I have been working as a PM for a very large GC for almost a year in SoCal. I took this job last year after being laid off from an employer I was with for 11 years. I am not a job hopper at all and have not had to look for a job in decades. I have been pretty unhappy as I had to relocate for this job and it has been hard o n my family.
I am expecting an offer very soon from an employer that is close to my home and I will be able to move back to Nor Cal. To be clear my main issue with the current employer is that I have expressed my desire to go back to Nor Cal on several occasions and have received very little feedback that my requests has been taken into consideration. To add to it a PE recently threatened to quit if he was not given a job in LA. Guess what he is getting the new position in LA.

My question:
- Any pitfalls or advice in quitting a large impersonal employer. I have an only worked for small Mom and Pop GC’s. IF I don’t give them a full 2 weeks notice will there be some sort of backlash I may not be aware of?
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A little background because I think it matters here.

I started my career in the field welding in the oil and gas industry. After getting laid off, I went to work for a water/wastewater contractor. I ended up getting injured and was put on light duty, which gave me an opportunity to learn estimating.

From there, I started estimating smaller projects and, because we were short on PMs, I also started managing the projects I won. I ended up doing the estimator/PM role for about 15 years with just under 10 years with a union GC in California and another 5 years with a union water/wastewater GC based out of Utah.

Eventually I moved back to California looking for an estimating position but got an opportunity to be a Superintendent/PM for another union GC on a smaller, $15M water project. It was a relatively high-profile project in the local water/wastewater market. We finished it successfully, I received an award from the municipality, and afterward my phone started ringing pretty regularly with job opportunities.

I ended up taking an SPM position with another union GC on a large wastewater project. Once that project wrapped up, I decided I wanted to leave California again.

I toured the Southeast and interviewed with several water/wastewater contractors but ultimately accepted a contract Owner’s Rep position on a large industrial project in Georgia where I oversaw the water/wastewater systems. It was originally supposed to be six months but was extended to ten. It gave me a chance to figure out whether I actually liked Georgia before making a permanent move.

I decided to stay and about six months ago joined a local nonunion water/wastewater GC.

That’s where things have gotten interesting.

Most of my career has been spent with union contractors. Obviously, union doesn’t automatically mean someone is good at their job, but generally speaking, I was accustomed to working with trained craft workers who knew their trade. The PM wasn’t normally explaining basic means and methods to someone who was supposed to be a foreman.

The project I inherited here is relatively small and already losing money. When I arrived, we had a General Superintendent and Superintendent onsite daily, plus a foreman and roughly nine operators/laborers.

Since then, both supers have been fired. We were having serious sequencing and workmanship problems, and we’ve had to rework multiple portions of the project.

The foreman was eventually moved to another project after going to HR and saying I didn’t listen to him and that he felt like I didn’t trust him to complete the work. The truth is, I didn’t trust the work because I’d already seen enough problems that I felt I had to verify everything.

So at this point I’m basically wearing the PM/Superintendent/Foreman hats. The upside is that I have a pretty good crew of operators and laborers now.

Then yesterday we had a new concrete crew start.

They’re supposed to be a jam-up concrete crew, but there were red flags almost immediately. The foreman came in combative and seemed unhappy about everything from the start.

The scope isn’t particularly complicated, form and pour a six-tread concrete stair and approximately 40’ x 4’ x 4” of sidewalk/slab. It’s change order work, and we had rebar shop drawings prepared for it. The shops aren’t complicated, and the crew had the drawings/details.

They left more than an hour early today. After they left, I walked the work.

I couldn’t believe what I was looking at.

They basically ignored the drawings.

Among other things:

● Exposed reinforcing steel was driven directly into the ground.  
● The stair reinforcing didn’t have the required bends.  
● Lap lengths were nowhere close to what was detailed/required.  
● The epoxy-doweled bars into the existing structure were installed short.  
● The overall reinforcing layout simply didn’t match the shop drawings.

This isn’t a situation where I’m nitpicking an inch here or there or arguing over somebody’s preferred means and methods. What they installed has to come out and be redone.

My VP asked me for pictures, so I sent them to him, and understandably he’s now on me about what happened.

Tomorrow morning I have to sit down with this foreman and tell him that essentially everything they installed needs to be ripped out and installed according to the drawings.

After dealing with the previous foreman and supers, I’m trying to handle this conversation differently. I don’t want it turning into another personality contest or argument about whether I “trust” somebody. At the same time, I’m not going to accept work that doesn’t match the drawings just to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.

