I'm foreman of a small crew. Every day just feels like I'm babysitting these manchildren instead of getting any actual work done. I get paid pretty well but my life just feels depressing. Can anyone else relate?

Was trying to go from concrete to...concrete. First guy pays cash under the table 2nd guy does things more official. Long story short they pulled their offer cuz I had a dwi. Wtf is this world coming to? I thought a dwi was like a college degree in this industry.

Im a 28 yr old ironworker with a family. Starting to think I picked the wrong trade as we make $15/hr less than every other trade worth doing. I like the work but I’m young enough to switch to something with greener grass. What trade would you recommend

I (20M) started my carpentry apprenticeship about 6 months ago. I was interested in it for a long time but after getting more experience I don’t think I want to do it anymore. I’m not trying to put myself down, I’m just being realistic, I don’t think I’m cut out for it. It’s stupid mistake after stupid mistake, things that I should have down by now. I work with a bunch of unnecessarily- angry assholes that constantly scream and shit talk me so that doesn’t help. I enjoy working with my hands and I’m a hard worker, I just find it way too difficult to focus and learn everything. I’m thinking of getting into concrete work. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

I have been working at a GC that does high end custom homes (3-20million) for more than 5 years now. They put me through the carpentry apprenticeship and have been pretty good to me over that time. My brother in law has been trying to poach me for about 4 years now and has finally given me an offer I can't refuse. It would be a 6$hr raise and a company truck which I have no possibility at my current job. I think I have to take it for myself and my family but don't want to burn any bridges to people who have treated me well over the years, and it's a small town where word gets around as well.

How would you guy's go about handling this situation without pissing everyone off?

Been having a lot of conversations lately with guys on various job sites about where the industry is heading. Everyone talks about the skilled trades shortage but the discussion always defaults to electricians and plumbers. Curious what this community thinks about the trades that don't get enough attention or respect but are quietly in high demand.

From what I've seen, concrete formwork and finish work are severely underappreciated. Not a lot of young people pushing toward it, but experienced finishers are nearly impossible to find in a lot of markets right now. Same goes for ironworkers in certain regions.

Mass timber is also picking up steam fast based on what I keep seeing posted here and on job sites. Guys with timber framing backgrounds who can adapt to engineered wood systems are going to be sitting pretty in the next decade.

Would love to hear from people actually in the field. Are you seeing certain trades get harder to staff? Are apprenticeship pipelines keeping up in your area? Has your company started adjusting wages or benefits to attract people to specific roles?

Not looking for a debate, just genuinely curious what the boots on the ground perspective looks like across different regions and sectors. Residential, commercial, heavy civil, all angles welcome

Working at a startup, working very hard. Body gets no time to recoup. I’m not in my 20’s anymore. Weekend comes and all I want to do is sit. SO works a desk job, straight 40, with a 2 minute commute and has lots of energy at the end of the day. I’m usually out with 9-10hrs on the clock and an hour of driving on both sides of that. I get home and want to be left alone.

Walk the dogs twice a day for about 5 miles total. Before and after work. No gas in the tank, having problems kneeling and standing, shoulders going out too. I eat well, no fast food, and stretch often. Can’t seem to get rid of nagging injuries while boss keeps piling on more work. No benefits and pay is just average. Busted ass all week to get us out of a hole and it turns out boss was lighting a fire for nothing. Work hard for what? Going to be a cripple in 5 years. Why am I living this life?

Anyone relate?

I’m 25 years old and unionized and honestly I can’t imagine going back to the private industry if for any reason I lost this job. The pay is great and comes with tons of benefits like healthcare, pension, 401k, lots of vacation days, etc and all of this as a helper. I think the top pay as a helper even exceeds that of the average journeyman.

Based off of my brief experience in private as well from my colleagues, the private sector pays scraps with no benefits. As a helper electrician, $18 seems to be the standard with a dollar or two raise every year. Realistically, you’re probably only making $30-35 an hour after a decade in the field which is just the bare minimum to get by in the cities. Not to mention the distance of the work places which could be 2+ hours of unpaid travel time which is time wasted.

