WEST VIRGINIA Please include job title, company/organization, city, etc. Must be a specific job, and not theoretical ("plumber" vs. "pipe fitter, Pipe City Plumbers, Silver Spring, WV"). West Virginia ideas only.
Hey Mike, my name is Tristan and I work for my fathers company DTS Inc. We are a small contracted company through Waste Managment in Charleston and Hurricane, West Virginia and do all the mechanic work on their equipment. But not only do we work on their equipment but we also have to wash all of them twice a month which also gets pretty dirty as well as smelly. Anyway, Mike, I figured this was a pretty dirty job that you might want to think about giving a shot.
Hello Mike. My Name is Elizabeth and MY husband,James, is a drill operator for Trinity Coal Co. in Oakhill WV. He runs the drill for the strip mine portion. He comes home filthy almost every night. Not only does he have to clean out the dust trap if it gets clogged but he has to shovel the tracks and grease the drill everyday and do any mechanical work that needs to be done. All I can say is that he has to come in the house through the basement because I don't want all that mud and grease in my house!!
I'm putting in my bid for racehorse groom. Last year I remember seeing on one of the cable news stations that it was voted "second worst job on the planet."
It's the only time you will ever get a hair in your eye that doesn't belong to you. Your boots become poo and pee-scented and most of your clothing must be kept separate from the...inside of your house.
You take temperatures through the anus, you have to put various caustic or otherwize chemically dangerous or questionable substances on the animals' legs (sometimes it's just a mixture of bowie clay, vinegar, salt, and whatever other compounds that trainer Joe figures will have the desired effect. (many use vinyl gloves but we used to apply everything by hand- everything from furisan to numotizine to cortizone, often with DMSO added to drive it through the skin.)
Then there's the stall cleaning. You have to pay attention to whether thehorse ate up the night before; what consistency his poop is- notice if there are any parasites in it, whether it looks like he is digesting (and masticating) properly, whether the poo smell has changed from what poo normally smells like (for each individual).
You have to take notice whether there is any nasal discharge, coughing, or any other sign of discomfort. You have to make sure the feet are clean, and after they do fast work or run a race you have to put mud in their feet (to cool them off.)
When they ship over a great distance, they are fed a gallon of mineral oil and that has to be cleaned up after. The list of special needs goes on, but what about just daily grooming?
You first curry comb all of the stuck on poo that they were sleeping in the night before- sometimes it's caked on and sometimes it's still wet and steamy. Then you use a stiff brush to flick it off the horse, and it falls on everything beneath (meaning yourself). There is a lof of dust flying sround at this point, mostly fecal dust. Once you have all the stains and stuck on goo loosened, you take a fine brush and brush the horse all over. This is important - you need to know of anything on any part of the horse's body looks different than it did the day before. Is there a little scab where the girth was yesterday? You have to dress that or else the animal will not be able to wear a saddle. Are those little bumps just dirt bumps, or ringworm taking hold? Is the horse rubbing his tail a lot? Maybe he's got pinworms really bad. Is he dropping a lot of feed when he tries to chew? You have to feel inside in his mouth with your hand to see if he has any sharp points sticking up- something that happens from malocclusion as the horse's teeth waer throughout its life.
You have to check the feet, too- you use a hoof pick to loosen and dig out any poo and straw that the horse has packed into his shoes- if you don't the feet may rot - a condition called "thrush", and this can make it impossible for the horse to be competitive. The shoes must be on snug- and this requires daily checking. Regular but not daily chores include cleaning the sheath of the male and the teats of the female.
When they return from a race in which they have been behind other horses, you must pry open their eyelids so they cannot close them, and you must then blow hard on the cornea- a glob of filth and tears should shoot from the corner of the eye. If you don;t do this the eyes could become seruously irritated, infected and possibly result in the loss of sight. It's kind of ucky, but it must be done.
See what I'm getting at? I'm throwing everything at you, yes, but to do the job right, these things are all very important. It might not be the dirtiest job in the world, but you cannot miss a shower at least once a day. And I know most of us shower at least once a day whether we smell as if we need it or not, but this is one job you would be discovered for sure if you didn't.
I work at Mountaineer Racetrack and Casino. There are many people here who not only groom but also are small-time trainers that have to groom their own horses. For years I groomed and never had less than four horses under my care at one time- it's a dirty, all day job. Still, I could write about it all day - after spending 12 K on a B/A. in History, I can't stay away from the horses.
