Lost Job

[69_500]

Well it was a week ago when I was let go from my job. This makes the first time in 8 years that I've had a whole week off of work straight. Well unless you count my 1 vacation in those 8 years. I typically worked 65-80 hours a week for the past 8 years at that company, and now I'm going crazy. I don't have anything to do around the house all day to entertain myself, and I have to work. I like working, I go crazy if I'm not working. Just ask my wife, she will tell you i'm irritating her this past week. Then again if you actually ask her, she might just tell you I irritate her every day.
I have been trying to decide if I want to go back into the construction field as a foreman again, or if I want to branch out and try my hand at construction estimating. I kind of like the work outside, however in the winter time its not that much fun anyways. I mean who likes to freeze all day long? I don't.
That or I had thought that maybe I would go full time into the video industry. I know we have been doing okay at selling the DVD's of car shows and such. And figured I'd give a try at maybe a few local commercial shoots for smaller companies and such. That and have been asked about videotaping some weddings, but I don't like wearing a suit that much to do that every weekend.

[hemi68charger]

Have you ever thought about going to work for local government in the permitting departments? Seems you have a healthy background........

Troy

[69_500]

Please explain permitting department? I would say I have a healthy background, but not sure if its healthy in the areas they would be expecting.

[Old Moparz]

Sorry to hear you lost your job, that sucks. But.......I always see things like that as a positive thing. When the last company I had worked for started to shrink, myself & a few others stuck it out thinking it would turn around. It didn't, & we went from full time, to part time, to no time. My wife was working, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I looked around for several months, went on interviews, sent out lots of resumes & no luck. I was commuting 200 or more miles to different job sites every day back then, hated the guy I was stuck with in the field, felt like we were treated like equipment by the company owner & was almost happy I was out of an unappreciated job. (Land Surveying & Drafting)

The job I have now is for a local sitework construction company. I rarely go out in the field, which on nice days sucks, but the zero degree winters & humid summers are now a thing of the past. I do take off & estimating, which can get tedious at times, but the people I work for are great. There's a better benefit package, a retirement plan, profit sharing, & it's 3.5 miles from my house. I actually don't mind the long hours when it happens because I know I'm not being treated as a piece of construction equipment. When I built my garage, my boss sent a back hoe to my house to move some earth, dig out stumps & then supplied me with about 150 yards of fill material for free.

Maybe having your own business will work out great, & if you do work for another company, maybe they'll treat you right & it'll be better.

[Charger_Fan]

I had 2 weeks once in between jobs...I did get a lot done, but I drove my wife crazy at the same time.

As far as a job goes, sometimes turning something you enjoy doing into an actual JOB ruins the fun...but so does having some other job you dread.


Good luck though, in whichever direction you go.

[69_500]

Well I can tell you  this much, I don't think it was so much that we were getting slow. I had made it known that one of the supervisors at work was overworking some of his employee's. Jobs that weren't scheduled to be done for 4-5 weeks, he was making his guys work 12 hours a day 6 days a week, just to get the job done in 3 weeks. So that he was looking good to the owners. Then after about 3 months of that, his crews were running out of work. And I had told the owners I wonder why? So then about 2 weeks after that, I was let go. Guess by giving my opinion on how things were going was the end of it. My wife says I should have kept my mouth shut, but his guys were always complainging to me and the other super's about how he was treating them. But seeing as I was the youngest super, and had only been at the company for 8 years, while as the rest of them have been there between 17-45 years, I guess it was easier to get rid of me than one that had been at a company for 25 years.

[Orange_Crush]

It probably doesn't pay as much, but if you're going nuts and looking for something to do, get a PT job at Lowe's or Home Depot.  The pay is decent and you'll still have time to look for another job.

[PocketThunder]

I am a construction estimator and its a cake job!   Its always 72 and sunny*, in MN where its freezing f-ing cold 8 months out of the year.   The only thing that sucks is the quality of drawings we get from the engineers.   they suck!   you get half the information on the drawing because they crank them out so fast, and you're supposed to give an accurate estimate of the work.    Thats why we're called Estimators and not Exactomators

* sunny if you count the 4' halogen lights over my head in my cube farm.

[69_500]

So Pocket did you go to college for Construction Estimating? Or just on the job training?
I went to college but it wasn't for estimating. It was for Physics, and also took classes at a Christian College and majored there in Youth Ministry. So no classes I had in school really apply to that sort of a job. But I think it wouldn't be that bad.

[6pkrunner]

Man that sucks getting let go for speaking your mind. Now not the mouth in your face rant session. And 8 years in too. Sorry to hear. Hope you bounce back into something you enjoy.

