Thread 2947685

Would you recommend construction as a career? Most of the people i talk to irl say its not worth it

Do you value not being worn out and crippled?

>>2947686
So thats just inevitable even if you take care of yourself, eat healthy, arent an alcoholic, arent a drug addict etc ?

>>2947687
>Career construction worker
>Not alcoholic/drug addict

>>2947688
So what you seem to be implying is that if i stay away from alcohol and booze, its actually possible to work construction and not destroy my body

You can make great money in construction and the skills are needed world wide if you ever wanted to change country. But you have to narrow it down OP which industry are you interested in?
>t. qualified carpenter, who changed to a construction profession which required a degree

>>2947694
I want to learn how to build houses. The entire process though. From the concrete forms to the framing or masonry if its a brick house to the roof and everythingin between. So i guess general carpentry with masonry

>>2947695
It can be quite hard to find a carpenter which does it all these days, during my time I thoroughly learnt how to do concrete and general framing etc. But honestly by the time you are a competant carpenter you know enough about all the trades to do a little bit, certainly if you wanted to build your own house you would know enough to get by.
As a career? I was a carpenter for 7 years (did my trade) I never really wanted to be one from the start so I was always looking for something else but it taught me great life skills and I am not disappointed I did it. I was mid 20's when I quit and started going to university for a construction related degree in which I currently love my job.
tl;dr?
if you are young just do your trade it only takes 4 years and you will learn a lot, you can always change career if you don't like it thats not an issue people look highly on trade qualified people changing careers because tradesman are hard workers. In regards to making decent money as a carpenter you have two options
>option 1
start your own company and put on workers, this route you will be doing like 15 hour days, free quotes half of them don't pay off, extreme stress, and you have to be extremely skilled, don't expect it to take off financially for years
>option 2
go into commercial construction and become a site manager, this route you are working huge hours and probably every weekend, and you haver to answer to cunt project managers, you may get a vehicle from your employer though, financial pay off will be decent but probably not as much as you want

>>2947687
Cramming yourself into weird angles and yanking and slamming shit every single day will wear anyone out.

>>2947704
Do carpenters cram themselves into weird angles often? I thought that was more of a plumber/ hvac guy in an attic thing

>>2947706
Idk im not a carpenter, maybe

>>2947707
Ok so you have no idea what you're talking about. Thanks!

>>2947696
>Option 3
join the ubc in a union friendly state.

>>2947710
I guess that is also an option, but once you start working union jobs it will be hard to go back to non-union jobs. Usually the work cope in union jobs is not as mentally stimulating as non-union jobs also. Residential construction is where you learn the most, work the most, and earn the least money unfortunately.

The union where I am from is insanely corrupt so I have no intentions of working for them, I do see the benefits though

>>2947685 (OP)
No. You should maybe listen to those people.

>>2947695
Sounds like you should volunteer at habitat for humanity

>>2947685 (OP)
It pays. Would you rather work at dunkin donuts?

>>2947685 (OP)
Most people in real life says that construction isn't worth it. Should I listen to them? Nah let's ask some strangers on Mongolian bricks laying forum.
Jokes aside construction isn't easy, a lot of time you will bust your mutts from physical labor, unloading or moving materials. There are a lot of dangerous materials, breathing in cement, dust, drywall, saw dust you name it will fuck up your lungs in the long term. When doing construction you will have to work during day, so during summer you will risk heat stroke, if you do roofing you risk falling down, if you do concreting say goodbye to resting since you have to work hard and fast. So all in all construction will fuck up your body, you might make some money since there are less and less people willing to do it. If this is worth it in you mind go for it.

Just retired after 45 yrs of construction.
I like hard dirty work. The cold, heat sun didn’t bother me I liked being outside. I did it all from concrete to roofs. Here’s what sucked. In the beginning you bust your ass for a greedy dickhead.
Eventually if you’re good you go on your own.
Now you work for numerous greedy dickheads ( homeowners) the job is never good enough, fast enough or cheap enough. Dealing with some entitled cunt know it all. I sold most of my tools to ensure I never do this shit again