Hey Mike, my name's Amber and I have the perfect dirty job for you! My father, Tom, is press foreman at Dunbar Printing Company in little old Dunbar, West Virginia; he's been there for over twenty years. Every day, he gets dirty inking up his five-color press (a job meant for five men, which he does all by himself), spraying it with spray powder (sorry, I don't know the technical name!), and various other tasks which can prove to be quite...messy, to say the least. I promise you, Mike, this can be quite a dirty job.... and a unique one as well. Dunbar Printing Company is a family-owned business, much like many of the companies featured on your show. Although they are small, every year they are given the task of printing materials needed for the state Legislature.... which obviously speaks volumes about the quality of work done. If you are interested in this job, please let me know by email.. ahitch0508@yahoo.com. I think this would be a great job for you and your crew! Thanks, Amber C. Charleston, West Virginia
I'm Kristina Strahl and I'm an Inserter for Charleston Newspapers here in Charleston, WV. It may not sound like a dirty job, but dealing with roughly 140,000 newspapers a day leads to a lot of ink transfer. We print about a fourth of our ads and hand-load the inserting machines. Needless to say, I've come home just about every color you can imagine. Why not swing by and give us a hand somtime?
hechosewisley Junior Member Posted 02-13-08 01:20 PM Whitewater rafting is the second largest (and most fun) economic Producer in the state behind coal minning. I am the manager/lead training instructor for whitewater guides at Cheat River Outfitters. My trainees have a hard and dirty job. They do a variety of tasks related to their work, i.e. training in March when the river is nearly frozen, cleaning used equipment including "soiled" wet suits, and fighting off bacteria found in the water. Nearly all of the staff also volunteer with a group dedicated to reversing the effects of industrial pollution on local rivers. Many of the guides also work with the local fire department on water related rescues. They do all this while living in the very rustic (read as filthy frat house) staff accomedations or camping. So, my suggestion is whitewater rafting guide, Cheat River Outfitters, WV. Sincerly, Travis Cobb
West Virginia has some hidden possibilities, I'm sure, that would fit the genre of your show. All the ones I can think of are as follows: Learn to make blown glass at the Fenton Glass Company in Williamstown, West Virginia; Be a large equipment mechanic for Caterpillar that travels from job to job working on large mining equipment; Become a steel mill worker at Huntington Steel located on the banks of the Ohio river near Marshall University. Other than that, one I would like to see is what it takes to be a grounds keeper and manager at our own Greenbrier Resort and Golf Club (one of the America's 10 best golf courses as voted by Golf magazine recently).
Mike I have got a real dirty job for you. I'm a retired Boilermaker , one of my jobs was changing bags at a Carbon Black Plant. If you are interested contact me at 740-473-1171 My Name is Richard Prim
My name is Kevin and my wife's uncle owns a company located in Steubenville, OH that goes around the country and cleans tunnels. He invented the tunnel cleaners and makes the cleaning solution.
My girlfriend is a pathologist's assistant at wvu hospital in morgantown west virginia. She cut up and dissects organs all day, occasionally assists in autopsies, preserves organs in formalin and freezes them, some times there are exploding cysts but there is always a dirty job
Mike, my uncle, Frank Baird, owns WV Cashin Recycling in Nitro, WV, & my dad, Mike Holliday, is the warehouse manager, I worked there as a sorter, bobcat & forklift operator. This recycling center is one of the dirtiest places on earth. You come home every day, black as asphalt, & smelling like old stale beer from all the cans they take in. You should really go check this place out.
Hello Mike....Love the show. I am originally from West Virginia and would like to suggest a "dirty job" that the viewers may find interesting. In the small West Virginia town of MILTON, near the W.VA/Ohio border, is one of the few remaining hand-made glass factories in the USA.... BLENKO makes art glass and sends it all over the world. Check them out.
bstank44 Junior Member Posted 02-16-08 11:12 PM Mike, my name is Britt, and The Moorefield, WV Pilgrims Pride Chicken Plant has got to be the dirtiest, greasiest, gutsiest job in WV, and if it isn't then cleaning the actual Layer Chicken Houses like my uncles. Inside the plant you have to hang the chickens, gutting them out, and the entire visceral line is disgusting, you need to go there.
cicidy9 Junior Member Posted 02-18-08 06:01 PM Hi Mike, My name is Cindy and I am a Bakery Manager/Cake Decorator in a grocery chain in Wv. I know you are probably thinking no way is working in a bakery a dirty job, but I promise you it is!! If the bakery doesn't sound challenging, then throw in the deli too. I am talking cake icing all of the place, a 3 foot tall mixer that lies in wait for you to leave it alone. Cleaning and spitting raw chickens while blood runs down your arms, putting the cream in filled donuts by hand, battering and frying chicken pieces in hot oil, cleaning said oil from fryer, meat slicers throwing cold cut slices out the back side, burning bread, and much more in a days work. Thats not including wathing you try to ice a cake or make roses to decorate it and then writing Happy Birthday on it. In short, bakery work is no "cake walk" and we'd love to be considered for the WV show. In fact, WE DARE YOU !!!
