualified for the work. But after reading your post a second time, it occurs to me that your qualifications are not the reason you can’t find the career you want.

I had drinks last night with a woman I know. Let’s call her Claire. Claire just turned 42. She’s cute, smart, and successful. She’s frustrated though, because she can’t find a man. I listened all evening about how difficult her search has been. About how all the “good ones” were taken. About how her other friends had found their soul-mates, and how it wasn’t fair that she had not.

“Look at me,” she said. “I take care of myself. I’ve put myself out there. Why is this so hard?”
 “How about that guy at the end of the bar,” I said. “He keeps looking at you.”
 “Not my type.”
 “Really? How do you know?”
 “I just know.”
 “Have you tried a dating site?” I asked.”
 “Are you kidding? I would never date someone I met online!”
 “Alright. How about a change of scene? Your company has offices all over – maybe try living in another city?”
 “What? Leave San Francisco? Never!”
 “How about the other side of town? You know, mix it up a little. Visit different places. New museums, new bars, new theaters…?”
She looked at me like I had two heads. “Why the hell would I do that?”

Here’s the thing, Parker. Claire doesn’t really want a man. She wants the “right” man. She wants a soul-mate. Specifically, a soul-mate from her zip code. She assembled this guy in her mind years ago, and now, dammit, she’s tired of waiting!!

I didn’t tell her this, because Claire has the capacity for sudden violence. But it’s true. She complains about being alone, even though her rules have more or less guaranteed she’ll stay that way. She has built a wall between herself and her goal. A wall made of conditions and expectations. Is it possible that you’ve built a similar wall?

Consider your own words. You don’t want a career – you want the “right” career. You need “excitement” and “adventure,” but not at the expense of stability. You want lots of “change” and the “freedom to travel,” but you need the certainty of “steady pay.” You talk about being “easily bored” as though boredom is out of your control. It isn’t. Boredom is a choice. Like tardiness. Or interrupting. It’s one thing to “love the outdoors,” but you take it a step further. You vow to “never” take an office job. You talk about the needs of your family, even though that family doesn’t exist. And finally, you say the career you describe must “always” make you “happy.”

These are my thoughts. You may choose to ignore them and I wouldn’t blame you – especially after being compared to a 42 year old woman who can’t find love. But since you asked…

Stop looking for the “right” career, and start looking for a job. Any job. Forget about what you like. Focus on what’s available. Get yourself hired. Show up early. Stay late. Volunteer for the scut work. Become indispensable. You can always quit later, and be no worse off than you are today. But don’t waste another year looking for a career that doesn’t exist. And most of all, stop worrying about your happiness. Happiness does not come from a job. It comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that’s consistent with those beliefs.
 Many people today resent the suggestion that they’re in charge of the way the feel. But trust me, Parker. Those people are mistaken. That was a big lesson from Dirty Jobs, and I learned it several hundred times before it stuck. What you do, who you’re with, and how you feel about the world around you, is completely up to you.

Good luck - Mike

PS. I’m serious about welding and North Dakota. Those guys are writing their own ticket.

PPS Think I should forward this to Claire?

The Drop - Window Washing Reality Show

Dino Pertzoff & Mike Rowe together in Hawaii. Click to enlarge.

World wide window cleaning in Hawaii was formed by joining "Dino's window cleaning" & "the window window man" starting with 3 owners & 2 employees in 1998. Now it is the largest highrise window cleaning company in Hawaii. They have a great gallery of pictures on their website, which can be seen here. Dino Pertzoff of Worldwide has been summoned to give a few T.V. interviews since rising to fame when he was featured in Mike Rowe's "Dirty Jobs" series. There may be a reality T.V show on the horizon featuring Dino & his competitors in Hawaii, this time called "the Drop." Who knows if it makes it past it's pilot episode it could be great insight & entertainment for window cleaners... Worldwide!

"DIRTY JOBS" - Is there any job that is just off limits to the show or to Mike? Eddie Barbini (producer of "dirty jobs") - " Not really." "We haven't turned down a job yet." "Mike is always game for whatever is up as long as it's not dangerous but he walks that fine line putting himself in situations that you just think 'How is this guy going to do this?'" "Last week, what aired is the window-washing segment in Hawaii." "Mike washes windows on an over 400 foot skyscraper in Hawaii." "He washes it not in the traditional way on scaffolding but he's actually in a little swing seat that he goes down with pulleys along the side of the building." "I'll tell you that it's frightening." "Our cameraman wouldn't even go on and backed out of it." "Actually, it'll rank up there at the top as one of the dirtiest jobs even though it's not dirty in the sense of dirt but the characters are phenomenal and the experience is phenomenal and Mike is hysterical in it."

