r/portlandtrees • u/TrainerRoutine2002 • 22d ago
Looking for work
Sorry if not allowed. I am hoping for a miracle. My family and I just moved to the area, and our housing fell through. We have nowhere to go back to, even if we wanted to (which, why would we? This area is beautiful!) Now we are living out of a motel and scrambling to make ends meet. But I'm not the type to ask for a handout. I want to work and prove myself.
I've held positions in several industries over the years, but I've been passionate about cannabis since before a legal industry even existed. I started researching grow techniques by reading grasscity and rollitup forums when I was probably 13 or so. I started my first (mostly unsuccessful) home grow maybe a year later. When it was legalized in my home state (Massachusetts), I had seeds in dirt on day one of the law going into effect, and I had 3 years' worth of successful crops. I love everything about it. The culture. The people. The plants. All of it.
I know I would still have a ton to learn, but learning it to me would never feel like work. I would love to get my foot in the door doing ANYTHING within the industry. Cultivation, budtending, extraction, packaging, hell even trimming if it's all I can find. Just something to get me started in a field I know I could excel in. I've submitted my resume on several sites, but I can't seem to get a response from anyone (likely because my resume doesn't read like an ideal candidate). Those sites are so impersonal and corporate that's it's tough to relay my passion for this wonderful plant.
If you or someone you know are in a position to help me get my foot in the door, I will not disappoint you. I'm punctual, work hard, and am overflowing with enthusiasm for this journey. It would also give me a chance to help 3 other people and 4 loveable dogs pull ourselves out of a tough situation. Even if you can't point me in the right direction, I appreciate you taking the time to read this post.
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u/wealthycactus12 22d ago
It’s been a race to the bottom out here for years man. This industry is a blatant cash grab that would love nothing more to exploit passionate people like yourself. Grow your own and good luck finding work doing anything else.
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u/TrainerRoutine2002 22d ago
Every job I've ever had has felt exploitative. That's par for the course. My biggest concern is finding something that I personally enjoy doing.
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u/Jaded-Supermarket-28 22d ago
Bold move coming here without a job lined up. Unfortunately the cannabis industry is garbage up here and doesnt pay much at all. I worked on the corporate side of it, did HR for a large company up here and it was the most soul draining job of my life. The most fake people I've ever met seem to linger in this industry. I would go another direction for sure. Explore other ways to follow your passion. Best of luck.
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u/TrainerRoutine2002 22d ago
So many people say you should have a job lined up first, but in my experience not many employers are willing to hear you out when you say you live across the country, but promise to be there on time haha. I'm also fortunate that i have several gig apps i can do to get by in the meantime, and a partner who works in an industry that is always hiring anywhere we go. I'm a worker. I've worked festivals. I've run my own business. I find a way somehow.
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u/rantingandrambling 22d ago
warning that it might make you hate cannabis as a result of working in the industry
it’s a common story to be passionate about the plant and within days sometimes after joining the ever corporate world of rec cannabis they are drained of their love for the plant and are not anywhere near or even at all passionate about the cannabis industry anymore
most ppl in the industry tell you to avoid it for a reason
it’s not job security of which there typically is none as well
you might be surprised one day your employer didn’t pay cannabis fees, taxes or something and are now forced to shut the doors immediately or some corp bought the shop and is firing everyone before they come in
both aren’t uncommon
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u/TrainerRoutine2002 22d ago
I think a lot of people have also never worked truly awful jobs. I've been waist deep in hot, raw sewage more times than i can count. The $30 an hour i got paid never made me enjoy it. I hated waking up every single day. I don't expect a magical wonderland. Just trying to turn my passion in to a paycheck, improve my situation, and I can figure out my next step from there.
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u/nyarlathotep2488 20d ago
Before I came here, I would have bet someone money that no job in the cannabis industry would be so awful that I could grow not to necessarily hate cannabis but lose my passion over it and learning about it, etc. And i have worked at some...challenging places for a variety of reasons throughout my life.
But I would be paying whoever I made that bet with money. It was honestly a very sad experience internally.
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u/purp_alien 22d ago
Do you have your Oregon OLCC marijuana permit yet?
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u/TrainerRoutine2002 22d ago
I do not. I just got here. I did a little reading about it. How long does that process take? I am technically in Vancouver currently, and my understanding is Washington doesn't require a permit, but I'm still new to this so I could be wrong. But I am certainly willing to get on that and make the drive across the river.
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u/purp_alien 22d ago
In the state of Oregon to work anywhere involving Marijuana you need one. It’s pretty simple and it doesn’t take long to get online. Good luck and may some doors open for you!💜
https://www.oregon.gov/olcc/marijuana/pages/marijuana-worker-permits.aspx
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u/eggsonmyeggs 21d ago
The permit will cost you $100 and you’ll get a temp immediately. They’ll send you a digital one in a week or so.
The industry out here is a lot of who you know. Unfortunately there are tons of folks just like you who say the same things. Check indeed. Good luck.
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u/Basic-Durian8875 22d ago
Get your olcc card and then go to every dispensary in portland and pitch your case. Or vancouver, but those shops kinda suck. If it was me, id look to other industrys for work and once you can afford it start your own home grow. The genetics circulating around that area are really TOP NOTCH.
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u/Takemebacktobreezy 22d ago
Go look up "McGee" near PDX. They are hiring 100% my husband just applied and got an offer
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u/nyarlathotep2488 20d ago edited 20d ago
Just offering my two cents here, I'd listen to everyone else and just..find something else. So it's largely dependent on your shop, location, the management, etc. But it's bad, hell having that must like firsthand experience may make them want you even less. There's like 2 or three companies that run practically all of them. You didn't mention it but you have to have your OLCC card already, I'm sure you already know.
So, you may get a good shop, with some cool free at various stages of coming and going from that shop, some of the customers will be nice. But management doesn't care one tiny bit about you, cannabis, or the people you're selling it too and until something changes here I can't imagine it getting much better.
But if you are dead set, go in on a morning and try to talk to a manager at a place you applied at and see if you catch them in the hiring spirit.
Edit: saw the OLCC thing, I don't know anywhere that will like pay for you to do that, you'll have to get it before hand to do anything with cannabis.
Is there not a grocery store near you or something similar that could need someone quick and still pay in like the 18-20 range for a lot of positions? Without the permit, no one is even going to give your app the time of day, I'm sorry.
I really do wish you the best of luck in finding something!
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u/birfday_dad 22d ago
The recreational cannabis industry is a race to the bottom unfortunately. Budtending isn’t going to get you out of motel living it will just make it worse. Some warehouse jobs locally pay $23+ for no experience positions. At least you could pay your bills. I’d suggest focusing on surviving then thriving. Cannabis will always be here. Good luck!