After a good deal of looking around for something that I enjoy enough to turn into a career I found the marijuana industry and entry positions such as trimmer/budtender...etc and it really sparked my interest. My two problems are related in being 1.) I have no work experience in the industry and 2.) It is not legal in my home state of Pennsylvania therefore I cannot get any experience in the near future. I've been very seriously looking into relocating as the area I currently live does nothing for me. I generally don't like the mindset of the folks in my community and I see a lot of people going no where (pills, lack of direction...etc) and I don't want to be caught in the wave. Obviously with my lack of experience, when eventually applying for jobs I need something to get the right foot forward towards getting an interview, and it seems like getting a cert is the way to go. I've been looking at a wide selection of groups online offering a certification service such as Oaksterdam, Herbalrisings, CTI, GreenCulturED and many more and don;t want to jump into paying an organization to begin my course(s) if they don't have any positive track record for graduate hirings or respect in the industry. I'm limited to online courses due to a lack of funds for relocation currently; I want to do this as a prerequisite of sorts for my future endeavors. I'm mainly interested in going to Colorado or Washington but myself and potential travel partners/roommates are far from deadlocked on a destination. Sorry to ramble for so long but this is extremely important to me and I wanted to get as much crucial information as I could out to get the correct help I need. Thanks in advance!
I read online that most of the "certification" programs wont actually help you get a job because these programs just show that you know your shit they dont actually give you a certification thats recognized nation or state wide. I will say though that these programs can be beneficial in learning as much as possible before you go out into the industry. I am in a similar situation to you and from the research i have done so far it seems like these programs are great for learning but when it comes to getting actual jobs you have to sell yourself through networking and showing that you are full of knowledge and passion. Good luck to you man! Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum mobile app
i had my first day of work as a budtender yesterday. I got the job by coming in often to grab my own meds and just being proffesional, knowledgeable about cannabis, glass, etc etc and polite. Took months a asking if they needed help, giving them a real resume helped a lot since most stoners wouldnt think to bring one to a dispo.
First do as much research as you can, starting with growing from seed/clone to harvest and cure, types of growing styles, growing media (soil or hydro), grow room or tent set up, and different strain growing styles if you want to grow. Try to start growing if you can the sooner the better it takes a few months to harvest a batch and a few grows/years to gain enough experience to be a good grower. Also learn what the medicinal and growing differences are between indica, sativa, hybrids and rhuderlis(auto) strains. I recommend 1. the podcast free weed with danny danko From high times magazine. 2. High times magazine, skunk magazine 3. Books from, Jorge Cervantes, Mel frank, Ed rosenthal. Amazon is the best and cheapest place to get books from and some can be downloaded on kindle as well. 4. Leafly web site and app. 5. Forums like grass city 6. You tube 7. Amazon again for almost any grow tool, supplies, books, and misc that has to do with smoking, consuming, processing, growing, cooking, storing and etc; for marijuana! Also there are other jobs than just a budtender and trimmer and some are regular jobs that don't require experience in the marijuana field like 1. Advertising 2. Web design 3. Sales 4. Cooking processing edibles 5 security 6. Maintenance 7. Hash, wax and concentrate making 8 accounting 9 distribution 10. Electricians, plumbers 11. Testing and lab testing And so on! I hate to keep rambling on too but just wanted to pass on my opinion and what I know to the younger generation. Hope it all works out for you! Good luck, Mike.