/diy/ - Do It Yourself

seems like a good career - I'm in AZ and know 2 people going that route. One is still in school. One just got hired away to NY, even though the local company was really eager to keep him. It was his first year out.

>>1433694
Biggest fags on the jobsite

>>1433694
I am a mechanical engineer who does construction management. It's p. comfy but some days I feel like an over educated construction foreman, I don't get to use much of my schooling, I pretty much just run spreadsheets and P6 all day

I make six figures though so I can't complain

>>1433774
>I make six figures though so I can't complain

i love being rich

>>1433694
project engineer/estimator here.

love my job desu. super chill, no stress, good pay.

came up off the field. they don't give a shit about your education.

>>1433694
Interned in MEP construction management, then worked after graduation for 3 months before quitting for grad school. Fuck that entire industry.

>>1433774
sweet. Where do you work and for what company?

>>1433780
what company and where? Thats sweet mate

>>1433781
What did you dislike so much? MEP managers on big jobs can make 150-250k its a great gig

>>1433792
>>1433794
i'll just say norcal with a predominately dirt moving company.

started as an apprentice gradesetter.. my pay is good now but it was great then lol. union rate after contributions is $50/h, and we pay higher rates than that to our operators.

>>1433694
>>1433774
>>1433780

>these are the people who are ignoring the plans I developed

>>1434118
I have worked in both worlds so I know how it feels, I'm usually a good boy and write the appropriate RFIs, but when you issue a drawing that specs out $2000 a piece washers only made in South Korea with a 6 month lead time, and we need something next week to open up the rest of the job, niggas gotta do what a niggas gotta do.

>>1434143
>, niggas gotta do what a niggas gotta do.

fine, as long as EVERYONE who needs to know is informed of your "decision", and hope that it doesn't result in someone having a leg amputated with a chainsaw:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse

>>1434148

>>1434148
>>1434149

Yes yes that was brought up in every engineering class I took too. The redesign of the walkway suspension was approved by the engineering team though, it wasn't just the contractors cowboying

>>1434152
Any design changes are usually addressed with a lot of RFI or change order paperwork and approved by architect/engineers, yet people usually blame the builders

>>1434143
agreed

>>1434177

>yet people usually blame the builders

I subcontract for a high-end architect, meaning custom houses that easily clear a million.

So this one client wants a long as hell skinny house that's gonna suck on heating and cooling, so she asks for 2x6 framing instead of the usual 2x4 framing. Everything sails along perfectly until the house is just about finished and someone actually looked at the prints. After building a few dozen "normal" houses nobody, from the guy who ordered the lumber to anyone involved with building it ever noticed it.

She agreed to let it go and knock about 30 grand off of the cost.

I'm a civil engineer who is doing construction admin on a utilities project right now, I got stuck with this project because my firm had a ton of staff turnover right when it moved to the construction phase and they needed someone in a pinch. I've never worked on a job in the construction phase before and I never will again, probably because I'm going to get fired at the end of this one at the rate I'm going.

I don't know how anything gets built, ever. This project should be absurdly simple, it's just the construction of utility lines and manholes, and yet the only thing keeping me from calling it a comedy of errors is that I haven't laughed in two years. I feel like I've aged 20 years in two and I am probably going to have long-term mental health issues because of this. Some of the highlights of this clusterfuck:

>the client randomly decided to add three miles of new line to this project, half of it in the middle of the bid phase and half with one month to go before substantial completion; my firm has yet to see any additional money for the admin and inspection work for this

>with one week before "final" completion, the contractor lets me know he "removed" about 1,000 feet of the line in the scope of work three months ago without asking anyone if this is OK

>one of the contractor's subs didn't test about 30 manholes for leaks before they were backfilled and now has no intention of coming back out to do it

>to meet bonding requirements, the client has to have all work finished by August 15 whereas the contractor is about six weeks from being actually done

>my only inspector on this job (which is four driving hours away from me) is old, about to retire, and DGAF, and has only filled out about half of the documentation we need to submit to the client

On top of all this I've only been able to spend about 8 hours a week on this project due to my normal job duties and workload. I'm just about ready to shoot myself.