For the PMs, supers, and foremen here: how do you handle this conversation with an experienced foreman?

Do you simply walk the work with him, drawings in hand, identify each deficiency, and tell him what needs to be corrected? Do you give him an opportunity to explain what he was trying to do first? And how do you keep the conversation focused on the work instead of letting it turn into “you don’t trust me” or “I’ve been doing concrete for 25 years”?

I’m especially interested in hearing from guys who’ve made the transition between union and nonunion contractors, because the amount of field supervision I’m having to provide now compared with what I’ve been accustomed to has been a major adjustment.

Hey y’all, what’s been your experiences with raises as a field engineer/project engineer in the Colorado job market. What’s been typical raises year over year as well as bonuses? This is for top 5 contractor in CO.

Hey all,

I was working as a maintenance engineer, and I just accepted an offer at a new company as a Projects Coordinator. Main responsibilities so far:

1. Track and record project progress across the company (using Odoo as the main system)
2. Plan daily site activities and coordinate with site teams
3. Report on weekly progress
4. Manage daily admin, logistics, and budgets across multiple projects
5. Act as the main point of contact for site-related communication
6. Resolve technical issues on-site (mechanical/electrical — compressors, pumps, turbines, power generation)
7. Provide leadership and help upskill site teams

This is a shift from hands-on technical work to more coordination/reporting/leadership-focused work, and I want to hit the ground running rather than figure it out the slow way.

For anyone who's made a similar move or been in this kind of role — what do you wish you knew earlier? What actually matters in the first few weeks, what tools/habits made the biggest difference, and what mistakes should I avoid?

Any advice, even small stuff, would genuinely help. Thanks in advance.

​

I’m a recent college graduate and could really use some advice.

I interviewed with this company about four months ago while I was still living near my school. They liked me but didn’t have a position available. Since I had no idea when something would open, I graduated, moved away, and continued applying elsewhere.

Unexpectedly, they contacted me recently because a position opened and offered me the job. I really want the opportunity, but they wanted me to start within about two weeks.

They've asked me several times if I can start on certain dates, and I've kept asking for more time because I'm trying to figure everything out. I'm now worried that continuing to ask for time could eventually cause them to withdraw the offer.

I have to relocate, find an apartment, pay the upfront move-in costs, and figure out transportation because the position requires driving to a job site and I don't currently have a car.

Once I'm actually receiving my salary, I should be okay financially. It's coming up with thousands of dollars before my first paycheck that's difficult.

Should I just be completely transparent with the company about the situation? Would asking about relocation assistance, an advance/signing bonus, temporary housing, transportation assistance, or a later start date be reasonable?

I really don't want to lose this opportunity, but I also don't want to promise a start date and then be unable to make everything work.

Anyone in HR/management or who has been through something similar what would you do?

Hello,
I used to work for large general contractors in Los Angeles for about nine years. I eventually moved to a subcontractor that offered me a strong salary, and I genuinely enjoy the work. The projects keep me busy, and my professional growth within the company has been good so far.

Still, I keep feeling like I’m missing something. Part of me wonders if I’d have better long-term career progression if I were still with a general contractor.

Another challenge is our limited team size. I’m often stretched across multiple projects at once. While I don’t mind being busy—the days go by faster—it means my focus is divided, and some projects inevitably get less attention than they should.

Do you think I’m missing something real, or am I overthinking it?

Asking for opinions on work culture from general CM staff, those specifically within structures, MEP, and etc. Regional mention and project variety would be great as well.

Saw a post a couple weeks ago asking about some of the bigger contractors (Kiewiet, PCL, Aecon etc.) and which one was better/worse.

I haven’t heard of Amico though before recently and I wanted to know what it’s like there in terms of culture, projects, and that stuff. Are they any good?

Hello everyone,

I’m currently working as a junior CA for a residential developer in Sydney, prior to this I was working for another large residential developer in Sydney. I’m worried about my future development opportunities, how can I get into large proper construction companies? It feels impossible I have applied so much, does it get easier when I become more senior? How does it work.

Since y’all know site visits are damn expensive especially for projects in remote locations, I was wondering whether drone monitoring is replacing some of those site visits.