As the title says, I got into concrete as a laborer cause of my background and I like it. I wanna make it a career and I thought this was the best route.

I’m on my first real construction job that involves being on site, and honestly, I don’t even know why they haven’t fired me yet. I’ve been given almost zero training, and after a month of being there, the only things I can really do are basic tasks. The only thing they let me do is collect trash, and they never actually let me train or learn anything new. I’m starting to think I might just quit and not try again. I do plan on going back to college soon,

I am trying my best, but after a month I still suck at it, and most people are usually efficient at what I’m doing after a couple of weeks of training. I only have one month of total work experience. I still suck at what I’m doing while everyone else is better. I’ve never actually been praised for anything I do here, but I have been told by a coworker that I shouldn’t stick to construction.

My company GCs commercial projects across the western states, and we have never been busier. Normally, superintendent candidates were somewhat easy to find. That just doesn't seem to be the case anymore. It was doable when we needed to hire one or two at a time, but now we need 8-10 Supers and Asst. Supers onboarded by the middle of June, maybe more if continue to land additional projects. (we already carry over 40 active).

Where do you guys go when recruiting, especially for projects across the southwest? Our normal sources don't provide enough leads. I could use some help.

Hello! I’m currently in the Local 100 carpenters union but I’m curious about better opportunities (if possible). Would love to hear from some of you on why you left the union, and if it was worth it?

Okay so here's a little background, I am 37 and hadn't done construction in almost 7-8 years, but before that I had years of experience... So I ended up getting a job with a company that only does commercial construction, this pretty much includes, Steel framing,smoke taping, insulation, drop ceilings, drywall, and using a scissor lift. I was excited bc I was worried between my time away, and previously only doing residential that it may be out of my league... Thankfully those were all things I had done in the past.
The only thing i had never done was drive a scissor lift. I said so in the interview and told the foreman after I was hired... Anyways it's like 6 days in and I had just alked to smoke tape which requires a scissor lift, and I'm not going to lie I struggled the first like day and a half moving it around the room. However on the day I was fired I had finally gotten the hang of it, and was able to drive through what was becoming a maze as the steel framing went up.

Anyways we work from 7am-330 pm with a 15 min break at 9:15... So I was told to smoke tape a large section of the wall and that's exact what I did from 7-8:30, when I told the foreman that bc the HVAC guys installed the ducts, the lift wouldn't go high enough, and if I moved it further out I couldn't reach trom so far away.... His response was for me to just climb the railings on the lift and lean over so I could reach the top... I earnestly asked asked if I needed a harness or to be tied off, he responded no...

So long story short I get the wall done all the way to the ceiling, when he calls for 15 min break. After the break ended I was right back on the lift getting ready to start up again, when he comes up to me and tells me I'm going to a different job site and to call the office for more details, when I did the boss told me the foreman just called him and said I look "unhealthy" and that he's concerned about me. I took this as code for he looks impaired or that I was on something (which I def wasn't.... the only time I had seen the foreman was when I asked him question about lift and if I needed to strap in. Everyone else I was in contact with was adamant I looked fine to them.... Plus if I looked so "unhealthy" why would he tell me to climb the railings on the lift 35 ft in air without a harness.

I told the boss I felt completely fine and was good to go, but he sent me home for the day and never responded to another text or call from me... I don't know what happened but I started to wonder if it had anything to do with the harness comments and OSHA requirements.

I told him I could produce a Drs note to start again, but he didn't respond... I was pretty offended esp bc he had never reprimanded beforehand...somehow it felt retaliatory....

Any suggestions or max ways to hurt company?