>>2947696
2nding carpentry as the best way to learn as much as possible about the whole house build. I am a finish carpenter and I also do project management because I have so much interaction with the other trades that I am good at finding solutions to everyone else's problems. If you want to learn the whole house, be a rough carpenter for 4 years, then do finish carpentry for 4 years. I would say start off being a finish carpenter because you will learn sloppy habits doing rough carpentry, but the tool investment is too steep for someone just starting out, also, not much construction is doing big finish packages now, you have to get into high end residential single family homes and even then 3/4 of them are modern designs with drywall work replacing woodwork. As for starting out, find a shell contractor, preferably someone you know nepotism is incredibly beneficial. Learn form work and framing and roofing if you want but I would avoid wasting much time with roofing since it's all setting trusses and then just nailing down plywood. If you can find a crew that will hand truss or rafter a roof, fucking take that job because it is a dying skill and will be worth something in the future. Also, live with your parents and buy tools and either a small pickup truck or a van. After you are pretty good at the rough carpentry and have all your tools and know how to use them, find a finish carpentry crew that knows what they are doing and start working with them. Learn geometry, trig, and how to make accurate cuts, learn how to do wall layout for wainscotting, learn how to deal with making good joints on bad walls/ceilings/corners. Once you are a good finish carpenter you can start having design input, I highly recommend drawing, practice at it and be able to diagram what you want to build.

if you want to build houses and make lots of money get a civil engineering degree and then get a GC license, lots of responsibility though.

>>2947740
>So all in all construction will fuck up your body
>electrical
>plumbing
>mechanical (hvac)
>finish carpentry
there are trades that are less physically demanding than laying block and pumping concrete and slinging 4x8x.75" plywood around on a roof

>>2947759
>roofs
This scares the shit out of me.
How do you manage not to fall onto the pavement?

>>2947795
you get better at balancing and being more comfortable up there with time

>>2947795
15 years of that were hanging over the edge installing seamless gutters. We walked 85% of the roofs. You overcome fear of heights eventually I drive by some houses and wonder how the fuck I walked that. Roofing in the 80s was mostly wood. Only thing between us and death was a roofing seat made with riser cutouts and bottle openers

>>2947708
No, im an electrician. I know exactly how demanding that is. But i don't know what EVERY SINGLE trade is like.

>>2947795
if you can tolerate working outside and on roofs, it's the quickest way to become a millionaire, zero experience to filthy rich in a few years.

simply apply for a job with any roofing company. do it for 1-2 years until you're confident that you can handle any aspect of any roofing job on your own.
after becoming proficient, quit.
you may then confidently bid on jobs yourself. hire a few helpers. Once you have a decent team together, advertise on faceshit.
snow problem to pull in $5-$10k a day running 5-6 guys, and you'll spend most of your time just relaxin in da truck

>>2947686
I just retired as a Union Carpenter, started framing but moved into easier work like doors and Stupid Intendent.

Barely any physical issues, but recently fucked up elbow and knee from using laptop and mouse from awkward position half sitting on bed frequently.

But no I wouldn't recommend it in this day and age.

Every trade is overloaded by unlimited not just Wetbacks but ever stripe of foreigner, and Unions are happy to let them undercut wages because if they don't "Vest" the Union keeps ALL the money.

>>2947695
>The entire process though.
Its really not that hard at all.
I'd suggest you wrangle a job as a helper/gopher for a small contractor building individual custom/spec homes.

Tell him you will do any jobs and just want to learn. Show up in a beat up pickup with racks and tool box across the bed.
He will want you to haul lumber and bags of cement for free, like "Could you go to Home Depot and pickup 30 bags of concrete and it needs to be here when 'we' start working at 7AM sharp? The guys are counting on you". Let that happen about 2x and become a semi-valuable known OK worker before laying down the law on getting paid time and mileage for any extra trips over 5 miles.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/d/sebastopol-2002-150-lariat/7879816596.html

Start reading blue prints, then teach yourself BlueBeam and even Autocad and Revit.

All Autodesk products have FREE full "student editions" which is FULL POWER just can't download to actual CAM machines or export to Full Lic pro versions, but its the SAME PROGRAMS worth $5,000 or more. https://www.autodesk.com/education/home

You just need to be an official "college student" which can be signing up for Weight Training at local Jr College, so you can use the gym and showers any time "class" is in session, (great place to meet chicks and they will think construction worker is sexy).

>>2947704
>>>2947687
>Cramming yourself into weird angles and yanking and slamming shit every single day will wear anyone out.
Not really, its more like yoga. LOL.

Just learn to not hold hammer with thumb extended like they taught to hold tennis racket in HS gym class, or will fuck up tendons. Lighter hammer is best for driving nails.>>2947795
>>roofs
>This scares the shit out of me.
>How do you manage not to fall onto the pavement?
IMO you either got it or you don't. If you "don't" I'd suggest you don't force it.

But these days everything is much gayer, largely due to influx of Turd Worlders with no sense, so more mandatory safety shit unless its a small time individual builder.

Don't compromise on personal safety. I'd walked off a couple few jobs, and one of those was BECAUSE they wanted me "tied off" and IMO the roof was too crowded and likely to be yanked by some idiot crossing lines.

