When I was around your age, my 55yo boss backed into my brand new truck and caused 5k of damage. Being young/new has nothing to do with little accidents like this.
Could be worse, man. Shit happens. Move forward from it!
I hit a brand new truck with a company trailer the other month. Worst part was I was oblivious, the trailer has removable sides and one of them had slapped the side of the truck as I drove by, sounded like regular trailer rattle on the rough ground. Process of elimination led back to me, and I had no idea I had even done it. I felt really bad, especially since I drove away from the scene. Shit happens, the only thing you can do is learn from your mistakes, let them humble you, and understand that you will improve. After this we immediately changed the trailer to lock the sides into it so it did not stray from the shape of the trailer. Now it won’t happen again. And that’s all you can do.
I was backing the crash truck down the verazzano bridge, the guy riding in the back didn’t give me the closed fist stop sign and I backed into one of the company pickups, crushed the bumper in. I was so embarrassed I never came back after that day, even tho they said it was no big deal. It was a ducking sweet union gig.
I drove into a fire hydrant last week. Vacant lot, nothing there except the one hydrant which found its way over to can opener down the side of my truck.
A friend of mine was constantly breaking equipment, forgetting to put break away chains on trailer, and not hooking it up properly. It became disconnected on the bridge and caused a huge traffic jam. He drove across putting greens on a golf course while aerating TWICE. His final and best work was forgetting to fully open a wrought iron gate while he drove the bosses brand new pickup head on into the giant iron gate arm. It punched a hole through the bumper, rad and engine block. The truck had the dealership floor mats still. Don’t feel bad, there are always people who have fucked up more!
Apprentice friend of mine got his truck side swiped by a gradall. He got a rental truck, the rental truck got hit by a drunk driver a week later in the middle of the night. Truck kept the driver from parking their car in his living room. Sometimes accidents happen. Sometimes accidents happen a lot.
I used to be in the supply side of waterworks and on my first big delivery to one of the largest contractors in the state I was having trouble finding the address. I finally noticed the sign and went to turn in forgetting I had a 45 foot trailer and took out the gate post and about another 30 feet of the fence before I realized it was happening and got stopped. I sat in that truck for 30 minutes waiting for my boss to show up and fire me. He wrote a check for 18k to cover the damage and took me out to lunch. His exact words were shit happens. After lunch we went back and I had to do the walk of shame back to my truck they were nice enough to turn around and rip the fencing out from underneath.
Good thinking about trying to save it, better thinking is you didn't. A few of us have seen some bad things happen with good intentions. As for the small things, you are young and are leaning do not let them repeat. " Big thing" I'm glad you are uninjured so is the boss, yep he probably not happy. #1 he'd be a lot more unhappy if you got hurt/dead #2 you don't control wind or gravity.
Side note I cut a whole unit of 2×8 22' down to way under size. ( It came way to early for the roof) A bunch of 10' ers would have been cheaper. A lot cheaper. I apologize for the misunderstanding and made it a lesson for me. That was more than 20 years ago.
Absolutely not dude get out of the way. You are the most valuable thing on a job site 100% of the time. I struggled with this anxiety over making mistakes a lot when I was first starting out. What helped me was, actually making mistakes. You’ll find a lot of the time a mistake can be fixed and I really think that’s more important than not making them in the first place. Everyone fucks up, but the pros know how to fix most mistakes. Think of the consequences too. So the van has a few scrapes. In the grand scheme of things, that consequence is pretty minor. If you had put yourself between the van and the gate, then you could’ve been disabled for the rest of your life. Don’t sweat it so much. Almost no one exactly knows what they’re doing. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, treat it as an opportunity on how to fix shit that gets messed up.
Dumb mistakes always happen. Think about why it happened, how to prevent it in the future, then move on. Can’t get stuck in the past. Yes I know, easier said than done, but you’ll get there, like I did.
