r/WomenInConstruction

Repost bc of typos and I'm on mobile I can't figure out editing.

I'n working in a labor job where I travel around to site that don't always have easy access to bathrooms. I'm frequently in situations where peeing in an empty bottle is necessary. I have a pretty bare bones STP, that has a rubber gasket that plugs right into a bottle. I got it for when I was driving long distances. And it's alright for that. But it's a little unwieldy trying to get the angle right while also tucked away in the work trailer and having privacy. I want something that doesn't require me removing too much of my pants,something that'll just slip right into my underwear with my fly down and give me security that it's not going to leak .

I’m new in the construction industry. Just as an individual I’ve always prided myself in being emotionally intelligent & lowkey not really giving a shit. Since I started my new job so many people have been wonderful but I had a problem with a couple.

One being someone on my team & another being a vendor I work with. I somehow always feel like I’m the asshole in the situation. My manager set me up with a plan to succeed because at the end everything will be coming back on to my desk. Every time I ask clarification questions to to one vendor he’ll say something like “fyi that’s wrong” “Actually we already addressed this” “thank you for ALL your clarifications” and I just get so pissed like what’s the snarky remarks for? I’m truly just trying to make this easier for all of us because I know this submittal will come back rejected. Then I try and keep the vendors in the loops with certain things and my coworker goes “he doesn’t care about that, yeah you’ll just fuck up our relationship.” I told him I’m just doing what xyz told me to do but since you know them better than me just tell me.

He will constantly get irritated with any questions I ask, roll his eyes, make remarks like “this is so fucking stupid” (not to me but for example like a document we’re looking at together) and I just get so pissed like why do you act like I’m the biggest burden ever. I constantly reiterate to him I know you have a ton of shit and I do too but xyz is going to be affected if we don’t do xyz how do you want to proceed then the huffing & puffing, eye rolls, etc.

I’m starting to wonder if I should just back off and do my own shit & not proactively help. On the other hand I like asking questions and learning. Am I too sensitive?

I’ve been in the industry for a little over three years now all with the same company. I started as an FE right out of college and then got promoted to assistant super after two years. Right around then is when my whole team got switched around but I stayed put. I had noticed my team was struggling a bit with the PM side of things and I like to learn so I expressed interest in switching to APM. My interest was received well by some and I made the full time switch this past February. I just can’t seem to decide which one I want to continue pursuing.

When I was still an assistant super I was getting bored. The new super wasn’t giving me much to do so I was just keeping myself busy. I do enjoy being outside and talking to the guys on site but I had little to nothing to do everyday and still working the long hours. I think the only thing deterring me from going back to assistant super is the long hours. I’m getting married in a month and we’ve started talking about kids in a few years so I’m concerned I wouldn’t be around as much as I wanted at home.

Now as an APM I don’t fully enjoy it but I’m still learning it. While I was completely bored as an assistant super, I am very busy as an APM. My PM is very eager to teach me how to do a lot of things, which means I’m doing a lot of things. I don’t mind being busy I just don’t seem to enjoy it as much. But I have seemed to notice that the PMs (at least the ones I’ve worked with) seem to have a better work life balance. And a better chance to grow or even more opportunities outside of just CM work.

Overall I just can’t decide if I want to suck it up and stay where I’m at for a better looking future or go back to what I was doing and just put my head down and work the hours. I’m hoping there’s someone here that can either give their insight to one side or the other, or even both. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Hi! Custom home PM here. Do y’all ever feel like your life is flying by because everything is so deadline orientated??! Idk if I am making sense but I constantly hearing “I want to move in by summer of 2026” “Christmas of 2027” “Thanksgiving of 2026” etc etc etc…and I almost always want to tell people to get fucked and you’ll move into your house when it’s ready. I’ve never understood rushing multimillion dollar jobs. And I’m sorry but it feels like they try to make you feel bad if they’re not in by “their daughters birthday” yada yada yada. With clients it’s like there’s always some reason they want you to rush to build their home and I always feel like a bitch telling them “it’s ready when it’s ready” but I’m tired of feeling like my life is this timeline of when my jobs are going to get passed building final. There’s processes in place and I don’t get why in construction people feel like they have the right to tell you when they think their house should be done. Mind you average build time for slab pour to move in at my company is 8-10 months for a 4500-8000 sq ft home 12-24 months for 10,000 sq ft + multiple structures etc etc…just ranting here and wanted to know who feels my pain!!!