>>1433694
whys this retarded bitch trying to strut around in a hardhat, she looks like she'd be happier getting impaled by thirty cocks on live tv.

>>1434899
Manholes always leak that's why they have sump holes.

The adding and removing lines is whatever. You only exist for legal cover.
In utilities, The engineers drawings are always hopelessly wrong and never followed anyway.

I had an engineer design an h4 circuit and left off 10k feet of cable. He put a repeater on top of an almost inaccessible mountain, instead of 500 ft in either other direction which would have been easily accessible. This was the wrong location anyway because of the 10k ft of missing cable. When told to reengineer it and account for the missing cable he placed a second repeater 500 ft away from the first and left the first where it was.

None of this fucking worked at all and it is clear he has absolutely no idea what he is doing except connecting the dots in a cad program

Ok no joke, I've been going from trade to trade doing field or shop labor jobs because I was happy keeping fit and learning how to do everything and anything myself. Problem is now I'm 30 with a family and I'm tired of busting my ass for shit pay because I'm not certified in anything, I just have good experience. I want to be busting my ass making great money and excelling at what I do. I should also mention I'm not an idiot, I have a BS CompSci just never used it and worked construction for 8 years instead.

Is this a saturated field? Are you guys just boasting survivor bias because you got a job out of school when 20 others didnt like STEM? Im seeing alot of online University 4-year degrees for this field, are those laughed at or will they get jobs? Does this only actually work if you're already an engineer and slap this as an extra degree on top of it?

>>1435039
sparky foreman here and Im gonna put my 2 cents in without knowing if its totally correct or not.

It seems like every contractor I work with these days has 2 interns working for them right now, free labor right? And on top of that they are using temp laborers constantly instead of using hired guys. We are in a good economy and everybody is building something right now.. literally even the shitty guys all have steady well paying jobs right now I mean shit look at these 2 posts >>1434933 >>1434899 Thats the quality of work we are getting right now and those guys still have jobs because there is just too much work to do....

A few years ago nobody really had interns, and losing a job was a real threat, had to be the best of the best. That will come again.

My point is it goes in cycles, few years here of good times, then a few years of shitty times. Right now is good times but about the time you are getting out of school and needing a job things might change and they are only hiring people with proven experience.

>>1435039
STEM is not worth your time, Im assuming you're in the US and I dont know if they have redseal or an equivalent program down there but use the experience you already have and focus on mastering a specific trade, any trade. These nigger millenials turn there noses up at these high paying jobs and thus theres a major shortage underway. With your line of experience you should be able to do this easy. It wont happen overnight, of course, but once you land that job you're gonna see a 20-50% pay raise every year you complete. Its worth it broseph, especially if you got a family you gotta provide for.

>>1435075
Every manhole leaks might be my bias because I am almost never ever in a manhole that's not older than I am (36). But they do all leak. They are either full of mud and shut at one side, or dirt from the last time it flooded. Usually they have anywhere from 4 to 15 ft of water in them. Sometimes the next several manholes on both sides are also full of water so you can be pumping for literally hours with two pumps.

And yeah, engineer drawings are a joke. They account for materials and if a pole needs a ground rod or not, but generally we place shut where it needs to be placed.

Where we actually need an engineer brain, they fail: like we have a run near train tracks at the ocean and shit is falling over and has been for years because soil conditions. But the engineers haven't figured that shit out. Like do we need a class 1 pole going down 15 ft? Do we need to fill the hole with concrete? Do we need to fill it with foam? Why haven't we done any of this shit yet? Okay last chance is putting in a side guy to support it... oh the state doesnt want to let us encroach on the ocean preserve? Its a fucking guy support, and it's going to fall on the goddamn train track. Figure some shit out

T. On my third local engineer that has no fucking idea.

>>1433694
I slashed my last construction managers new dodge truck with a skid steer.

>promised 20/hr
>paid 13/hr saying that the back of the contract said 5 years of work required for 20/hr.
>lied to my face.

Good riddance. And it was his personal truck and since it was on a job site with plywood in the back the insurance company copped out and said he was using a personal vehicle for commercial use.

