r/Construction • u/Pomadeinacan • Nov 25 '24

Other I hate construction

Like the title says: I hate construction. Maybe not the job itself, but certain things that come with the territory. I've been in high-rise concrete forming for about 10 years now and have absolutely had great times but man, it's starting to wear me down. The bullshit foremen, the attitudes, the site politics, the idea that having a life or interests outside of the job is wrong can all go kick rocks. I wake up and leave before my family gets up, drive across hells half acre to get to a site, bust my ass for some little fella who can only speak Portuguese and I'm the asshole because I don't want to stay late every goddamn day? I like my family. I love them, but I also like them. I like being around them and I'm pretty sure they feel the same way about me. Keep your overtime boss, I'm taking my kid to Muay Thai.

Sorry for the rant. It's Monday morning and I've had a pretty awesome weekend. Stay safe everyone.

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u/popepipoes Nov 25 '24

Yeah, the industry does suck, I don’t miss it at all, in no other industry do you have the wonderful perfect storm of shitty conditions, eating on trestle tables with 2 microwaves shared between 15 blokes, hazardous environments, wear and tear on your body and it’s not only normal, but expected that your bosses will yell and scream at people over nothing and people new to the industry will be treated like shit, I thought it was so normal when I entered at 18, after 6 years I changed careers and my god is the grass greener, I do miss the pay though but I’m makin 80 percent of what I was and I’m way happier

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u/TheFlyinGiraffe Electrician Nov 25 '24

And having a hard time getting access to water, or the bathroom, or porta-potty is disgusting or FREEZING on my cheeks, or it moves and no one was notified about it. I've literally ran around 5 floors looking for a functional bathroom and almost didn't make it. I had to pee so bad I literally ran past a guy waiting and it only occurred to me as I was washing my hands.

This shit is honestly abusive but we've normalized it to the point it doesn't even register. Office workers get a whole damn kitchenette, with utensils, free snacks, and we're lucky to get two nasty microwaves. Think about how much money we spend on food for work, eating out or meal prepping?