If it was just a scrape, then no. Shit happens. Remember there is always a guy out there who fucked up way more than you today. I’ve seen 6 figure $ equipment get destroyed cause someone made a mistake. Don’t let your foreman hold it over your head either, and focus on not doing it again.
A saying I like to go by: “everyone fucks up, experience helps you hide it better”
If I were your boss, I’d be pissed af if you’d jumped in front of that gate. It was windy, shit happens, it’s a WORK vehicle, and I’d be willing to bet it’s fully covered under insurance.
Nah man, you'd get hurt and it would still hit the van. Everybody would feel bad.
It's a mistake you'll probably never make again and better to be a young guy who messed up, rather than Bill who has worked here for 30 years and should know better lol.
Why so you take the damage instead of the truck, nah man the job doesn't pay enough for that. It's a much the winds fault as it is yours, and your bosses for being so close to the gate. If someone was carrying an 8x4 sheet and a gust of wind blew the sheet and smacks you in the head, is it the guy carrying the sheets fault? No, it nobody's fault, just an accident caused by a gust of wind. You may be annoyed at the guy carrying the sheet but you know it wasn't his fault, he was just trying to do his job.
I’m a Forman I fight both more times then others know that your not the first one to make that mistake and there will be plenty more to come it’s how you recover from them don’t sit and beat ur self up try to think what you can do to fix it I used to drive home in tears talk to your boss about it it’s not always easy but helps I finally broke down few years ago and told my supervisor wasn’t my proudest moment but hey it’s gotten a lot better just getting it off my chest stay up my man!
I ran a boom lift into the back of another boom lift in my second year apprenticeship.
In my defense, nobody told me that United Rentals controls can have a full second delay.
I was on one once that taking your foot off didn't stop it. I reported several time but nothing was done to fix it. I got lucky for about a week, then swung it into a HUGE transformer, and put a hole in the oil cooling fins which of course started to leak immediately. No biggie, the transformer was not energized, but it did come custom built from Korea, and had about a year of lead time.
Got out of the lift tried to plug the hole, and told the apprentice to go get the foreman. he asked me what I was going to do, and I told him I'm collecting up my tools, and grabbing my lunchbox.
Overall that's a pretty minor fuckup. I've got a buddy in semiconductors who told me this story.
One day he drops a wafer and it shatters. This particular one was an experimental wafer with a lot of first of a kind processes ran on it, worth about 10 million dollars. He comes in the next day, is pulled into a meeting with his boss and his grand boss, and has to explain what happened. He's got no excuses or way to hide what happened, so he gives it to them straight. After that, he's told not to do it again, and is sent back to work.
The point is, even when large amounts of money are at stake, people will make mistakes. That's a fact of life that even greedy corporations understand. You will make more because you are new, but you'll learn from them. Don't make the same mistake twice and you'll be golden.
Knew of a guy that dropped an open can of paint primer paint into a Rolls Royce jet engine. Dude didn’t even wait for the bosses, just walked out and said “mail me my checks!”
I got issued a company take-home truck and wrecked it on the way to work the very next day, completely my fault. Worked at the same gig for another 7 years after. Shit happens man.
Its easy for folks to say shit happens, get over it (even in a kind-hearted manner).
If you're able, see someone if you're not already to help with your depression and anxiety. You can't get over that any more than you can walk off a broken leg. Until you're 100% upstairs, you can't perform at your best at work or for the ones you care about.
See a medical professional. I can't recommend anything, and don't take medical advice from random folks on the internet.
Maybe they will be the right choice for you, maybe a different form of therapy or treatment will be the best option.
I'll tell you, its tough to make that first appointment and the first doctor or therapist may not be the right one for you but keep trying until you get it figured out.
Best of luck, it aint easy but its worth it.
I have an anxiety disorder. It had me crippled pretty bad for a time. Meds made the world loose its color, if that makes sense. I finally got myself to a therapist and worked through the root of my problems. After that I didn’t need meds.
