Am i having a mid life crisis?
Discussion
This may be a long winded post, depends how it goes. Just going to put my thoughts to paper/keyboard.
Im 32 and have been in the construction industry since leaving school at 16 (1998). I completed a bricklaying apprenticeship and was on the tools for about 9 years. My aim during this time was to progress onto site management. I completed various courses as well as a Project Management degree and in 2009 made the leap into the world of freelance site management.
Fast forward to now. Ive been more than busy since going freelance and have earned more than i could ever have imagined. However this has come at a cost. A normal working week for me is 65hrs on a good week (based on 5 shifts) up to 90+hrs on a full 7 day week. This is, 99% of the time, away from home and night shifts. This time last year i had just started what eventually turned out to be 52 12hour night shifts (16hr shifts on sunday) straight. At the end of it, as you could imagine, i was f
ked! but hey, i had made my money so it was all good.....right???
A few weeks back i made the decision to take some time off to recoup and have a break but during this time i have come to the realisation that im not actually that happy. When i was on the tools the thought of telling people 'im a site manager' was really appealing, almost like a status thing but the older ive got the more laid back and carefree ive become and realised that happiness doesnt lie in what job title you have but more to do with being content and happy with what you do and in all honesty i was happier when i was on the tools. Add to that the st work/life balance i currently have doesnt help things. This then got me thinking of a complete career change but what could a 32yr old that only knows construction possibly do?!
Ive never lived beyond my means and dont live an extravagant lifestyle and monthly outgoings (bills,mortgage etc) equate to around £800 so i could take take a big paycut and still manage quite comfortably. Also since having this time off ive managed to get 4 small private jobs, without even looking for them, from laying a patio to building a boundary wall. Doing these jobs just reinforced the enjoyment i get from being creative and more hands on but wouldnt want to rely solely on this sort of work.
I dont know what feedback or input from others im expecting from this post but would be good to hear from others who have felt the same or been in a similar position.
Im 32 and have been in the construction industry since leaving school at 16 (1998). I completed a bricklaying apprenticeship and was on the tools for about 9 years. My aim during this time was to progress onto site management. I completed various courses as well as a Project Management degree and in 2009 made the leap into the world of freelance site management.
Fast forward to now. Ive been more than busy since going freelance and have earned more than i could ever have imagined. However this has come at a cost. A normal working week for me is 65hrs on a good week (based on 5 shifts) up to 90+hrs on a full 7 day week. This is, 99% of the time, away from home and night shifts. This time last year i had just started what eventually turned out to be 52 12hour night shifts (16hr shifts on sunday) straight. At the end of it, as you could imagine, i was f
ked! but hey, i had made my money so it was all good.....right???A few weeks back i made the decision to take some time off to recoup and have a break but during this time i have come to the realisation that im not actually that happy. When i was on the tools the thought of telling people 'im a site manager' was really appealing, almost like a status thing but the older ive got the more laid back and carefree ive become and realised that happiness doesnt lie in what job title you have but more to do with being content and happy with what you do and in all honesty i was happier when i was on the tools. Add to that the s
t work/life balance i currently have doesnt help things. This then got me thinking of a complete career change but what could a 32yr old that only knows construction possibly do?!Ive never lived beyond my means and dont live an extravagant lifestyle and monthly outgoings (bills,mortgage etc) equate to around £800 so i could take take a big paycut and still manage quite comfortably. Also since having this time off ive managed to get 4 small private jobs, without even looking for them, from laying a patio to building a boundary wall. Doing these jobs just reinforced the enjoyment i get from being creative and more hands on but wouldnt want to rely solely on this sort of work.
I dont know what feedback or input from others im expecting from this post but would be good to hear from others who have felt the same or been in a similar position.
Edited by MLH on Thursday 24th April 20:44
Pit Pony said:
Rather than do 92 hour weeks, why not employ staff, who you trust, who you nurture, who can do 52 x 7 x 12 hour night shifts for you?
That would be lovely but all my work is through agencies and each contract is either after ive met with the PM's or been asked for personally. To then send someone else in wouldnt go down very well if at all. MLH said:
Pit Pony said:
Rather than do 92 hour weeks, why not employ staff, who you trust, who you nurture, who can do 52 x 7 x 12 hour night shifts for you?
That would be lovely but all my work is through agencies and each contract is either after ive met with the PM's or been asked for personally. To then send someone else in wouldnt go down very well if at all. It would help with Ir35 if you occasionally substituted, as is in the contract but never used.
How about project managing self builds (you know those projects that get too much for the many folk doing a 'Grand Designs' but not coping). Could be lots of different scenarios and might get diversity by 2 more than one at once if the contracts allow.
With your skills how about going down the route of doing up your own portfolio of properties. Will utilise your management skills and your hands on ones at the same time. Once you have a few under your belt you can wind down the hours.
With your skills how about going down the route of doing up your own portfolio of properties. Will utilise your management skills and your hands on ones at the same time. Once you have a few under your belt you can wind down the hours.
elanfan said:
How about project managing self builds (you know those projects that get too much for the many folk doing a 'Grand Designs' but not coping). Could be lots of different scenarios and might get diversity by 2 more than one at once if the contracts allow.
With your skills how about going down the route of doing up your own portfolio of properties. Will utilise your management skills and your hands on ones at the same time. Once you have a few under your belt you can wind down the hours.
The property developing would be a dream job. Infact the house im living in at the moment i completely gutted and renovated it and enjoyed every single minute of it. It was a good mix of organising but still being hands on. With your skills how about going down the route of doing up your own portfolio of properties. Will utilise your management skills and your hands on ones at the same time. Once you have a few under your belt you can wind down the hours.
The only thing holding me back from that now would be the initial finances.
MLH said:
The property developing would be a dream job. Infact the house im living in at the moment i completely gutted and renovated it and enjoyed every single minute of it. It was a good mix of organising but still being hands on.
The only thing holding me back from that now would be the initial finances.
Could you carry on doing what you are doing and saving as much at the same time to get into property developing? Work won't be as bad in the mean time although it'll be for a fair bit longer because you'll know you will be doing something you love at the end of it?The only thing holding me back from that now would be the initial finances.
Have you thought about setting up your own building company? The private jobs can give you a salary to at least tick over while you think of your next step. Round here (south-east) there is so much demand for decent builders and tradesmen at the moment, I'm not sure about the rest of the country but I'm sure if you market yourself correctly you won't be short of work. Without doing 12 hour shift after 12 hour shift!
I think there's a point in life where you become sick and tired of managing the unmanageable, moreover sick and tired of all the bullst that goes with it.
I know I have reached that point.
I'd love some sort of 'craft': to see concrete evidence of my labours after a hard day's work.
There it is, for all to see, rather than have my genius disappear into some tosser's inbox, whose only interest in me is how far I can grease his/her progression up the corporate wk-o-meter.
Cynical? Moi?
t that goes with it.I know I have reached that point.
I'd love some sort of 'craft': to see concrete evidence of my labours after a hard day's work.
There it is, for all to see, rather than have my genius disappear into some tosser's inbox, whose only interest in me is how far I can grease his/her progression up the corporate w
k-o-meter.Cynical? Moi?
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff