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Looking to work with Fish in Auckland region


Monzae

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Hi, I'm Luke, age 19 and I live on the North Shore.

I've been looking for practically any job for a long time, I've only found a few I could get and applied for three to no avail. I'm a little lost on this now, it's looking like I'm just not going to get a job at this rate. I have a passion for Fish and Animals, not very experienced but I do love my fish and other pets, heard of people getting jobs through facebook or other social sites and wondered if this would work out, I'm looking for any job with fish within driving distance of Northshore (eg Cleaning tanks, feeding or other maintenance, sales person at pet shop or the like, transporting pet fish within the area) hope someone can help me with this job drought so here's hoping.

Additionally:

I'm fit and agile, wouldn't say very outgoing as I'm usually quiet but I am friendly and don't shy away from people. No problem working on my feet all day if need be, can do fairly heavy lifting (I haul around 30kg or so Tanks, recently moved my own 60l fish tank up stairs. emptied of course but with items etc still 20kg+)

If you have an opportunity or questions, ask away.

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Hi, thanks for this information. I had considered them however the nearest I can apply for is 35km away and would cost me about $50 petrol a week to get there and back plus a longer drive than I'd like. Have considered the nearer Wairau store however I don't like the service there, I purchased some Penguin tetra from them that wound up eating one of my White Cloud Mountain Minnow (which was barely smaller than it and very surprising and disturbing) so after some hassle there I would not want to work with them. cheers

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Hi, thanks for this information. I had considered them however the nearest I can apply for is 35km away and would cost me about $50 petrol a week to get there and back plus a longer drive than I'd like. Have considered the nearer Wairau store however I don't like the service there, I purchased some Penguin tetra from them that wound up eating one of my White Cloud Mountain Minnow (which was barely smaller than it and very surprising and disturbing) so after some hassle there I would not want to work with them. cheers

Have you every considered that you could perhaps improve things by working there although I hardly feel that they could be held responsible for one fish eating another of similar size. At the moment with the unemployment rate rising any opportunity should be snapped up!

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Have you every considered that you could perhaps improve things by working there although I hardly feel that they could be held responsible for one fish eating another of similar size. At the moment with the unemployment rate rising any opportunity should be snapped up!

Good thought! A lot of the stores have a high turnover anyway, so sometimes the person you had a bad experience with is no longer working there.

Every business would flounder unless you get the right people with passion into it to make the changes necessary. It's all about growth and development anyway.

Also sometimes, genuine mistakes happen. Sometimes it doesn't work out the way you are advised, alas, fish keeping. lol.

Imagine how proud you would be if that store that you didn't like doubled it's fish customers because there was someone worthwhile to talk to there, if you're thinking it, others probably are to, "Be the change"...*insert melodramatic music*

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Hahah this is all true, I saw some dead fish there on a few visits and frankly was devastated to see the tank setups, biome is not considered and they're all kept in empty tank with a filter and pump stuffed in, some of those fish really can't live like that. =/ the person whom was troublesome to me was the manager, I do see manager roles on the Animates sites very often, would even the manager have likely moved on? I would love to work there and improve the animal conditions, some plantation in the smallers tanks, maybe some floating plants for the Kuhlis, not too mention the other animals. I bought some Mice from this store a while back and they are very friendly to humans, I was happy with the interaction they must have had at the store but most other Mice from there were pretty timid with human interaction, also the Dogs just seemed sad and lonely, often seen in pet shops but I'd like to just give them some daily attention which I'd imagine they would be happier if they were getting. Anyway as you notice I would love to work at Animates so maybe so. haha

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It sounds like you want a job in a dream land and not in an actual bussiness. Sorry for being critical, but I am guessing there is a lot of other things that need to happen on a daily basis then play with the animals. As stated before in this current state of economy any job should be taken if offered, because if you dont say yes somebody else will 2 min latter. Just my 2 cents worth on it all, good luck with your job hunt and getting what you are looking for

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unfortunately its in their best interest for the animals to look slightly sad and neglected as it improves sale (sad but true)

imo it would be better for you to work in a dodgy pet shop and put in as much effort as possible to improve it that to say no because you don't like their policies.

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Yeah bit disappointing to hear. I've met the manager several times and she is a knowledgeable woman as are many of the staff I have spoken to there.

And to be honest, fish die in commercial set ups sometimes. Not a lot you can do, other than remove them, quarantine as necessary and move forward. A huge amount of work goes into running a business like that, and no doubt they are always after fresh ideas, sometimes you just need the right person pushing through the correct information, and providing that knowledge to other staff. And then again, sometimes there are reasons behind the way things are done commercially rather than in-home..

I think you got given a lot of great advice on here regarding your options, perhaps none of them are suitable for your current standards of work? We were always taught to start where you can and make the necessary changes towards your goals. Sometimes it's jsut about a bit of experience? And see how it goes.

Good luck with the search

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Hi, thanks for this information. I had considered them however the nearest I can apply for is 35km away and would cost me about $50 petrol a week to get there and back plus a longer drive than I'd like. Have considered the nearer Wairau store however I don't like the service there.

Hey Luke, i dont mean to nit-pick, but you are sounding quite negative about finding work... $50 a week is pretty good for a lot of people to get to work. Be thankful you live in the Auckland area. People catching public transport often end up paying that much or more every week.