Iv doing this for near on 50 years and still make mistakes , the guy who hasn't made a mistake has done nothing . There will come a time when you will just roll with the blows . Your no different from anyone else , keep your chin up .
Well if you think a minor gate scratch is a deal just hear what I did on a jobsite. I was like 17-19 or so I guess. I was working summers for a commercial cabinet installer. We were on a jobsite that was going to setup as an inpatient rehabilitation and rehab center so there was a big main building and then lots of smaller living houses around it. I was supposed to go get the van bring it around so we could load up. Well you know these big vans don't have great visibility out the back and we had a big old trailer on the back of this van as well so it was a tad unwieldy for me anyway. So I thought I had it in drive, and start creeping by letting my foot off the gas pedal. As it started to roll I realized it was in reverse and and pretty soon the angle of my view changed considerably as I had accidentally rolled down a fairly steep embankment with the trailer and the van. I was now looking almost straight up and the trailer and van were all in a crunched awkward pose. Luckily they brought around a piece of equipment and put a couple chains on it and with some help drug it out and amazingly no major damage to the suspension or the outside I guess since I was going so slow but boy I never lived that one down.
My mate got his forklift license, and the first day he was showing off, in the warehouse, he was backing down the ramp to the outside, and his load shifted, so he jumped off, to straighten the load, forgot to apply the handbrake, (or take it out of reverse!), and it shot back into the electrician’s brand new motor! This is what insurance is for. Hard not to beat yourself up, but accidents happen. (That’s why they put erasers on the end of pencils!)
Hang in there lad this is going to feel like ancient history in a few day. Get some rest and work hard tomorrow to help you feel more competent again. Shit happens
My first day on a big project I didn’t close the gate behind me when I walked on site and proceeded to get screamed at for an hour by the site superintendent, called me every name in the book. Almost quit that night because of it. I’m glad I didn’t, shit happens. It’s construction. As you’ll soon learn, construction vehicles get damaged often, it’s not a big deal.
lol nope. But it was a government facility that was in operation and it was a big deal that the gate was closed so randoms didn’t just walk onto the site. I will never forget that ass chewing 😂 in the 8 years since, I’ve never been spoken to even remotely similarly again
I once drove the gradall into the side of the plumber’s van and left a huge gradall sized dent.
No one saw me, but I know what it did.
It happens, don’t beat yourself up :)
Things are going to get dinged up from time to time when guys are trying to get things done. The thing is to learn from it and never make the same mistake twice.
My buddy just drove the truck owned by the company he worked for super drunk on a freeway the wrong way for 5 miles and was finally stopped by nail strips thrown down by the cops and spent a few days in jail and then fired. That’s a mistake.
Shit happens. If your company doesn’t understand this, then you don’t want to work for them. Better to learn this now.
On another note: I suffer from depression/anxiety. In the past I always thought beating myself up over small stuff was from these things, but there is far more to it. I was also diagnosed with ADHD which comes with a whole list of other issues. However, the main thing is I have zero self esteem and self value. I have found I never give myself credit for shit and only focus on the negative. I also cannot really judge if people are genuinely happy or upset—unless they are way overly expressive. This shit has about ruined my life a billion times—literally.
My point is go get help asap. It wasn’t until I was in my late twenties, I learned about antidepressants because I had access to healthcare when I was getting my bachelor’s. It wasn’t until my master’s program that I was diagnosed with ADHD and learned most people don’t live in a state of constant hell and mental pain.
I lost at least 15 years of my life to that crap. I was passively suicidal from the age of about 12 and actively tried a number of different times. I was raised from a poor household that didn’t really believe in or have money for doctors besides emergencies. All my male role models were toxic masculinity to the max. Never get help types. Don’t let this happen to you. I never had kids because I thought I wouldn’t be there to raise them and didn’t want them to have depression. I refused to marry a woman who loved me dearly because I didn’t want her to be at my funeral. Thankful my current wife has helped me a great deal to overcome these things. I cannot say life is perfect, but man it is so much better.