Japanese Tsunami & Earthquake Brings Us Back To Reality

Widespread destruction from Japan earthquake, tsunamis: An 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan today, triggering tsunamis that sent a wave filled with boats and houses toward land. Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast were under a tsunami warning as well.

Using Air Force planes, the U.S. government has sent over coolant for the Fukushima nuclear plant, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday. Japan's officials say a small radiation leak could occur at the plant after Friday's earthquake and tsunami. According to the official count by Japan's National Police, at least 151 people have been killed, 722 have been injured and 530 are missing after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan on Friday. Additionally, between 200 and 300 bodies have been found in the coastal city of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture following the subsequent tsunami that struck that area. The official death toll is likely to rise. 

The most powerful earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history struck off the island nation's shore on Friday, collapsing buildings, touching off widespread fires and unleashing walls of water up to 30 feet high. The waves swept across rice fields, engulfed towns, dragged houses onto highways, tossed cars and boats like toys - reaching as far about six miles (10 kilometers) inland in Miyagi Prefecture on Japan's east coast.

A local university professor was in Tokyo when a magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed the island nation. Dr. William M. Tsutsui, Dean of Dedman College at Southern Methodist University, said he was on a bus outside a major hotel at about 2:45 p.m. when the ground began to violently shake. Buildings swayed and people ran out into the streets, he said. In fact, he watched as a window-washing team on a platform hanging from a skyscraper was repeatedly slammed into the side of the building. "It seemed like it went on forever," Tsutsui said. "It was really pretty scary." Despite having weathered several earthquakes while living in Japan in the past, he said he had never felt such a strong one.

Tsunami warning: Ventura residents turn out to catch a glimpse of currents - In Ventura, dozens of onlookers were gathered on the oceanfront promenade and nearby parking garage, hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the unusual currents or surge in waves. Shortly after 9 a.m., water started receding along the coast by as much as 40 yards, exposing tidepools, rocks and mud. Experts say that this is typical of tsunamis; first the water is sucked out and then comes roaring back. David Rashi, a window washer at Eric Ericsson’s seafood restaurant on the closed Ventura Pier, took it all in stride. “Tsunami or not, life goes on and bills must get paid.”

Japan earthquake: from 26 floors up inside a swaying skyscraper: There were a few gasps around the office and the nervous smiles were replaced with expressions of real shock. The movement in the floors continued to grow in strength and people started holding on to desks and walls in order to steady themselves.
I was walking towards the windows as people were remarking that the tall buildings opposite were swaying noticeably. Even worse, on the outside of one of these towers was a window-cleaning crew in a cradle suspended by cables, swinging quite dramatically. It later emerged that both workers were unharmed, and that one of the building residents had opened a window so they were able to steady themselves by clinging to the window-frame.
As I made my way over, I noticed that the huge floor-to-ceiling windows in our office were flexing in and out, and looked like they could explode at any moment. As the waves of movement became increasingly violent, it was getting harder to walk in a straight line. Earthquake alarms began to go off all over the building, announcing in English and Japanese that we should crawl underneath our desks, which some people began to do.

The earthquake affected people as far away from Japan as Cherokee County, where two local families are relieved to know that their loved ones are safe. Rita Ballard of Jacksonville and her daughter, Tiffany, were scheduled to leave Sunday for Tokyo to see Tiffany’s husband, professional baseball player Micah Hoffpauir. Mr. Hoffpauir is an infielder with the Hokkaido Nippon- Ham Fighters, who were in Tokyo training for the upcoming Nippon Professional Baseball season. Mr. Hoffpauir and the rest of the Fighters were staying in a hotel in Tokyo when the earthquake hit, with the epicenter near Sendai, 232 miles away. “Micah had been told that there would be window washers at the hotel that day,” Mrs. Ballard said. “When he heard the early rumbling of the quake, his first thought was the window washers. “Then, the building began to sway as the ground shook. At that moment, he knew it was an earthquake.”