I got fired for my "accident"

They claimed you cannot accidently run into a truck twice...

>>1435121
Engineers are overpaid retards. Fact.

>>1435121
oh wasnt referring to the manhole... kinda seems to me that even new ones should leak a little., I was more referring to your shitty engineer who puts shit on top of a mountain and misses 10k of cable... I know I didnt make that clear though.

>>1435169
Ah, sure enough. I thought you were attacking me for ignoring engineers so I got defensive.

>>1435103
I know STEM is a hoax unless you finish top 1%, figured that out before finishing uni when all my buddies who were 1-2 years ahead of me had to move back with their parents and were working at pharmacies and factories after graduating. Hence the construction.
I'm moving from Quebec to NB btw, dunno if they use red seal. I know I had almost enough hours to challenge the journeyman's exam to get my CCQ card though but my boss wouldn't sign off on it like a tool (lol why would I want you to advance and cost 3x more when you already do the work now)

Thanks for the motivation though, I know if I keep working these jobs I gotta get certified so noone can dick me around. I was just hoping I could migrate to a less labour intensive field so my body isn't wrecked by 50

>>1435179
Around 25% of STEM graduates land a job coming out of college, something like 70% of them never find a position in their field. the only thing that keeps kids signing up for it is the disillusionment that intellectual difficulty equals employment. Far more people need their plumbing systems maintained then there are people trying to launch shit into low earth orbit. Given your background you should have no problem finding someone willing to pay you what you're worth. When you start to burn out, consider teaching, or being a craftsman. Way easier on the body.

>>1435121

>Where we actually need an engineer brain, they fail: like we have a run near train tracks at the ocean and shit is falling over and has been for years because soil conditions. But the engineers haven't figured that shit out. Like do we need a class 1 pole going down 15 ft? Do we need to fill the hole with concrete? Do we need to fill it with foam? Why haven't we done any of this shit yet? Okay last chance is putting in a side guy to support it... oh the state doesnt want to let us encroach on the ocean preserve? Its a fucking guy support, and it's going to fall on the goddamn train track. Figure some shit out

Here's the deal with the engineer-contractor relationship

You guys want to get shit done, and I respect that, I really do

But shit gets real complicated real quick

A couple of years ago we had a contractor running access roads for cell towers through wetlands

>Hey, you need to lay off that clearing until we get some environmental scientists in there to check the plant life and soil conditions
>LOL FUCK OFF NERDS I GOTTA STAY ON SCHEDULE

Then after a visit from your friendly neighborhood state environmental agency

>Hey, let us get some borings before you start laying subgrade for that road
>IT'S FINE WE'LL MAKE IT WORK MEANS AND METHODS

Then after they've dumped twice as much rock into a bottomless pit

>WHY AREN'T YOU APPROVING OUR QUANTITIES? HERE'S AN RFI FOR THAT SHIT WE ALREADY DID

I mean I work with a lot of idiots but at the same time so do you

>>1435267
I mean, as long as the useless shit you're doing lands you with a fat cheque, who the fuck cares, right?

>>1435267
I appreciate environmental studies and soil studies, especially because California state will shit down your neck for literally anything unless you work for Dianne Feinstein

Like I said, our engineers never even do soil studies or shit, even when it's called for. They just make up some expected hours a job should take (and they are wildly wrong) and the expected footage a cable is going to be to order cable and poles or tell another contractor to put in conduit from point a to b

>>1435290
>Dianne Feinstein
Why hasnt someone murdered her in her home already, preferably with a knife, so its bloody, brutal and drawn out.

>>1435292
/diy/ is a board of peace.

>>1435179
>I know STEM is a hoax unless you finish top 1%
no. its not. there are plenty of good engineering jobs doing "blue collar" type stuff. power for EE's and HVAC for ME's. i guarantee you, somewhere someone needs a backflow preventer designed.

How many internships are you guys doing to get good jobs? I'm going to be finishing my bachelors some time in 2021, but I'll be about 30-31 at that time and will legitimately have at least 10 years experience in the construction field. Thing is, most of my experience is at the residential level. I'm soon to be a licensed general contractor myself and have been running a small handyman/contracting business for about a year but for my junior and senior year in university I figure I will just have to get internships during the summer.