[69_500]

I guess not too many people want to hear opinions in this day and age. Its okay, it was a small family run construction business. And I liked the owner and his family, and 2 of the other supervisors. However 1 super didn't like anything anybody did, and tried to take credit for work that others always did. He is the one I spoke my mind about, and I guess they don't care about that kind of stuff, guess its all about how much $$$$$ they can make. Not how happy their employee's are.

[Silver R/T]

that sucks, but if you're bored come over here and work on my Charger

[69_500]

I think that would be quite a long trip. I don't recall too many people who post on here being from around the INDY area.

[PocketThunder]

So Pocket did you go to college for Construction Estimating? Or just on the job training?
I went to college but it wasn't for estimating. It was for Physics, and also took classes at a Christian College and majored there in Youth Ministry. So no classes I had in school really apply to that sort of a job. But I think it wouldn't be that bad.

Yep. www.uwstout.edu  I also worked for a small General Contractor during my summers in college as a mason tender.  Man i was a lean machine after those summers!  Stacking 12" block all day long on scaffold had me putting on the "gun show" for passerbys....

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Sorry about the job loss Danny.  Hpopefully there was a severance package in it for you.

Good luck in finding a new one

[69_500]

No severance package at all. They are arguing with me now about paying me for the 2 weeks vacation that I had coming this year that I hadn't used yet.

[NHCharger]

Sorry to hear about your job loss. I'm in construction also. Hope everything works out for you.

[Telvis]

I'm sorry to hear about the job loss. I retired last year so I can relate to the stir crazy part. I sell on Ebay to stay busy. You would be surprised at how well you could do.

[Spartan]

69 500, I had a BA is Comm from college and I am a tooling project manager and estimate my own engineering changes.  I wouldn't let a degree or something like that discourage you.  I am not doing anything remotely related to my degree.  I am suprised that there are not more toolies on this site with all the mechanical guys we have here.  One guy we hired is a cuda guy, great to have another mopar in the plant.

Sorry you are out of work.  I've been there too, you will find something else.

[Old Moparz]

The only thing that sucks is the quality of drawings we get from the engineers.   they suck!   you get half the information on the drawing because they crank them out so fast, and you're supposed to give an accurate estimate of the work.    Thats why we're called Estimators and not Exactomators

I could have written that & couldn't agree more.     It's sad if you actually think about what an engineering firm gets per hour to "design" something & it can't be built. They then end up designing it based on a list of questions you send them. Very frustrating.  

BTW Danny, I don't have any kind of degree for estimating. My background in college is architecture, I had worked for a couple of general contractors doing residential construction & remodeling, worked for a civil engineering firm as a draftsman & land surveyor, & now do the estimating for a site contractor that does underground utilities, excavation, paving & highway construction. It's just a matter of having related experience.

[cudaken]

 Hey Dan, yea I know the feeling and more than likely got canned for the same reason as you. I as well have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. Hard to when you know your boss's in my case are not doing there jobs. Been bleak for me so far at my age, seems company's don't want late middle age mangers.
Might have to do with the cost of health care thses days. Seem like old farts like me drive up the cost alot. I am sure things will work out for you.

                                       Ken
                                     

[Arigmaster]

Hey!

Stay positive.... Life is full of changes and usually when things like this happen it just means there is a new opportunity waiting...

I am hiring in Milwaukee right now for up to 5 people but they need to have a Class "A" or "B" CDL and be willing to to heavy lifting. My class "B" Guys start at $14.00/hr. and Class "A" Guys start at $16.00 There are incentives in place for addidtional $$$. After probation they go up another dollar per hour. Home every night and off weekends unless a job calls for an occasional overnight or weekend.

We put up communications sites for Media and cellular clients... If someone is interested, just give me a shout!

AL

[charger490]

i am an instructor teaching truck driving part time at 19.00 an hour and the trucking industry is looking for drivers now a lot of them.in new york state they have a program that the state will pay for if you are layed off from work where you can get your CDL.the course cost 3200.00 for 165 hrs and all paid for by the state.i drove for ARCO and was 0one of the easy jobs.now paying 23.00 an hour charger490

[Highbanked Hauler]

Hey Dan, yea I know the feeling and more than likely got canned for the same reason as you. I as well have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. Hard to when you know your boss's in my case are not doing there jobs. Been bleak for me so far at my age, seems company's don't want late middle age mangers.
Might have to do with the cost of health care thses days. Seem like old farts like me drive up the cost alot. I am sure things will work out for you.

                                                          Ken
                                                       

Seems we have the same problem,between running my mouth to tell it like it is,my gentle, caring personality, age,and the fact that I stand up for what I think is right is probably what got me waxed.

[69_500]

You lost your job too Highbank? If that is the case I guess Troy, and PT need to watch out at their work as 500 owners heads are on the chopping blocks.