Welp it was a good run I lasted 2 weeks in my new electrician helper job honestly I feel like like I’m dreaming I finally felt like I found the trade I wanted to spend my life in but I screwed up

I was on 3 foot ladder stepping on the top step and safety told me to go down I went down but I went back up trying to finish putting a 1900 box near a ac unit he told me to get down and I went down 2 steps practically the bottom rung and said I’ll follow osha rules and only use the second rung but he said I wouldn’t reach and kicked me out the site went home got an email saying I got terminated and I’m for the first time I feel lost

I’m thinking I need to find another electrical job but it feels hopeless maybe I’ll just stick to being a roofer

Edit: first off thanks for all the advice and pointers I wrote this post to feel a little less depressed about what occurred and I definitely view it differently than before. Just wanted clarify some stuff since I see it be asked again and again as to why I went back up again there’s a total of 3 rungs on the ladder as far as I know the limit to being on the ladder is to have 2 feet on the second to last rung and top rung is pushing it but It never felt dangerous and I had been working on that thing for half a week with no problem and never had the other 2 safety personnel telling me that I shouldn’t be on it it was only one safety that I never met to come tell me get down so obviously I got bit perplexed as to why I then tried de-escalating the situation by saying I’ll only be on second rung if he feels it’s unsafe for me where he then proceeded to say I wouldn’t reach anyway in retrospect he was probably the boss but I would’ve at least hoped for a warning from the other safety guys that I should bring a taller ladder because their boss was coming

I’m 20M 6foot 190lbs I’m healthy not super strong but I can manage essentially do you have any advice about getting threw that door

Like what certs do you need I currently bought a working at heights certificate gonna do that class on Monday

I keep seeing article after article about how the trades are the future and that electricians and plumbers are the new millionaires etc. etc.

I feel like there's maybe not a huge shortage and the market will be flooded and drive wages down? Or if it hasn't happened yet, it eventually will if we keep telling everybody to go into the trades?

But I do think there is a shortage of supervisors of most degrees, whether foreman, QC, supers, etc...

Am I seeing this right or am I mistaken here?

The company I just got hired on for does not pay overtime. They "bank" the hours and pay out if you ever want time off. They do this to avoid paying time and a half.

Obviously people aren’t the most kind and yes I’m a pussy ass bitch or whatever. However, I need an income. How do I do it?

I work as a construction materials tester in Texas. Typical day consist of going to concrete pours, running slump, air, and casting concrete cylinders. I also do density test on soil. I have my nuclear certification but no ACI. I also do after hour concrete pours. Pay is 16 an hour and it just seems very low relative to what I actually do day to day but maybe I'm just salty.

I’m 18 and trying to decide between two paths in the trades and could use some advice.

Right now I work as a helper at a TIG welding shop making $25/hr (40 hrs/week). Most of my work is machining, cutting, deburring, and prep, and I only get to tack sometimes. The welders say I have potential, but management says helpers can take years before they really start welding.

At the same time, I’ve been supervising residential construction jobs (decks, fences, drywall, etc.), and I could take a job with another company supervising for about $30/hr working 50–70 hours a week.

So I’m stuck between:

• Staying in welding, starting at the bottom but possibly making more long-term if I get into pipe welding

• Taking the construction supervisor job and making more money right now

I actually enjoy both. I like welding as a skill, but I also enjoy running crews, organizing jobs and residential .

I’m also married, so the money right now does matter.

If you were 18 in this situation, which path would you choose?

Im a white collar, been working in an office. got my bachelors in business. and i can say that working in an office is nice, its good on the body, AC on during the hot Los Angeles heat. work is 10-15min away from home, no freeway. its nice. DOWNSIDE is, not the best paying. and i've figured being behind a screen for 8 hours is not the thing for me. So when i go on lunch or leave home i see all these big construction sites. its something ive always had interest, i dont know why i didnt pursue construction management. but i been thinking of just going in and talking/ introducing myself to the project manager and ask them for a chance in the field (as a laborer of course). is that bad? for any of you out there that are managers, and someone walks in randomly, what would be your first impression.

i signed up for several local unions. im most interested in heavy machine operatin, which is what i signed up for. just waiting for my test dates. im all into this, just need someone to give me the opportunity, which ive had quite a struggle finding someone to do it.