One union plumbing shop in town, they do not hire, whether you are a brother or not. I’m burning out, career wise. I’m honestly considering jumping trades, electric is looking more and more inviting as days go by … considering hanging up my pipe wrenches and picking up a conduit bender instead.
Anyone suffer from career burnout and just jump careers/professions/trades? I’m not really looking for advice on coping w the burnout, just some sympathy or comradeship.
Any union members here, regardless of union, how does it generally work wrt getting into a union once you’ve already got your professional licensure. Stupid question but would I have to start over as an apprentice to come up union? Do unions take licensed jmen when they weren’t born in the union?
I’m having a pretty bad day, and an even worse week so far and I’m tired. Sorry if this post didn’t really go anywhere, shit just sucks eggs today.
I did social media management and various video and image creation. After 6 years I literally can’t do shit. Even video edits I think are fun and want to do.
Anyone suffer from career burnout and just jump careers/professions/trades?
I quit my job in software and I’m currently contemplating working at a daycare.
I’m not in a trade and I dont really have advice. But I want to commiserate, because I’m incredibly burnt out at my current job. It’s mentally exhausting, I hate the direction and mission of the company, my coworkers are all just as beaten down, the bosses are all just “AI” boosters and micromanagers, my work is so alienated from me. Youre far from alone in the struggle
Solidarity comrade. The slog is a real mf sometimes
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I’m involved in a few ways with my union local but I’m in canada so take this as it is.
would I have to start over as an apprentice to come up union? Do unions take licensed jmen when they weren’t born in the union?
I have heard of onerous union membership requirements, probation periods, hours worked requirements for benefits and all that but if you’re a ticketed jman you will not have to start as an apprentice, that’d be unheard of.
Thanks. Decided to email the local here, and tell them I am a current non-union jman plumber but want to change that, and can I please be contacted?
The journey starts with the first step, or however that nonsense goes.
Mechanical/heat and frost insulation doesn’t make that much less and it’s so much less hard on the body.
If you’re looking for alternatives
sure, i did in my late 20s. i can’t really speak to the union aspect of things, but i never regretted picking up additional trade skills, or just skills/experience in general.
i think narrow skill specialization is a shit deal that is sold to laborers a lot more frequently than employers actually want it. like maybe if you’re one of the like 100 neonatal cardiologists or whatever that exist in a nation… yeah, you can write your own ticket… but most labor need is finding people who can do a decent job and not be a liability. unions under capitalism use collective power to resist this, but without a revolutionary reordering of society and the power structure, it’s a losing game.
maybe the pure specialist path works when society is stable, but in my experience as a multi-talent generalist, i have more options when the landscape shifts. and all it seems to do is shift lately. when i couldn’t find full time, i could cobble together odd shit and charge rates based on what skills were needed to get by while i plotted my next move. when i was pissed at an employer, i could cast a broader net for the next opportunity to apply to. it certainly sucked starting over as a bozo that first time, in terms of shit pay and professional respect (zero), but it gave me the opportunity to try something completely new that i had curiosity about. exploring that new passion mentally reset me, burnout wise. i looked forward to the new work and digging in.
also, and it’s more of a bonus, but acquiring new skills and knowledge dramatically increase the potential for making profound leaps of understanding, those genius-type moves aka “making connections across disciplines”, where you take an understanding from one area and use it to solve a problem in a second area. the single-skill specialists, no matter how talented they are, are limited in their thinking. deep understanding in a single field allows for fast moving solutions, but it also comes with a rigidity. fields are always changing, and the deep specialist can have a harder time adapting to those changes.
My experiences are pretty varied I suppose. I possess two associates degrees related to food service - AAS in food service, hotel/rest management that I got back in my 20s, I did stucco/concrete finishing for about a decade after that, then jumped into plumbing. I’m a one trick pony wrt plumbing, but I do hold med gas certification, I hold endorsement to design/install/service greywater recapture systems (water protection specialist) and I am working on acquiring my multi-purpose fire sprinkler endorsement which allows me to install fire suppression systems that share a potable water system versus a standalone standpipe for fire sprinklers. Waiting to get mt application for master plumber sent back w a test date then I’ll be able to work for myself, pull permits etc. Most other guys around here hold one or two of the endorsements that I hold but there’s only a few of us who gotta collect em all. If I were available for travel, I could more or less write my own ticket and just tour Texas and install greywater systems and fire sprinklers in millionaires homes. My kids are teens in HS who dont want to live w mom so that’s out the door until they’re ‘grown’ or w/e.
I work closely w electricians, and I learned how to bend pipe and work offsets years ago running soft copper and I know plenty of electricians who can’t bend conduit to save their mom’s life. Either electric or HVAC. Plumbing goes hand in hand w HVAC to some degree so that’s always open to me, and I do all my own AC work on my personal vehicles so I have a pretty good fundamental understanding of refrigerant loops and things like that.
I’ve got some stuff to mull over, and the sooner I act the sooner it’ll be over with I guess so there’s that.
Thanks comrade
yep, jumping careers right now due to this. It sucks a fuckload to start over, but such is life. the time is gonna pass anyway. but still, mfw i read recovering from burnout can takes years
Yep. I jumped ship from I.T. managed services about 2012. Hated the direction everything was going with cloud services, I don’t trust anything I can’t kick when it breaks. Went and learned to cook and never looked back.
Sometimes giving it a good kick and a loud ‘fuck!’ placates me almost as well as fixing what broke.
I actually jumped ship from culinary back in my twenties.
Can’t offer you any advice, sorry you’re having such a hard time tho. Honestly same. I hate being underpaid at my job and listening to my boss talk about stupid bullshit all day.
I feel you. I’ve been in my industry (low/no voltage telecom design) for about 6 years now and I’m just burnt out dealing with admin. Luckily the small shop I work at pays me decently ($41/hr) to just write open source code all day, but having to deal with meetings and managers sucks.
We’re also not union, but we were close a few years ago until everyone left. Now I’m just kinda on my own still slogging the same bullshit.