[Nupe]

Good luck on a new job.  Been doing the dwindling company thing for a while now and will probably jump ship pretty soon.  I've been VERY lucky in that the owner pays me 40 hours regardless since I can run everything.  Tough to get motivated to find new work though when the pay check is still there. 

The economy up here is aweful and the jobs are few and far between as far as decent pay.  Health and dental?  Yeah, right! 

[my69]

I guess not too many people want to hear opinions in this day and age. Its okay, it was a small family run construction business. And I liked the owner and his family, and 2 of the other supervisors. However 1 super didn't like anything anybody did, and tried to take credit for work that others always did. He is the one I spoke my mind about, and I guess they don't care about that kind of stuff, guess its all about how much $$$$$ they can make. Not how happy their employee's are.

Imagine that

[69_500]

Yeah I haven't ever understood why an owner of a company couldn't take smaller profit margin, and maintain a happy environment in the work place. guess I'm dreaming of a place that doesn't exist any more.

[4402tuff4u]

69_500, I'm not sure in what state you are in and the demand for construction personnel in that particular state, but you might want to contact a "head-hunter" firm in the construction industry and they work hard to find you a job. They get a fee from the employer for landing you a job. It might be source for a job. I'm in the construction industry too. I have a bachelor degree in architecture but I'm building bridges and heavy civil projects. I did try estimating for awhile but quickly learned how unappreciated that work was. If you were low bidder, everyone was wondering what in the hell did you leave out, including yourself! If you hit a home run with a bid, made lots of profit, it was the "field" that made it a home run, not the estimator. If you lost money on the job, it was a poor estimate and the field had nothing to do with the loss! Now I'm in the project engineering end of the project. Basically it's putting fires out as they come up such as differing site conditions, material approvals, submittals, change orders, etc.....

Anyway, I feel bad for you because it's got to be a real bad feeling not having a job. Commonwealth Resources, Inc is a firm that looks for professionals in the construction industry. I get a call at least every two months from head hunters to see if I'm interested in jumping to another construction firm. They are located in Bostn, MA, but they have connections nation wide. It might be worth for you to call them and tell them where you live, your background and if they have a local firm that represents construction professional where you live. It's worth a call. And dont under estimate yourself. Someone is looking for someone like you. Their number is: (617) 250-1100 or www.crijobs.com  Good luck buddy.

[Shakey]

69_500, I'm not sure in what state you are in and the demand for construction personnel in that particular state, but you might want to contact a "head-hunter" firm in the construction industry and they work hard to find you a job. They get a fee from the employer for landing you a job. It might be source for a job. I'm in the construction industry too. I have a bachelor degree in architecture but I'm building bridges and heavy civil projects. I did try estimating for awhile but quickly learned how unappreciated that work was. If you were low bidder, everyone was wondering what in the hell did you leave out, including yourself! If you hit a home run with a bid, made lots of profit, it was the "field" that made it a home run, not the estimator. If you lost money on the job, it was a poor estimate and the field had nothing to do with the loss! Now I'm in the project engineering end of the project. Basically it's putting fires out as they come up such as differing site conditions, material approvals, submittals, change orders, etc.....

Anyway, I feel bad for you because it's got to be a real bad feeling not having a job. Commonwealth Resources, Inc is a firm that looks for professionals in the construction industry. I get a call at least every two months from head hunters to see if I'm interested in jumping to another construction firm. They are located in Bostn, MA, but they have connections nation wide. It might be worth for you to call them and tell them where you live, your background and if they have a local firm that represents construction professional where you live. It's worth a call. And dont under estimate yourself. Someone is looking for someone like you. Their number is: (617) 250-1100 or www.crijobs.com   Good luck buddy.

Post of the Day   

[69_500]

Thanks for the connection. I"ll be calling them here in a little bit.

[RT DAVE]

I lost mine too, along with 160 other people.  At least I got a severance package.   Keep your head up and keep looking.  I'm sure you'll be able to find something eventually, if you haven't already.  Good luck.   

[hemigeno]

Danny, I just read this post, sorry to hear about your job situation.  While I'm sure you probably assessed the situation very well in telling them your thoughts, some people just don't want to hear the truth.

I hate inter-office politics, since these types of decisions are often not based on merit or a person's true value to an organization.   

[69_500]

Well I was pretty much at a stand still in my last job. If they wanted something done, i'd volunteer to do it. I worked many Saturdays, Sundays, and even holidays just to try to be a good employee. However I found out after I as let go, that each time I volunteered to work, my supervisor was telling the owner that he couldn't find anyone to do the work and that he had forced me to work. So it wasn't looking like I was willing to do things for the company, but rather that I was the last resort and did it reluctantly.

Oh well such is life.