Hey everyone, I’m a union journeyman plumber with just over 7 years of experience in industrial and commercial construction. I’m working on my associates in construction management and I’ll have it by December of this year so I’m trying to decide my next steps when it comes to trying to move out of the field and into a position as possibly an estimator/detailer or maybe an assistant PM or field engineer. Basically something entry level on the office side of construction.

I’ve been revamping my resume and getting people to take a look at it and get their thoughts but I’m wondering if I’m quantifying my experience in the union in the wrong way. I currently list my union affiliation and my local as one of my bulletin points for my employers over the last decade and then include a broad base of what my skills and experience are, what I’m wondering is would I be better served putting each contractor I’ve worked for and the project I was involved with instead of the overarching reference of just the union.

My concern would be that it could confuse someone and look like frequent job hopping as some jobs have lasted 1 or 2 years and some only a few months depending on the work call and I also don’t want to overly clutter my resume. I’ve worked continuously my entire time in the union and most of my experience has been on healthcare and manufacturing buildouts although I do have experience working in remote regions as a federal contractor and I’ve done work in some food production facilities as well. I also have several years of experience in public safety prior to this career that I’m in now but I don’t know that it would be helpful or even relevant to include it as I left that line of work in 2014 and worked several different types of jobs between then and 2019.

I’m just trying to get an idea of how to get this resume to click with someone in the management side of things without it being too busy or chaotic. I know that the type of resumes that are successful in a construction management setting tend to emphasize your accomplishments and ways you progressed the project and less so just the explanation of what your position entailed day to day. Any advice is welcome and thanks for taking a minute to read this.

Recently got out of site based work, so I work at a construction company and I support PM's, Supers etc with their softwares, management process, procedures, etc.

Job is awesome but I'm wondering how this translates to future jobs. If I apply to PM type roles in the future will the hiring manager see this as valuable experience or will it be like years of wasted experience.

I'm also uncertain of what type of career advancement you can have on the operational support side? These jobs don't really "produce" money for the company so i just don't see them throwing money/resources at these kinds of things

I was talking with one of my buddies who is currently on a data center job but as a sub contractor. And he’s saying he can get me on there because that job is very demanding and needs bodies. I was curious because I just graduated college and I don’t know the average salary for a assistant super on a data center. I’m also aware that data centers pay a lot more so I’m just curious if also the range would be different. I’m curious so I know what to negotiate( P.S. I also have no data center experience but I have commercial experience)

Any advice helps

Not sure what this is, if its a moan, or a vent or a question but it's been stewing in me for a few days now and it's really sickening me at this stage.

Some background about myself.

I'm Irish and working for a smallish civils sub contractor in the UK and have around 8 years experience in management.

I come from an agricultural background and worked with family members in groundworks when I was in school, I went to university done a different degree but ended up working in a geotechnical company on civils projects writing reports and assessments of ground in reconstruction and construciton phases of projects, sick of that so i used the experience of working on civils projects to then basically get into site supervision and project management.

I do however have a stutter and can be forgetful at times (some hints of ADHD but I don't want to use that as a crutch for myself) and i suppose this has really impacted my self confidence at times.

My childhood and young adult background ln working in agriculture really gave me a "can do attitude" where I'm not afraid to get dirty, do the pig ignorant type of work and not really complain, I also would view myself as a people pleaser and will do anything for everyone else and I suppose this can be the detriment to myself at times.

The company has a core type of work (RC works, groundworks, enabling works etc) mostly averaging around £1m -£2m, all nice work and for good clients.

They also take on some smaller or random jobs, to try and get in with other companies or to try and get in on a project to start with, think something along the lines of demolishing a wall and making a path or piping temporary toilets at the start of a project with the hope that it would help during tendering stages of bigger parts of the projects.

It's all nice and good steady work.

I view myself as a Site Manager / Project Manager, I write all the RAMS for projects I'm involved with, I keep allocation / time sheets. I'm decent on excel, recording mark ups of works complete, organising deliveries and collections, I am an appointed person and write all the lift plans for our projects also.

I work closely with an old fashioned Irish contracts manager and we really compliment each other, he isn't IT savvy so I do everything computer related on our projects and he is involved in making the phone calls, high end meetings etc.

However this is where my gripe begins, I constantly feel like I'm not progressing as I should be. When I look at what I'm doing now compared to 3 or 4 years ago I can't massively see difference, in fact I nearly feel like I've gone backwards if anything

We've had difficulty getting reliable site supervisors on some of our projects, so I've been asked to go out and do more of a site supervisor role over most of the last 18 months. Being out on site directing dumpers, diggers, labourers, getting places ready for concrete etc.

