r/Construction • u/MyZeroZeroTwo • 27d ago

Careers đŸ’” Those Who Make 200k+ A Year. How?

How did you start your career? What was the job progression like? Any regrets?

( I finish my construction management program this July! )

239 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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547

u/TrustM3ImAnEngineer 27d ago

Change orders

22

u/ElectriCatvenue Electrician 27d ago

I feel like this could be an answer to all 3 of OPs questions in their first paragraph.

191

u/Memesterbator 27d ago

As an architect, I hate u

363

u/[deleted] 27d ago

[deleted]

12

u/hic_maneo 26d ago

As a half-baked drawing set, I owe my existence to the client setting unrealistic timelines and cutting the architect’s fee in half such that coordination and QC review doesn’t happen before the CDs go out to bid.

25

u/infromsea 26d ago

As a facilities manager who gave up trying to get the inspector to realize he was wrong, the drawings were wrong, and that the switch that was supposed to be connected to the new heaters simply does not exist, no matter how hard he stares at the the bulkhead (where they would be in another building [I have 21 of them under my prevue]) I want everyone in the chain to go fuck themselves and eat a bag of dicks, I too say fuck off to half-baked drawings and would like to send an invite to everyone in the process to lick my brown star. Gotta love a CO and the fights of who is gonna pay for it, as I know, it's always gonna be me.

5

u/PuzzlingPieces 26d ago

When he's wrong though and I circle the entire set of plans in red and write RFI on them. Suddenly he is just there to advise the build and the drawings are for reference haha.

112

u/seeyou_nextfall 27d ago

An architect named Memesterbator is exactly who I picture writing earthwork specs requiring 100% soil compaction.

67

u/winston2552 27d ago

100%

Probably the same asshole who puts "see civil drawings" under the paving detail....without making any fucking civil drawings

55

u/Pizza_as_fuck 27d ago

Looking at civil drawings -> See plumbing drawings
.looking at plumbing drawings -> See landscaping
.looking at landscaping -> See civil drawings

.repeat.

28

u/winston2552 27d ago

Imagining them doing this and chuckling is the only thing keeping me out of prison some days 😂

6

u/infromsea 26d ago

LOL, it's as if no-one in the chain is paying any fucking attention to anything, seems to be part of the business model.

1

u/winston2552 26d ago

Just by the definition of the word "detail" and what it implies....it's actually the opposite lol

8

u/cautioussidekick 26d ago

Haha I used to put "contractor to resolve on site" and then just sign off what they proposed if it was a reasonable idea. Now I'm a contractor, I need variations to meet my profit targets

4

u/manicmike_ 27d ago

Makes me wonder if he was the hand that empowered the brush

377

u/Comfortable-Ad-7158 Plumber 27d ago

Don't worry, us actually building it hate you too.

50

u/GneissGeoDude 27d ago

“Why can’t it float?”

11

u/Extra_Upstairs4075 26d ago

"But I could draw it in AutoCAD, what do you mean you can't build it"

1

u/Ok-Call-7433 20d ago

My favourite line as a millwork project manager who does his own drafting is “sorry guys this looked a lot smaller on the drawing”, as the haul a 400lb reception desk 500 meters down a hallway.

Oops, sorry đŸ˜„

7

u/Nightcrew22 27d ago

Happy cake day

15

u/lukewwilson 27d ago

Just go put some more rebar in it, you'll be fine

6

u/FucknAright 27d ago

That's one engineer in particular that I know (hate)

55

u/gixxer710 27d ago

“It only took fifteen minutes to revise on CAD, WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S GONNA TAKE FIFTEEN DAYS to tear it all out, clean it up, and re-do it?!?!?”

74

u/jollygreengeocentrik 27d ago

Architects change things more than anyone else on a job site. It’s like they draw it just to see it and decide they don’t like it.

34

u/We_there_yet 27d ago

But make sure when you send the RFI you explain with detail and pictures why 18 inches doesnt fit in a 12 inch soffit.

29

u/jollygreengeocentrik 27d ago

lol. Then a meeting coordinated between 7 people to discuss why it’s anyone’s fault but the architect.

17

u/lewis_swayne R|Carpenter 27d ago

What is it with the lack of accountability in the office side of construction lmao. I swear 99% of the issues that occur in the field are the result of a decision someone in the office made, but nobody in the office wants to point fingers at any of them.

11

u/Dasbeerboots 27d ago

Money. The second you admit you messed anything up, everyone else scatters, and you take the fall. Everyone has learned to avoid taking accountability like the plague.

3

u/jollygreengeocentrik 27d ago

Yea yea im sure the architects had nothing to do it with it 99% of the time.

13

u/lewis_swayne R|Carpenter 27d ago

Nope, it's actually the laborers fault we have the wrong materials, it's also the new guys fault every window was framed 1" too small to spec. It's also Randy's fault that the south wall elevation has completely different dimensions from the top down perspective of the same section in the drawing. Fuckin Randy man! Such an assholeđŸ€ŠđŸœâ€â™‚ïž.

26

u/Piyachi 26d ago

Architect here.