THERE IS NO MEANINGFUL COMPENSATION to be had if you get hurt, except in basically freak legal cases.

Worker's Comp rates for losing an eye or hand etc look like they are from about 1840AD and I'm not kidding.

>>2947687
It depends on the trade. I think if you do a hard trade like concrete, masonry or ironnwork it's inevitable that you'll end up pretty fucked up even if you do all the right things.

>>2947685 (OP)
Yes if you are driven and intelligent. If you have low motivation you'll just end up as a forever laborer making shit money and busting your ass every day well into your 60s. If you're driven and intelligent you can figure out how to make money without using your body. You'll still have to put some time in doing physical work though, everyone does.

>>2947706
Not as often as electricians or plumbers but yes occasionally carpenters have to do fucked up retarded shit in confined spaces.

As a carpenter you can really end up being a truck jack of trades. I've been a carpenter for almost a decade but I can also comfortably lay block, finish concrete, do basic electrical and plumbing, and i know my way around dirtwork. That's on top of being able to frame a house and do everything else carpentry related in regards to building houses.

>>2947879
>Start reading blue prints
This is very good advice. A guy who can read the plans is very useful, even if is only average at everything else.

>>2947882
>Lighter hammer is best for driving nails.
this man speaks the truth
t. 16oz estwing leather handle user

>>2947900
I'm pretty sure he meant lighter as in a modern titanium hammer, not your grandpa's dinky little estwing

>>2947899
yes. that anon is right

once you know how to read plans you can just sit on your ass in a gc office

t. moonlighting in both architecture and construction

>>2947903
titanium is a meme

>>2947685 (OP)
Scabs just get a shitty construction management degree or skip over all the labor years by kissing ass, nepotism, or rolling the dice on themselves with some capital and an LLC.

I fucking do not see how anyone actually constructing moves up if they're not in a licensed trade or union.

It doesn't matter how much work you complete, if it's all perfect, if you train other people, if you learn every facet of the business, the product, and amounts of all the surrounding trades.

You have to read the tea leaves of the company you're in. Where are you going to be in 10 years looking at the other 10 year guys? Does the management like you?

>>2947882
f=1/2mv^2
Velocity is exponential, but there are times a 14 or 16 oz isn't enough impact force. The right hammer eliminates swings and improves targeting.

>>2947899
>>2947904
learn to draw them and you truly command a premium

>>2947908
>f=1/2mv^2
F=m⋅a
you are giving the equation for kinetic energy

>>2947907
>2 combos and a tri

>>2947910
It's harder to measure acceleration in the field.

>>2947909
simple Blue Prints to get B-Dept stamp are pretty easy and I've done it and got Stamp on first visit.

No real "rules", just make a decent semi-scale drawing and "call out" everything (say WTF it is....2x4, 3/4" 2" lag bolts, carpet and pad, 3-0x2-6 window, etc.

>>2947911
>2 combos and a tri
ever do layout on a board?

>>2947685 (OP)
If you aren't going to college for some sort of degree that guarantees good pay, then you should 100% do skilled labor. Its literally the only way to have good pay (enough to buy a home), health/dental and pension/retirement savings. Youre going to be very sad if you dont have any of those things by the time your 40.


If you're not going to higher education its dumb not to. Even if you were going to school you should be working a manual/skilled labor job to earn some more money than working at a Walgreens or something. Don't be a pussy.

I work in Maritime trade. I work on tugboats specifically which is really the best maritime job you can get. Ships are actually retarded. Some people get their licenses to go work on luxury yachts in fort Lauderdale FL. That can be a fun job for a young person but youre essentially a servant to ultra wealthy yacht owners.


A lot of guy guys go to maritime academy and fast tracked to wheel house or engineer positions. in my line of work its still possible move up without a college degree but rather through license upgrades. Those people are referred to as hawespipers. The academies just gives a big headstart to young people. Its good to go to maritime academy if you can and if you want to make money.

>>2947685 (OP)
I work in a lab on large water cooled chillers. I noticed that all the pipefitter contractors look the same
Long face and a goatee

>>2947691
No, it just means you have to find other ways to deal with the physical and mental pain. Exercise, meditation, and a good diet only costs time and energy, and a bit of money,, and you'll have plenty of all that.

>>2947936
Tri is really nice for framing lead workers.

I just use a speed square for everything. I wouldn't even reach for a combo unless I'm in a cabinet shop and even then, rarely.

>>2947688
I work construction and I'm straight edge.

