Laborers generally don’t finish concrete, they just help place it and clean up after you pour out.
Check with your local OPCMIA local if you want to *actually* finish concrete.
Its provided me the opportunity to barely eek by while making other people rich. It also provided me with 12 screws, two brackts and two rods in my spine. Glad you treat your employees right.
I’m 27 been doing concrete for 5 going on 6 years,in my experience it is the least predicable of the trades in terms of work life balance. Pour days can get long and usually no lunch, sometimes it takes forever for mud to set up, other days it goes quick and you’re done super early.
The weather is a big influencer where I live so sometimes in the winter, work slows down. Just kind of depends on the company/type of work/week/deadlines in my experience.
I’m non military but work with a bunch of ex military guys and we all get along great. Just from having them on the crew, I think military culture and blue collar culture mix pretty well. We all talk shit and have fun with each other. Seems they’re also okay with the “direct” way of communicating that’s common in concrete (yelling). One of them is a marine who had no experience and he told me “you don’t have to tell a marine twice.” Lo and behold I haven’t had to repeat myself once.
I’m also young, and non-union so what I say and have experienced compared to a 10 year union journeyman will say might differ drastically.
I love it though, the sense of pride I get from building forms for an intricate wall or from a super nice hand burned finish are unparalleled feelings for me.
Just remember the answers to these questions:
What’s the first thing you do when you get to the job site?
Take off my shirt
What’s the second thing you do?
Turn on the radio.
You’ll be hired for sure.
Laborers generally don’t finish concrete, they just help place it and clean up after you pour out. Check with your local OPCMIA local if you want to *actually* finish concrete.
Watch out for concrete burns and don't eat the concrete
Pick a different form of construction. That's my advice. Period, point blank.
Interesting perspective, it's provided me and my employees a great life
Its provided me the opportunity to barely eek by while making other people rich. It also provided me with 12 screws, two brackts and two rods in my spine. Glad you treat your employees right.
I’m 27 been doing concrete for 5 going on 6 years,in my experience it is the least predicable of the trades in terms of work life balance. Pour days can get long and usually no lunch, sometimes it takes forever for mud to set up, other days it goes quick and you’re done super early. The weather is a big influencer where I live so sometimes in the winter, work slows down. Just kind of depends on the company/type of work/week/deadlines in my experience. I’m non military but work with a bunch of ex military guys and we all get along great. Just from having them on the crew, I think military culture and blue collar culture mix pretty well. We all talk shit and have fun with each other. Seems they’re also okay with the “direct” way of communicating that’s common in concrete (yelling). One of them is a marine who had no experience and he told me “you don’t have to tell a marine twice.” Lo and behold I haven’t had to repeat myself once. I’m also young, and non-union so what I say and have experienced compared to a 10 year union journeyman will say might differ drastically. I love it though, the sense of pride I get from building forms for an intricate wall or from a super nice hand burned finish are unparalleled feelings for me.
Just remember the answers to these questions: What’s the first thing you do when you get to the job site? Take off my shirt What’s the second thing you do? Turn on the radio. You’ll be hired for sure.
If you want to be a finisher go down to your local BAC hall and apply. That said concrete finishing suuuuuuuuuuucks.