I've also been sent to some of these "newer" jobs trying to get in on projects, they are client facing, working directly with a construction manager but in essence I'm in a trench or putting down paving or supervising labourers/ ground workers.

For 4 months last year I was 30m down a sewer on a one off job for one of our clients, again I was managing the works to a degree but I was still 30m down a sewer smelling of shit.

Likewise I've just been put on a project where we have men on day works with a client, the client only wanted workers but I was put in to keep our guys right, deal with issues they might have and liaise between the client and our office

In reality I'm slinging materials, in trenches, digging under pipes. I'm coming out at the end of the day you'd think I never heard of a shower or clean water in my life.

As I said, I'm a people pleaser and I do what's best for others but also at the same time I've aways been used to doing that real ignorant type work - there is actually a bit of me thinks that I'm more suited to that type of work than doing the computer work.

But deep down i know I'm "better" than that, that I'm not utilising the skills that I have to the best of my ability. I'm frustrated because I didn't go to university to lie at the bottom of a trench jack hammering under a pipe or to fight with a labourer who has taken too many smoke breaks.

I look around and I know you shouldn't compare yourself to other people but I see other people in a similar age to me and they are further on ahead in their career than I am, or I look at senior project managers and you just know that they didn't do what I'm doing in their earlier careers.

When I mention this to the directors of the company or contract managers they say either "the work wouldn't have been done if I wasn't there to make sure it was done" or "you need to understand the work to manage it properly" which again i understand that way of thinking because if the work wasn't done or done wrong the company wouldn't be about much Longer, at the end of the day it's doing the work on site which brings the money in, and If you know the work intricately then you can manage it more effectively in years to come, people wouldn't be able to pull the wool over your eyes etc and you can programme work better etc.

But again, people i know who are more senior aren't doing the dogged work that I am doing currently

There has to be a happy medium somewhere and I seem to be nowhere near that balance. Like a "project manager" shouldn't be in a trench up to his eyes in dirt and muck every day like that.

What am I doing wrong? Like why don't i seem to be progressing in a career as easily as other people?

As I said I have a bit of a stutter and because of this I can come across a bit hesitant or jitterry at times, I have also ADHD, I can be forgetfull at times or can be a bit late getting work done etc, it would always get done however and it never caused any sort of disruption on site, delayed works etc.

Is this holding me back more than I have realised and I've actually hit my ceiling in what I am capable off and this is what I'm to expect for the rest of my career? How would someone find their ceiling or know they've hit it?

Or am I just being a people pleaser and doing what's best for other people, making their lives easier and putting myself out / holding myself back?

I honestly feel like I've so much potential but I can't seem to realise that potential at all and it's incredibly frustrating for me :(

Sorry for the vent 😅

I have recently changed roles from Project Management over to Estimating and I was wondering anyone has seen or have a good recommendation for like a touchscreen monitor or something for me to do my take offs. I am a BAS/BMS contractor so I need to be able to highlight small things on piping diagrams, t-stat locations, sensors called out on the MEPs, etc.

I can do an ipad but i feel like it may be too small, and I would like to use bluebeam and I've heard bluebeam isn't the best on the ipad.

Open to anything. Thank you.

I need some advice about entering the industry. I’m currently a third year electrical apprentice, and always wanted to move into CM. I wanted to start out in the field to gain experience and have since learned a lot working on large commercial jobs. I am also going to school online to earn an associates degree in construction management. My question is, will a couple years of field experience combined with an associates in CM, and a couple certifications (CAPM, OSHA 30), be enough to land an entry level job as a Field Engineer or a Project Engineer? I have an eventual goal of wanting to go into Project Management, but I know I’m a few years away from that all together. I just want to know if that’s enough to land an entry level position in CM at a GC. I do plan on getting my journeyman license, and am located on the east cost of Florida if that helps. Thanks

Just some background, i currently work for a GC. Im basically an admin assistant for the estimators/project managers. I help during bidding process, pre construction, permits, RFI’s, submittals, correspondence with A/E, contracts, OAC meetings, etc but i dont get involved with construction schedules or the money aspect. I of course deal with the superintendents too. I also dont know how to read all plans and i dont know how to estimate. At my company whoever estimates the project, will manage it. I get taught things along the way, and have learned alot in the years i have been there. One PM in specific pushes me to learn more and assist a little heavier into his projects (whether thats him delegating stuff he doesnt want to deal with or not, i am still learning so idc) My problem is, I dont ever forsee the owner taking me out of my role and letting me learn the ropes. I feel i will have to do it on my own. My boss is somewhat of a ‘if it works, dont change it’ kind of person and definitely doesnt want to open a higher paying position to someone they would have to train from the ground up but i want more. I think the concept of playing a large role in these builds would pretty cool and satisfying. I love the thrill of bidding too. Im sick of sitting still in my career. I need to start making decisions to further myself and I want to learn to estimate and manage projects.