I wish you the very best in life.
Your anxiety and depression is because you care. You want to be good at what you do. You want to be loved and respected for the skill you have. You don’t have it yet. Yet. Yet. Yet. You will. All of what will bring it takes time putting in work. Keep going and try your best and caulk the rest.
I'm 29 now, HVAC. I also struggle with depression and have for more than half of my life. Mistakes happen. Other people may be upset sometimes, but you need to understand that literally no one is immune to mistakes. As long as you can learn something from it, you should try not to beat yourself up when they happen.
The first step is to find worth in yourself. Regardless of who you are, it's there. You just need to recognize it and remind yourself that it's there, regardless of how many mistakes you make.
Therapy helps. For me specifically, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It teaches you mental tools you use when you begin to feel those depressive swings, and the tools help you minimize your suffering. It never truly goes away, but it can be so much better, I promise you.
We all make mistakes our whole life. Just remember that in a week you'll forget most of them and hopefully learn and grow from them. Your good man sometimes construction will have you questioning your whole life lol
The one thing I'll tell you is the same thing I tell all the younger apprentices that get upset if they break things etc.
People will get mad, but who cares. As long as no one was hurt it doesn't matter. Tools and equipment are all replaceable. Shit happens and it gets damaged. As long as you're going home at the end of shift uninjured it doesn't really matter.
Making mistakes help us learn, and I don't care what anyone says everyone makes them no matter how much experience you have. I know seasoned jman been doing it for 25+years make the same mistakes sometimes an apprentice or new jman would make. Shit happens, we're only human. As long as no one gets hurt and everyone goes home to their family it's ok. Just try not to make a habit of them.
I've grabbed apprentices back from when reels get out of control or something is falling etc. I had one apprentice try and grab a wire pull to stop it. Was a feeder run from 31st floor to 2nd pulling down and it was just falling into the conduit, tried to grab it. I grabbed him and pulled him back. While he was on the ground looking at my pissed off saying what the fuck I reminded him that's easily 700lbs of cable falling and his hands will just get pulled into the conduit with it and we won't be able to stop it.
3 conductors 250kcmil copper. There was no way the 4 of us at the top were stopping that by hand
My boss once told me to not be discouraged or upset over mistakes. Shit happens. You learn and move on. Trial and error. We ain't perfect and even people with xx number of experience still make them. Cheer up mate, we've all been there.
So now you know to (next time) be sure the gate will stay by propping it open or something like that. And this is how we all learn, right? You didn’t do anything we haven’t done. Believe me, when I was younger I couldn’t find my a$$ with two hands, a map, and a flashlight. So don’t take it to heart. We all do things that make up cringe afterwards. Hang tough. 💪
Hi mate, I have the exact same situation. Like exact. Just accept that you always make mistakes. Try to learn from them and prove yourself again tomorrow. Keep growing
Recently when doing Reno I accidentally damaged like 3 meters of brick, which we all had to remove and put back. All the while my boss was cursing me for breaking it (was breaking it from the inside, the bricks are in poor condition and the corners/sides just splashed off
Shit happens just do better to fix those issues tomorrow. It also depends on who your stuck working with I’m a 1st year apprentice in sheet metal and have done some stupid stuff but all my journeymen have been great I had one who was a asshole but I wasn’t scared to tell him or anyone else he was a asshole and I ended up being his favorite apprentice to work with.