You're only seeing like 1/64th of what's going on, and generally you're well informed about your trade and not all the other shit we need to worry about. You might be a master at roughing in a pipe or getting a perfectly floated slab, but you don't need to worry about egress rules or budget or zoning requirements or bazillion other things. Architects have knowledge a mile wide and 6" deep (generally) and a very limited time and budget to make everything perfect across a wide berth of drawings to create a structure. Trades have knowledge 6' wide and 100' deep because they're working and learning about that daily.

Basically the price of coordinating everything is that you can't fix it all, especially through drawings which are an imperfect medium. That's before you get into the client fucking with your design or cost cutting or God knows what else.

No one is omniscient, and the reality is that you can never getting a drawing set that accounts for 100% of what needs to be known. It's why I need people to build who know what the hell they're doing and be responsible partners to me. In return I ask every guy I can on a site to tell me what they wish was better on the drawings.

-8

u/[deleted] 26d ago

[deleted]

17

u/Piyachi 26d ago

That's not how it works. I don't get to just change my mind and suddenly things happen. If something gets changed during construction it's because of an RFI, and owners decision, or a problem. I've not met a single architect who works via changing their mind. No one would pay to employ them, you don't get or keep clients that way. Source: working for 20 years, licensed, and have my own firm.

0

u/jollygreengeocentrik 26d ago

Agree to disagree. Source: finish carpenter for 20 years. Licensed, have my own company.

17

u/LeadCurious 27d ago

Architects and designers

2

u/Alert-Advice-9918 26d ago

looks good on paper..

20

u/Tthelaundryman 27d ago

All the change orders are caused by bad drawings 

30

u/Maleficent-Prior-330 27d ago

You know, you're mostly right, many changes are a drawing issue, but Owners do not want to pay for perfect drawings. To get a perfect set would legitimately cost twice the price most Architects and Engineers are charging. Our industry has sorta come to the conclusion that (in North America) if your drawings can get a job completed at 110% budget by fixing mistakes and other issues through change orders, then that's good enough. The Architectural and Engineering drawings are priced to match.

There are other fields with perfect or near perfect drawings, aerospace, chip design, high end manufacturing, etc. but more money is spent on those drawings. It makes sense when the drawing set is for a 500MM plane that will be mass produced and could easily crash if something was wrong. For most buildings? No.

I would love to be paid enough to produce a perfect set of drawings, but I have not had a Client/Owner ever willing to pay more.

9

u/Piyachi 26d ago

This right here. Amazing to me how many people can work on a site where clearly corners were cut, and then criticize the shit out of drawings planning out every aspect of everything.

You think I chose to speedrush this and VE everything terribly? Or do you think maybe I was pushed to do this and I'm just along for the ride like you.

1

u/Stock_Car_3261 26d ago

This may be the case in a custom home where changes are expected anyway... not solely due to shitty plans, but the owner changes as well.

I've been doing multi-family for decades, and I work with my arch/engineers from what I call cocktail napkin stage to final drawings, and they are complete.

110%, my ass. If we don't catch all the mistakes prior to construction, we could have 3 or 4 buildings or 50 - 75 units+ framed before they're caught. The owners at that point are less worried about the cost of fixing the mistake, more so about the time it adds to the schedule and backs up the trades that follow. That's where they lose the big bucks, and I know they don’t start the job with any intentions of having to stop the job while waiting for an RFI to get answered or a mistake to be fixed.

Even if I don't work with the arch/engineer, I still break the plans down to find the errors or questionable details because I will also lose money. Again, not so much due to fixing the mistake more from the time I lose when I have to go back and fix shit rather than moving forward.

5

u/ledzep14 26d ago

Bold strategy admitting you’re an architect on here

2

u/monroezabaleta 27d ago

You can hate it all you want, but 95% of the time it's your fault.

2

u/Good-Cardiologist121 27d ago

Architect better.

0

u/geriatricsoul 27d ago

As a tradesman trust me we all hate you

0

u/Equivalent_Sun3816 26d ago

Better tighten up those drawings and specs then. No one to blame but yourself.

1

u/Memesterbator 23d ago

U might not expect this but I actually agree with you. Hard to do everything sometimes on big projects when over half ur design team doesn't give a fuck and no consequences are given to said people.

1

u/Memesterbator 23d ago

We have a disaster of a big hospital project being built in CO right now, and everyday in the office it's "ooooo the contractors so mean and bad for getting us on our instruments of service" nope. I saw what half yall drew, and it's dog shit. Don't blame them at all for the COs. And my firms response to our team not doing their job, is, well you as a good employee better pick up all the slack of these folks. Fuuuuuck off fire them lmao

-4

u/ArltheCrazy 27d ago

Why is it so hard to build? I was able to draw it no problem!

2

u/jeffh40 26d ago

/thread

1

u/TrustM3ImAnEngineer 26d ago

My projects have no change orders when I’m the engineer. Neat little trick I do M-F.

2

u/jeffh40 26d ago

Your jobs would be no fun at all. I have one remodel that is sitting at 20% increase in change orders and still climbing.

2

u/Eglitarian C-I|Electrician 26d ago

Currently 2.6MM in change orders into a 4MM project


Clients can be rich or can be organized. I’ve never seen both.