I'm currently looking for work too, I live in Warkworth and many of the places Im applying to are some 70km away... ie. East Tamaki and the industrial areas. This will likely cost me $150 a week, but it sure beats not earning a cent!

Regarding the service at Wairau... if you were to work there, maybe you can be the one to improve it ;-) I recently visited there and they had improved there fish stocks a lot, maybe there is somebody keen on fish working there now?

Anyway, good luck with finding something to do.

-Nick

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My 2c, if you're passionate about something then trying to earn an income off it will quite often turn a fun hobby into a chore. If you're 19 and struggling to find a job then you should really be looking to up-skill yourself, go to uni/tech/whatever, get a degree/diploma/pre-trade cert, anything to show you can set your mind to something and achieve a goal.

I've tried working in an industry I'm interested in, and have found it far better to get a job that pays well (many hobby-related jobs don't) that you can tolerate doing that provides sufficient time and income to do the fun stuff you're passionate about outside work.

ps. you're 19, if 35km is a barrier to you getting a job you can't be very keen to work, I can't imagine you having your roots too firmly set at that age (aside from not wanting to leave Mums laundry and cooking! I know that kept me at home for some tim). Find a job somewhere, then relocate to a more convenient location.

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I think Monzae is being sensible. He wants a job in a place he likes working, not too far from home so it doesn't cost the earth and all his or free time getting there. Why the judgements?

If it costs a tank or 2 of gas to get to work each week, and you get paid very little when you get there, it's a good business decision to get a job closer to home than to drive 35km. I don't think you can say he isn't keen to work just because he doesn't want to travel all that way.

And at 19 if you don't have a job or any savings how do you get the money to relocate? Even if you are flatting you still need a bond and possibly furniture and set up money. It's a tricky situation until either someone gives him some cash, or a job, or a new place to live.

that's my 2c worth :cofn:

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No judgements, just advice...

This ^^

Sure, you may want to work at animates/animal related industry, but tbh you can't really afford to be picky about employment atm. The others are right about the travel costs; 30-50$ really isn't that much a week and lately petrol was 202.9! Woop!

Yeah you can't be overly judgemental of a place with dead fish in the tanks, even hollywood has stuff die. If you got jobs at these places you could aim to fix it?

We aren't trying to be a downbuzz, just realistic.

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And the pet shop's goal with the tanks isn't to make nice pretty displays that the fish will be health and breed in, grow nice and big over their long happy lives.

It's to get the fish, sell them and get them out of the tank. Anything in the tank gets in the way of catching them, gives the fish something to hide behind so people can't see them.

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If you're 19 and struggling to find a job then you should really be looking to up-skill yourself, go to uni/tech/whatever, get a degree/diploma/pre-trade cert, anything to show you can set your mind to something and achieve a goal.

Basically sounds like you're offering unskilled labour, but aren't willing to travel. Good luck on that, or, you can create your own opportunities as David says by upskilling.

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It's to get the fish, sell them and get them out of the tank. Anything in the tank gets in the way of catching them, gives the fish something to hide behind so people can't see them.

John at Organism has Limnophila and Cryptocorynes and even bits of wood in the tanks and he still manages to do an excellent job at catching the fish :thup: It all depends on the layout of the tank. The plants are at the sides leaving a large open space where the fish can easily be caught. And adding plants and wood makes the fishes feel safer in their environment, which means that they colour up a lot more and look a lot happier and are less likely to hide. The one thing that has always struck me when I walk into Organism is how colourful, healthy and lively everything looks.

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a nice tank makes selling the fish in the first place easier.

even if its a few fake plants or so (easy to move) I focus on making my fish happy and healthy, that way they sell quicker and the people come back to buy more.

my motto is "im not here to sell you your first tank, im here to sell you your second and third." happy fish = happy fish keeper.

I'd hire you if I could. nice attitude, now drop the judgmental side and work on fixing.

btw... if you want a good reference for the pet industry, do some volunteer hours at the local SPCA.

and seriously, 19yr old, living at home in one of the best student cities in the world, do some study instead.

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Hi, I'm sorry I didn't mean to sound negative. I'm just a fish owner and I do want to see the care go into them. I know it's a bussiness but I'm hard working and caring, I don't stop till everything is done (I've been jokingly called OCD, I get it done, all done and the right way haha) I was not selected for the role at Animates which is ok, I'm not giving up and I'm not settling for less a job than is right for me. Some of these replies make me pretty sad, I'm only just old enough to work and the times I'm in are genuinely bad, I've heard many stories my father has told me about how upset he is with the way things have changed but now I'm seeing it first hand. I'm a hard worker so I will find the role I'm looking for and the place I'd be happy to work. Thanks for the support and words of wisdom, I'm going to step up the search and perhaps settle for high fuel costs.

I have also looked into volunteer work, couldn't find anything with SPCA. If anyone knows of some work, I'm happy to work volunteer in the mean time.

I am currently selling some items on Trademe trying to make a little money, as someone up there mentioned, I don't actually have much money right now and if I can get started on an income I would like to go study sometime, seems paper speaks louder than words and I would be happy to put in the time to do the schooling. Scooter is a good idea, my brother has one to get around and me and my other brother put in a bit to buy a cheap one, doesn't currently work right but my brother is a whiz with it and I expect I can ride a scooter around soon. Thanks

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