Tracus Junior Member Posted 02-20-08 06:24 AM Good day Mike, My screen name is Tracus and may I suggest that any of the following jobs at Cass Scenic Railroad would qualify as "Dirty": Engineer, fireman or hostler. The engines at Cass are standard gauge, geared driven locomotives. These were locomotives built for the logging industry that thrived in West Virginia during the early part of the 1920s and lasted until the 1960s. Although they may only reach a top speed of 10-12 mph, they are capable of handling grades over 10%. They are quite different from what most people picture when they think of a steam engine. The task of keeping all the gears, pistons and connecting rods greased and oiled is dirty enough for any episode. Even if you don't select Cass, I do hope you pay it a visit when you're filing your West Virginia episode. Take care, Tracus
ampdlivwir Junior Member Posted 02-19-08 09:22 PM My son and I have our own business started doing Landscaping here in Elkins, WV. Landscapers do it best in the dirt on their knees. You know you had a good day when you step in the shower and can see the dirt flow down the drain like a scene from Psycho.
Somewhere between the bugs, mulch, dirt, broken nails, and broken backs it is a dirty job. If that is not dirty enough for you, I am also a single mom of three very dirty kids. With kids comes pets, more dirt. Needless to say I have no fear of getting down and dirty. Come visit us find out for yourself.
Good afternoon Mike from Wild & Wonderful West Virginia. My husband & I own SunSations Tanning, a small tanning salon in Morgantown. We have 4 tanning beds in our salon which will need to be cleaned & relamped at the end of busy season. Busy season is just getting started & runs through about June. We would like to invite you and your crew to our salon to help with this dirty task. I don't think you would be disappointed. We look forward to hearing from you.
Hi Mike, I work for Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens in Prosperity WV. This is a real dead-end job, besides being dirty! The cleanest portion of our job is grass cutting/weedeating around the plot markers in the summertime. I make the 'concrete outer burial containers' [vaults] that coffins are placed in prior to burial. On a daily basis, we crank out yesterdays vaults, oil down the forms, paint inside the vaults, pour today's concrete from the daily truck, paint outside the vaults [the paint gun doesn't always work right...sometimes it gets clogged and needs burped. this is a dirty job in itself.]. Transfer the newly painted vaults outside, bend the steel reinforcing rods for the next vaults...by hand [about 1 ton of steel per month or so]. Then it's time to clean up. Scraping extra concrete off of the floor and sweep it up, about a wheelbarrow full, a day. That's just the inside work. The outside workers dig, drill, and grind out gravesites with anything from heavy machinery to jackhammers and shovels [we used to use dynamite]. This is just the start.... We'd love to have you come visit us!
Hey Mike, I am a Dentist here in North-Central WV and my whole family is hooked on your wonderful show. Let me second CASS Scenic Railroad. It is in a beautiful part of our state, it is historic, has several very unique and rare steam locomotives and would play well on your show because...yes steam engines are DIRTY!! (Cass,WV) Let me add a few. We have a local fiberglass pool factory. My patients who work there always come in dirty and covered with fiberglass. (Jane Lew, WV) My Hygienist's husband owns an Auto-body shop, HITT'S GARAGE, nice and dirty! (Lost Creek, WV) Lot's of folks here have wood burning stoves and working fireplaces, how about a chimney sweep/repairman, lots of those around here, and obviously real soot...sweet!! (Clarksburg,WV) Our Local High School, Bridgeport High School is tops in the state. How about a day as a Janitor in "the trenches" lots of dirty teenagers there too!! Puke, food fights, restrooms, OH YEAH!! Here in Bridgeport there is also a Pratt-Whitney jet engine repair and maintenance facility. Lots of big whigs and celeb's fly their own planes in here for maintenance. We just had Dale Earnhardt, Jr fly in his private jet. My patients who work there said he was a heck of a pilot, knew his plane well and was a lot "sharper" than he comes off sometimes on TV. I wish my own job was dirtier. We are about to spend the day watching the Dirty Jobs Marathon and doing our own dirty house work. Did I mention we have a two and four year old! Best wishes, Mark, Jill, Matthew and Catherine.