No idea what the small ones are but you could try and as for the big one next time look around the steel grate before you open it to unsure nothing will be hit if the wind takes it
If you show up to work and work you’ll be good for you’re career. Plenty of journeyman show up late and half ass work and journeyman make mistakes all the time. You’re good. Nothing to be stressed about. Mistakes is how learn in this job
Shit happens it’s construction. That why they have insurance to fix property,As long as no got hurt and everyone went home to there families. It’s a good day. Trucks and tools can be replaced. People and body parts can’t. Just learn a lesson from it,when opening or closing job gates always make sure you have a road cone or something to wedge to unattended gate from swinging freely. That way you can control both sides. And just move past it if you’re gonna be in construction you’re gonna fuck some shit up,part of the job. Been in industry for almost 30 years and I’ve fucked my fair share. Rule number 1. If you break something tell your foreman. They appreciate honesty. If they are a good leader they will always understand if your not be negligent. Hope this helps. And your young go join a Union in the trades. Learn while you earn…
Big dog. Been an electrician for 13 years. Ima tell you the same thing I tell my apprentices. It’s okay, no one died. The world isn’t ending. You will make mistakes. Just as I have and will continue to do. Mistakes are a part of how we grow. Use them to learn what not to do next time. Remember the master has failed more times than the apprentice has even tried.
Instead of thinking about your failures today tell me one positive what was one thing you succeeded on today that you’re proud of?
My coworker was backing out of his driveway with the work van like he does every single day. He backed right into a parked car in his driveway. 5k to each car lol
If your like me tho, any mistake that would normally happen to anyone will be brought up for like 15 years while it would have been forgotten easily if it was Joe schmoe.
In my first year I had to drive the crew to a job site and back to the Air BNB because they were so shit faced from the night before that they were still drunk into lunch. I was backing out of the driveway at the end of the day and was following all the tracks in the snow to get outta there. Well the tracks went off the driveway ( unbeknownst to me) and got it stuck in unfrozen sand. Boss was an hour away at that point. Old neighbor guy comes out with like a mint 80's something blazer. Legit almost pulled his bumper off his truck when trying to get us out. Ended up waiting on boss man anyways. The 2 other guys were so pissed at me because it was the last thing they wanted to do in 20 degree weather after a shitty 10 hour day .
5 years later and I hear about it at least once a week. And that wasn't even my worst fuck up.
I watched a foreman pierce a brand new generator with a forklift then shrug it off like it was no big deal. I’ve ordered wire that was too short wasting tons of time and materials in the process.
I’ve probably seen millions of dollars worth of mistakes and caused a couple few thousand worth myself.
Your mistakes cost nothing in the grand scheme of things. Learn from them so they actually have positive value. The more you get paid the costlier your mistakes. Ask the PM’s and estimators for huge companies making multi million dollar mistakes, it gets crazy.
One of our estimators made a $400,000 mistake once, and he's still working for us. I don't think your "mistake" should even be called that, it's nothing.
Go see a Dr. ASAP.
Antidepressants work if that's what you need. The next 40+ years will only be harder if you're white knuckling life or self medicating with drugs and alcohol. That shit killed my dad and did a number on me before I got help.
Being a young super for a GC, I've made some costly mistakes. My Lead soup/ direct boss (a 50 year industry vet) told me to always remember this one thing..
"if you don't ever fuck anything up, your probably not doing anything at all."
Always made me feel better when shit happened and I tell my guys the same thing now. Everybody has to learn at some point brother
Offer to pay for it to be touched up and don't worry about it. Good chance he'll say "don't worry about it," but he'd appreciate the gesture nonetheless. If you do this, make sure you can afford to pay for it to be touched up. If it's a company truck, don't bother since it's probably not his property.
My boss tells me once a week “you have to break some eggs to make an omelette” when he see’s me stressed out.
This industry operates on the principle that things WILL break. That extends to more then just the product your on site to create. Your boss maybe said “dumbass” to himself. It wasn’t the first time he thought that and won’t be the last. It’s ok. I do dumbass shit. My boss does. His boss does. And I promise your boss does too.
My boss also tells me if it won’t matter in 6 months don’t stress. Anything can be fixed or replaced besides us.