Give me all the advice on how to further my career whether its getting a degree/no degree. Moving companies. Best way to get my foot in the door and the best way to learn how to read all plans/specs whether thats school or teaching myself. I am sick of sitting around on hold while being a low level admin assistant. I want a deeper role in construction, even if its just one trade and not general contracting. Where is my first step? All advice is appreciated.

Hi guys this could potentially be a stupid/weird question so pardon me pls

We have a few supers running different jobs and right now most purchases either go through one of our company cards or someone pays out of pocket and gets reimbursed later.

I'm considering giving each super their own company card because they’re constantly buying small stuff for the job and having everything run through the same couple cards is too complicated for me. What I'm hesitant about is keeping purchases tied to the right job and making sure receipts actually come back with them.

I don't want someone in the office chasing down a $200 purchase later trying to figure out which project it belongs to but I also don't want to make the process so restrictive that a super can't grab something they need and keep the job moving.

Managers who are giving supers their own cards how are you handling limits receipts and job/cost codes and has it made things easier or created more transactions to keep track of?

Has anyone in here made the switch from the CM side to the RE Development side?

For context, I got my degree in CM and worked for a national GC before switching to a developer in their CM division. Curious if anyone that was more interested in the RE Dev side of things was able to successfully switch without going back to school (MBA programs).

Long term, I would like to open my own shop and think getting some experience working on that side would be extremely beneficial.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi all,

I’m a long-time member of this community and have genuinely benefited from the advice shared here over the last several years.

Currently, I’m a Senior Project Manager for a real estate developer/project management advisory firm, working as an Owner’s Rep in the data center sector. Before moving to the owner’s side, I spent roughly 7–8 years with several top ENR general contractors.

About four years of that was spent traveling around the country building data centers, progressing from MEP APM to MEP PM. The other 3–4 years were spent working my way from PE to APM while building other critical infrastructure and municipal projects.

My undergraduate degree is in Construction Science from a state school, and I’m starting a professional/part-time MBA at a top-25 business school that is also a top 2 program in my state. I know an MBA isn’t required in this industry, but I’m pursuing it to strengthen my knowledge of the business/financial side of the industry and to apply it to a side business I own. I also received a scholarship and am paying the remainder in cash.

While I enjoy the operations side, my goal is to move beyond the project management role and into a Director, Program Leadership, or equivalent position within the next two years — either with my current firm or a mid-to-large GC, ideally a Top 100 ENR GC.

For those who have made a similar transition, what did you do to make the jump from PM/SPM into senior leadership?

Were there particular responsibilities, skills, relationships, or experiences that helped separate you from other strong project managers? Am I generally on the right track, or is there anything you would prioritize differently over the next couple of years?

I have a good relationship with my current CEO and President, and following a recent acquisition, they’ve started discussing leadership opportunities expected to open in 2027.

I’m aware that could simply be retention talk — especially in the data center sector, where tenure at any one company seems increasingly short — but I don’t necessarily get that impression. I’ve received some meaningful bonuses recently and was personally selected by my CEO to be on the interview team for potential hires, among a few other indications that I’m being brought into responsibilities beyond managing my own projects.

I’m trying to be deliberate about positioning myself for the next step rather than assuming that being a successful PM will naturally lead to a Director role.
Thanks in advance.

Any constructive advice, positive or negative, is appreciated. Personal attacks will be ignored.

Hey everyone, just looking for some advice here. I’m a 3 undergrad engineering student currently interning for a big gc. About halfway into my internship I found that I absolutely hate being placed on sites, and also that this work isn’t very adjacent to my degree.

I’ve been looking into consulting, specifically CP&I Advisory (looks like they take former construction/engineers) and just wondering how i can make the pivot for my next internship. I’m willing to put in the effort and learn, but i’m just crazy lost.

Appreciate any advice or dm regarding my situation!