Anyone in home construction? or...

MC Paul Barman

MC Paul Barman

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any kind of construction at all?

I've been in banking for the past 10 years (graduated from college in 2000) and I'm fucking sick of the environment. I just don't want to work in the open floor concept anymore with 255 other idiots on the same floor in a sea of cubicles.


Is it easy to get into?

Thanks gents and lambs.
 
You want to do actual construction work or on the business side of the industry?

Also, a lot of companies (non construction of course) hire for work at home. So that would get you out of the office environment.
 
Also, you watch office space recently?
 
Fury said:
Also, you watch office space recently?
Click to expand...

Funny you ask that.

I was thinking about that recently.

That movie came out right around the time I graduated from college (or slightly before).
At the time I didn't get it. I was of the thought, "why the hell would anyone want to do manual labor when they could just sit at a desk all day long and waste time on a computer?"

Now I get it.
 
Fury said:
You want to do actual construction work or on the business side of the industry?

Also, a lot of companies (non construction of course) hire for work at home. So that would get you out of the office environment.
Click to expand...

Actual construction work.

What's this "work at home" business?
 
I had the whole I should do manual labor phase.

I strongly suggest the work from home option if you can find an appropriate job in your field. No commute, eating at home and sleeping later made a huge difference for me as well as the lack of annoying people around me.
 
Well construction is going to be something you get sick of too. My dad is an electrician and has worked in the construction business for 30 years, and he hates it. It also wears on your body, and it's the kind of job that can be slow at times... leaving it hard to find work.

It's very easy to get into though.
 
As far as getting sick of something, while construction is a rewarding way to make a living everything gets old unless you figure out a way to keep it challenging and fresh. The benefits for me of having been in the field for 30 years is the active lifestyle associated with the field. If you are doing it correctly you are up and out every morning early, summer winter spring and fall, rain or shine you are on the move and active. Very seldom do you sit on your ass for more than 15 minutes. When you are done, most days you have something tangible to look at. Like anything else in life if you want to be good at something your starting point is the bottom, good luck.
 
First this first. You gotta figure out which trade you're more interested in. Whether its being an electrician, a carpenter, painter, laborer, pipefitter, etc etc. then from there do you wanna work residential, commercial, or industrial. Also you gonna join a union? Lots of questions to ask yourself before you just jump into the "field of construction"
 
Jesus was a carpenter, right?
 
You want to become a construction worker?

Grab a wheelbarrow, fill it full of bricks. Walk around the yard.
Repeat for 9 hours.
 
Did excavating for years. My dad owns his own company and I worked summers for him while I was going to school. It's big time hard on your body man. Whether you're bent over all day running a shovel/rake, or getting beat to death in a machine with no suspension, it's not something you're going to be able to do forever. Dusk till dawn til the job is done, breathing dust or working in mud. Not to mention working on live septic systems, I could go on for days with stories about this aspect alone.

Keep your job.
 
Do you want to be just a general contractor? Do you already know how to do construction, or are you looking to start out on the bottom and learn everything first before striking out on your own?

General contractor is a referral business. You have to know how to find and maintain those relationships. Sometimes you will have to pimp yourself, and work cheap, to get RE people to like you, and want to use you.
 
Not really the best time to jump into the construction field.I don't know where you're at, but out here in CA, things are pretty slow.
 
I worked in commercial construction for 8 years after college but had to take some time off due to training injuries. In the interim I got a supervisory position that I could do while on the mend. I've been doing the supervisor gig for about 8 months and I now actively want to get back into the trades. As the old dude earlier pointed out, you stay active so as long as you pack your own lunch or eat smart it's a good way to stay in shape. Also I really miss having something tangible at the end of the day to look at and say "I did that." My buddy just opened a granite and tile company so I'm planning on throwing in with him. You do have to watch out for the slow times though. It was not unusual for me to be laid off for weeks at a time when there were no jobs. My wife has a decent job and we have no kids, so that was never a problem for me, in fact I loved it.
 
I used to work for a bank, went to college for business, after I left the bank I worked for the power company in collections then rates in a nice office. Left it all last year because I couldn't take sitting at a computer all day, punching my time, in listening to idiots at meetings and all the other crap that comes with it. Started working in the electrical trade, got into the IEC program here in my area and I really haven't been happier. I love the type of work, I learn new things all the time and im doing something different literally every day. My pay is starting to catch up with my previous jobs and by the time I earn my journeyman license it will have surpassed my past wages. My advice would be to get into a trade that will be in demand in the future.

I should clarify, I started out in Industrial work but have been working in commercial/some residential work the last few months so I know alittle about all 3
 
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what a strange man

you want to switch the poles all at once and do exactly opposite of what you do now?

good for you. also look into landscape architecture, fencing, farming, adventure sports, crossfit, sports management, operating a bowling alley, golf driving range, et cetera.
 
ThinkGreen said:
Well construction is going to be something you get sick of too. My dad is an electrician and has worked in the construction business for 30 years, and he hates it. It also wears on your body, and it's the kind of job that can be slow at times... leaving it hard to find work.

It's very easy to get into though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice.
A friend of mine said the same thing. Now, he likes the work but he said it will wear down your body.
 
genecop said:
As far as getting sick of something, while construction is a rewarding way to make a living everything gets old unless you figure out a way to keep it challenging and fresh. The benefits for me of having been in the field for 30 years is the active lifestyle associated with the field. If you are doing it correctly you are up and out every morning early, summer winter spring and fall, rain or shine you are on the move and active. Very seldom do you sit on your ass for more than 15 minutes. When you are done, most days you have something tangible to look at. Like anything else in life if you want to be good at something your starting point is the bottom, good luck.
Click to expand...

Good points.

Regarding having something tangible to look at I completely agree. That's one reason why I'm not getting it with banking anymore. Woo hoo, I sold alot of shitty products my customers wouldn't really even need if the bank would just go that extra meter for our clients.
 
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