Construction

[tom d]

I've been working in construction for 45 years now mostly building multimillion dollar homes. although I don't always want to get up in the morning I have never regretted going to work!

my advice to you is to get an education and do it right, that's what I did, graduated 1st in my class with a four year course in residential home construction. my teacher and mentor used to say, "he who knows how will always have a job, he who knows why, will always be his boss." and I'm always the boss! I have been at some level since I was 18.

[E30_Pare]

My backround is in Automotive mostly in resto. Im not new to working with my hands, but construction is completely new to me. I have a veteran mentor who's offering the job to me. His company just layed off a bunch of workers, and he needs a partner soon for an 8 month job they just got. I love the automotive field as a hobby as a job it does get tiring and stressful, and the money just isnt there anymore. The additional skills would benefit me a lot. Just trying to decide whether or not the job/lifestyle is for me. Haven't yet gone into details with him on the exact type of work, he kind of threw the offer out there and told me to think about it.

[2761377]

Been there done that, to the tune of 48 in a 10 hour shift (mostly we would average 25-35 in a day for the 2 of us) from start to Finnish, my self and buddy of mine in July in MI when it was 95 fucking degrees. ...

holy shit! today there were three crews, each of 3-4 guys, and they got maybe 50 manholes raised.

R3V'rs, this deserves serious respect.

[mrsleeve]

^

Well to be fair it might have been closer to 12 hours, we were the ones that set the man holes and all the other iron so we knew right where they all were and we set them as close to final gravel grades we could to save the hard work on the back end. We would take a couple of extra mins when we put the cookies on top to take a few extra shots do some math and throw some blocks or adjustment rings on top to get it as close as we could to save us the time . Normally only about 5-6 inches of gravel to shovel out at most, we did have an opperator bouncing though every so often getting all the crap piles and a couple of summer help college kids doing the back fill and clean up behind us. When we were raising our work we could haul ass, other crews on the other hand, is a different story...........

Also we were in such a hurry to get caught up and moved to our next job we were already 2 weeks late for our bosses told us that we would get 100 bucks a hole in bounty cash to split on top of our base pay to get more work out of us. We didnt take a break, eat lunch, or slow down all day we killed our selves, made way more in bounty money that week than I did payroll

[deutschman]

The thing is though so many kids and people have NOT GONE INTO IT, on the advice like that, there is a shortage of smart, ambitious, and hard working younger people getting into the trades. On the advice and brain washing from everyone from parents, guidance counselors, teachers, govt, and media. That THE ONLY WAY to make it in life is to get a college degree. I and many others are 100% proof to the contrary of that.

Working with your hands is something that is being lost, and a skill set that will be worth a pile of money if your good at it and smart about it.

Truly a skill set that is being lost.
Not everyone is cut out to be a white color worker. It takes a certain kind of smarts, and eye coordination, discipline, and problem solving to work most construction/trades jobs, and not everyone has them. It also takes a huge amount of patients some times which many people do not have. If you work hard and dedicate your self to a trade you can make good money and choose what you do. Not everyone that works construction/trades is a dumb monkey.
I have been working construction in some form on and off for a few years now, and in most cases have loved it. I have always loved building, figuring out how things work, and solving problems.
What do I like about working construction? I get to be outside a lot, I hate being trapped in doors. I love using my hands and tools, and I love the satisfaction of finishing a functional project and taking pride in my work. I also get a certain satisfaction from working hard, getting dirty, and feeling tired at the end of the day. I learn new skills every day and always feel challenged (I never stay on jobs where I am used as a dumb grunt as that will get me no where in life. Find a crew that wants a smart, hard worker they can pass their knowledge on to).
What do I not like about construction? I have been on crews with some real ass wholes that have made life unnecessarily hard for me. Just like any other work, be it blue or white color, you will find people who hate their jobs but feel stuck in them and there for make life shit for everyone around them. The money is not always good, especially for the amount of effort you have to put in some days. Being the new guy sucks for the first three months, you just have to stick it out and prove you want to be there.
As more and more people lose the knowledge of the trades crafts, trades people will become more and more of a commodity.
Its also a good skill to fall back on if you lose another job. My dad had to work construction for a few months back in '04 when he lost his job, and his skills helped him skate by until he could find a new media job.

Personally I like fine wood work and more artsy fartsy stuff better. I know that I wont be working construction for the rest of my working life even though I dont mind it. I am currently framing and doing other carpenters jobs in SF CA, and 2x4 lumber is just not very exciting.
I would love to learn some timber framing and bust out some axes and chisels.
My personal goal is to have my own shop in WA and do custom furniture and repairs as well as some boat work and smaller home projects like custom doors, windows, decks and so on. I have also thought about building small custom camper trailers with my boat building knowledge. Will a make a but load of money? Probably not, but making it big is not important to everyone. I know I will be happy with my work, and Ill be able to make enough money to pay off my house with my wife and have some small toys as well.

[mitch500]

I Paint residential homes, Been doing so since i got out of highschool.... I never really knew what i wanted to do so i just stuck with it because the money was good and full time work... 10 years later i am the owner and operator of a high-end residential painting company... I apprenticed and went to school for painter & decorator then finally venturing out on my own... Sure glad i did, I now love my profession and it pays really well... Plus i can holiday in the winter when things slow down... I love construction and different trades for that matter..

[TheTacoMan]

I ben working construction for 27 years. I was a labor for a year. Then I had the opportunity to to run heavy equipment. Construction is not for every body.

This I have been working on and off in construction, not fun. I dont like it at all. However everyone has a different experience.
I am doing during breaks from college as a laborer, its definitely not fun but it pays well and it gets my car parts.

[tom d]

out here in California construction workers are looked down upon, but I doubt few of these people are as smart or talented as I am. as I said above, I've been doing this for 45 years, have a 4 year degree in house construction and make more money then most white collar workers. however, that said, don't go into road construction.

here are a few of my more recent projects.








and like I also said above. if you're going to do this then get an education, it's what will put you above everybody else. every job I posted above I did with the math that I learned 45 years ago, from the twisted roof to the spiral stairs.

[nomansland92]

I work in construction electrician and its a really good job and theirs a lot of opportunities to expand. I work around all trades everyday and get to see some of what everyone does. And it takes years to master a trade and you will still never know everything but thats the best part because you get to see new things all the time from job to job.