>>2948034
jesus did i get teleported back in time 20 years? havent heard someone refer to themselves as straight edge since like 2006 lol

>>2948027
i am a mobile cabinet shop (finish carpenter)

>>2947763
Dude asked about construction I answered about construction and things that will mess him up. Also all blue collar workers have fucked bodies, you just need to find one that you can endure.

>>2948049
Last construction worker, well ex-construction, I hung out with said he quit when he couldn't take his case of beer around site with him anymore.

>>2948049
I don't even drink coffee or energy drinks, just raw dogging this miserable job.
I use straight edge because it's something most people here would know the meaning but I'm not into the punk scene or anything like that, honestly I might just be autistic.

Been doing construction work since 2011.
Not really worth it if youre a foreman especially for a shitty company or a company with a cheap/mr.scrooge type owner.
Get into a specialized trade and not general construction.
If youre just doing grunt work and are okay with beating up your body then its not bad, if youre a foreman for a shit company then expect literally every problem that management has to be thrown at you and be blamed for it.
The extra 1-2 dollars isnt worth it to be constantly inheriting everyones problems because the Kiss-asses will make it your problem.
Expect to never have time off and get griefed by everyone in management (if you work for a shit company).

Im not a foreman for a shit company anymore, i quit and went to a different company and just do grunt work now. Its honestly much more relaxing not having pajeet management or cheap company owners blowing up my phone for problems they caused. No one in management ever communicates with each other despite literally being 30ft away from each other. Be prepared for telephone-tag if youre a foreman.
Overall construction work isnt bad though, you learn alot and you can take material home sometimes, plus good coworkers are usually the reason you stay longer. Pay can be good or close to foreman wages if you stick with it.

>>2948396
Damn, I have 2 energy drink at the side of the bed for when I wake up in the morning.
I hate life

>>2948396
i work construction and i dont drink coffee either, not sure why people need it. i think people just start drinking it and cant stop. the other guys in my crew drink those disgusting pink monster energy drinks, seems gay as fuck

<-------

>>2950334
Yeah materials fuel and tools get more expensive but you just charge more for work..this pic is retarded.

>>2947685 (OP)
by the time ur old enough to retire you will have to because of the toll it takes on your body

>>2947685 (OP)
Fuck no.
I did when I was young and my joints are now fucked.

>>2950334
>get 5 years of experience
>competent to run your own job. Get a helper
>10 years
>competent to run a small crew
>15-20
>either specialize to a related field you excel in, or start running a whole company
Wow, what a normal fucking boring career path.

>>2950374
>Just charge more

Windowlicker, I'm going to type slowly so you can keep up. When everyone is dealing with rising costs and stagnant wages they have less money for discretionary spending. Charging more exacerbates the problem.

>>2950498
Are you just learning about inflation now?

>>2950494
white collar isn't
>get your masters or doctorate
>5 years of residency
>now to move up you have to buy a hospital, hire all the staff, and run the entire place

In construction, you're constantly getting devalued and pushed back down toward unskilled labor despite having more knowledge, skill, and production. The licensed trades rightfully put a financial hurdle in front of clients even to just show up. That's important to function as a business.

>>2947685 (OP)
>>2950334
most people get into the construction trades because tradie relative or because there is no other option
learning to build and repair things with your hands is great and the physical labor feels good, but i don't recommend it as a way to make a living
zoomers have been pushing the trades meme for a while since the coding is dead meme
but the reality is that if you don't work for the government, are self-employed, or own a company, pretty much sucks
high mortality rates
the pay is bad
long-unpayed commute
compete vs immigrants
it's full of druggies and pariahs
unions are a mafia
scrooge mcduck phenotype is more common than you imagine and there's tremendous nepotism
even mostly successful self made tradies are just boomers who have taken advantage of immigrants low wages for decades

if you don't/can't want to go to collage
then learn electronics, fix phones, computers, install cameras, cable, antennas or something like that

>>2950573
What the fuck are you talking about yes it is
>get your masters
>get hired
>you're useless
>go file these tps reports.
>finally get to engineer the wind loadings of this one pole and not fuck up
>start to get your own projects
>run the whole project
>quit and make your own firm to take your own contracts and hire your own dumbasses out of school
>retire

>do residency
>finally start not killing patients
>get your specialty
>join someone else's practice
>get your own practice
>hire nurses.
>retire

>>2950691
Dentists, periodontists, surgeons, nurses, niche techs. There are tons of fields with good ROI or tiers of advancement. Construction has no money or people on your side unless you're under a union.

I anticipate engineers are next to really get squashed with the computer bullshit like artists. There's been such widespread acceptance of minimalism, cheap products, and unethical top-down business practice. Anecdotally, civil engineers I've known have gotten into rewarding positions.