I’m out of a job

[geewhiz]

Hey man, I have faith that you will figure something out. You're ambitious and you've got a work ethic. There is always opportunity for folks with those traits.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Yes. Residential. Plenty of folks planning to build but they seem to be holding off and waiting for now.
My uneducated guess is that if interest rates come down a bit and material prices don’t increase there’s going to be an uptick again this summer.

I think the higher volume builders are seeing slower sales and dropping prices so they are holding off on spec homes for a while.

Exactly

 

[The Hedgehog]

Living where you do, and your profession - I'm sure you'll be good. Changes outside your comfort zone, I predict a net positive for you. No doubt a stressful thing. Best wishes.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Living where you do, and your profession - I'm sure you'll be good. Changes outside your comfort zone, I predict a net positive for you. No doubt a stressful thing. Best wishes.

Thanks Kurt.

 

[NAHMINT]

It’s been 9 years working side by side with the same guys. I’ve turned down multiple job opportunities because I wanted to stick with my mentor. I’ve excelled beyond my expectations with him and never thought I’d see the end.

The company we built for, said they aren’t selling houses like they thought, (probably after raising the price 160%) and will discontinue building until buying improves..

3 years ago my boss died of an “overdose” with foul play suspected and my friend and coworker died in a car accident on Baxter sober as a church mouse going the speed limit on lunch break.. many of the pics are 6+ years ago.


We started a new house every 7-8 days for almost 9 years so this last Monday was no different. 4 days later, that’s it. Poof…

Job security is never promised. Take the opportunities you are given. The grass isn’t always greener, until it could have been….

Its ALL GOOD until its not!!
When things slow down,the front line workers are ''first to go''.
easy for me to say, pension check every month...11 years now,iirc,
BUT, there is always something coming along......you got alot of experience on that crew, transferable skills......hell, I went to work for a day on thursday.....still trying to recover lol ''hay shed''

 

[RobertD]

It seems like you have drive and a good attitude in spite of the gut punch. This will be a good opportunity for you to grow and I bet you'll come out the other side in better shape than you started.

 

[Nameless Range]

Sorry to hear it. Hopefully someday you look back on it as an opportunity you were grateful for. You’ve Definitely got skills that are very valued these days.

 

[Hem]

Best thing a guy can do in the trades is marry a woman who has a salary job with benefits.
Sooner or later you have a hiccup. Goes with the territory.

 

[TheTone]

Darn, hope you’re back working soon. I can’t imagine a builder with some skills being out of work long

 

[Dsnow9]

Keep your head up man! I got fired just over a year ago in November for choosing not to get the Covid vaccine. My side gig became my full time job. It’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have more time with my family, more free time, and I am way happier. And God has provided the work load. Haven’t ran out of work since the day I was fired.

Every day is a new day and as long as we take a positive attitude towards it, things will work out how they are supposed to.

Good luck in your next endeavor, keep us posted!

 

[tillicant]

Happens to all of us, in 40+ years of business, been through lots of employees, only fired a couple, both drug related.
Most of the partings were on good terms, still in contact. On the other end, have lost builders to other contractors. Just move on, chalk it up, things always work out for the better.

 

[Nick87]

Best thing a guy can do in the trades is marry a woman who has a salary job with benefits.
Sooner or later you have a hiccup. Goes with the territory.

Yep.

 

[woods89]

Time to shake the trees! I can't imagine that a guy with framing skills who spent the last 9 years at the same place is going to be unemployed for long. That ability to stick with something long term is a pretty attractive item on the resume.

If you decide to ease into being self employed and working for the public, or even as a subcontractor, here are a couple things I wish I had really taken to heart early on. I know you have been working as an independent contractor, but it sounds like you were working under one builder. It's a little different animal to sell your services to the general public or as a sub to a list of different builders. My apologies if I'm misunderstanding your situation.

- Your money will be made in knowing your costs very, very well.

-It's not your job to find the money for your customers, whether the general public or builders. Stuff costs what it costs.

-And in that vein, you almost always have to charge more than you think you do.

Best of luck. This could well be a real stepping stone for you!

 

[Dust Rider]

If you want job security, it’s in commercial construction in the Gallatin Valley. There are a few good local companies that need help like never before. Some offer pretty good benefits and wages. I was at the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce dinner banquet last week and things are not slowing down for commercial building growth.

 

[Nick87]

Any labor unions in the trades for you guys out there?

 

[el unit]

PM sent.

 

[BackofBeyond]

Any labor unions in the trades for you guys out there?

Unless you’re on the coast there’s very little union activity, unless you’re in the MEP trades.

 

[westbranch]

Losing/changing a job is a good reason to see what is out there, everybody should reassess every few years. In any career/industry it is hard to get paid what you are worth without bouncing around every 3-5 years. Most of my experience is with commercial contractors on the corporate office side. One of my cousins is part of the ownership group of large (top 400) EPC contractor and said at times he has recommended for some employees to get look at competitors more career growth opportunities.

With friends I have in construction there are several that like to say they have never been fired, just laid off while the company is hiring.

 

[Mtn-time]

Best of luck to you, this situation could really turn out to be good a little ways down the road.

 

[Steiny77]

Sucks to get laid off but in the construction industry these days with 9 years experience you should be able to bump up the career ladder a bit and get a spot with less swinging a hammer, the sooner you can step into running work instead of doing work the better for your body long term...

Yep
I'd seriously consider getting away from residential work and getting into commercial / industrial / institutional work where you can get better money, better benefits, health insurance, retirement plan, etc.