Can any anons chip in with some advice? Also supplementing my education with a building inspection technology certification (building code proficiency). What else can I do/get to pad my resume so I'm not getting outclassed in the job market by 22-24 yr old kids?

Thanks anons.

>>1433694
>I am making 75k first year out of college (Southern California)
Jesus why did you bother going to school? $75k in SoCal is barely not homeless.

>>1435292
I'd rather watch her have an excruciating heart attack or aneurysm on cam, bonus points if she's in front of live cameras.

>>1435075
>My point is it goes in cycles
True. I know a lot of people go on and off construction train all the time. Not to be a dick to anyone, but it's fairly easy to get into with pretty lax work culture. Heck, one project I worked on had half of the crew giving off smell of the booze each fucking day and guess who was buying drinks for them?

More utility stories:
Every major damage everywhere:
But we didn't call usa because our plans say you are 20 ft over there!

Well those plans are 60 years old and never had any surveying done anyway.

Anyway. Sorry dude but we got 15 guys working round the clock now to fix your fuckup, you are required to call USA for all digging , and you know that. Enjoy your bill.

>>1436434

It's insane how contractors don't, or won't, call 811

They run radio and TV commercials in my state about it

>>1436567
Florida?

>>1433694
her teeth are terrifying

>>1436616
>her teeth are terrifying

and look at those horrifying veins on her feet.

SAD!

>>1436567
its easier to do it online.. if you do it on the phone you will be there for an hour dealing with their BS.

>>1436252
I knew a guy who started as a cmanagement at 30 and he got instantly hired to teach the 22 year olds in offices who had been working for years how to do stuff. Most of the time they're keen as a bean on you because practical experience and maturity goes so far, just apply for jobs man

>>1434143
When the architect insisted on some design choice and said "the price doesn't matter, you need to make it happen", and the only way to do so is a $2000 south korean washer, then you fuckers better be ordering everything at the start of the project, not waiting till the last minute thinking everything will arrive the next day.
See >>1434148

>>1439067

This x 1000

I was talking to the contractor's PM the other day and he said he wasn't a MSProject expert

Really? I couldn't tell

Maybe that's why you're four months behind and the sum total of your work for the month of July was your superintendent and two general laborers piddling around on site with zero pay items completed because you're waiting on fabrication

>>1439158
dont forget people just sitting on approving submittals on items that have a 10 week lead time for 4 month long projects... Having that issue right now on some of my lighting package, supposed to be done mid december and they are going back and forth still trying to select what options on the lights they want... fucking owners and architect gonna screw their own project cause they just cant seem to push the fucker through... nobody is going to place a $30k order that is wrong... oh well good documentation and emails all have dates on them so their is my legal defense when they try to blame me and my company, They can go fuck themselves if they even utter the word LD.

>>1436279
living at home with parents

>>1434190
So the house was framed with 2x4's? Where was this? 2x4 exterior framing has been illegal where I live for a while.

What do you suggest me to study? I like creating things from scratch. This goes for computing stuff (hardware) and for normal stuff (anything). I also see myself as a great leader in a project cause I can make a plan that's actually good and stick with it.

>>1439158
Is MS project the goto software?

>>1439411
>2x4 being illegal to build outer walls

yeah na, people would riot for that.

>>1439655
It's probably a local code

If I could somehow intermediate CM and my current job Structural Engineering I probably would.

>>1439550

It seems like more people use Primavera

Our firm has MSProject and I hate it

>>1439550
MSProject is what people use because its cheap and/or free when the company buys excel/outlook/word/window's licenses. its also why knowing how to program in VBA is incredibly useful.

i got accepted for a construction management trainee role, beginning in september. pretty gassed but what should i expect? i'm 18 if that helps

>>1442778
You'll learn how to go over budget, how to take at least twice the amount of time you originally planned and how to not care about any of that as long as you get paid.

>>1442787
Is it an enjoyable experience then?

>>1442791

Probably enjoyable for you

Not for all the people who have to clean up after you

>>1433694
>I am making 75k first year out of college

Lol no you're not.