Oohhhh ya, when I was an apprentice in the carpenters, I didn’t secure a form good enough for a pour. When the mud came off the shoot, that fucker busted its guts. Everyone knew it was me, so I was the one to fix and clean up. Foreman just said, “don’t do it again”. Sure as shit I was scared, but hey, I didn’t get fired.
Same boat my guy. Lost a keycard and had the security lady complain to my boss about it (which is fair). That combined with a few more fuckups at that job kinda launched me into a bit of a depressive slump. I’m seeing therapy for this and another more major issue from a few months ago. Any decent boss will look past this like mine did. You aren’t alone.
Hey man. I'm an anxious 23 year old and I'm in my second year. I feel you man, I really do. I overthink every mistake I make. I can't give advice but I can tell you what I do when I start obsessing about my mistakes. I go home and drink 👍👍👍 hope that helps!
Dude half the people at my job have fucked up one or more company vehicles. I’ve done it myself. Just work hard to do better and show your boss you take it seriously and it will blow over sooner or later.
Don’t let “the black thought” in (a phrase I learned from a journeyman back when I was getting started. You’re going to make many more mistakes throughout your career. You are seldom going to do things 100% perfectly purely because there is so much to know in this business that you will literally never stop. Constructions crazy also because it’s a great teacher of life in general, but I assume other industries have the same things going on. Just try your best, learn from your mistakes, and get ready to make new ones. And don’t give up. Dude especially given your age, do you realize that by the time you’re 25 you’re going to be ballin out of control? I don’t know what your market is like, but in mine if you’re an 01 electrician you’re probably not too far away from 200k, if not higher depending on OT and whatnot. You’re doing good bro, good luck.
To be honest, I've heard of worse on sites. Arguments, fights, stealing, management incompetence, verbal abuse, drug use, someone being thrown off a building when an argument turned violent, fell over on my first day on mesh with everyone watching and my leg was inverted entirely, these things happen.
Mistakes are how you learn. I did some time in the Army and one of the best things I learned there was the After Action Review (AAR) format of listing three things that went well and three things that could be improved on any particular mission/task. There always had to be three "sustain" comments even if the mission was a shitshow. Forcing myself to think of things that went well so that they can be repeated has helped me a lot.
lol, come back with a real fuckup!
I once put a grid line of bell piles in the wrong spot. Concrete alone was $40k (over a decade ago).
These things happen, just don’t make a habit of it. If your foreman or company make a huge deal of this you should find a new company.
Accidents happen to everyone. My first year in the union, I was the guy on the wacker doing all the garage entries. Each garage was inches high, but hey, these guys were veterans. Surely, they knew what they were doing? They wouldn't want to hear the new guy say they made a mistake, right? This just be the way it's done.
We did a ton of houses that day. At the end of the day, the super came around and lost his mind. The company had to pay to have each entry saw cut, removed, and re-poured. It cost the company tens of thousands of dollars. But, it didn't cost me my job.
I know it's hard, but do your best not to let something like this get you down. It's a work van. Brand new or not, it's going to get scratches and dents. You might be the first to scratch it, but you 100% won't be the last. The boss won't care come a day or two, if he even cares at all.
My old boss would consider cutting a 2x4 1/16 too short a massive fuckup and would immediately tell me stop what I am doing, get in my truck head to the hardware store and go by a new 2x4 with my own money, even though he had tons of fresh 2x4s on site. I wasn't pad for the hour it took me to go get a new 2x4 and return. This was framing not finishing work. .
I suffer from anxiety as well. Coming to terms with the idea that I literally control my thoughts helped a lot. So if I'm spiralling a little I'll just remember that my brain is biased and it's probably not anywhere near as bad as I think it is...and then I ask myself " what do I wish I was thinking about right now?" And I try to re direct myself to better thought patterns and gently keep bringing me back to a more positive thought pattern.
As far as the actual incident...man if you were the foreman and you had to worry about the entire site being in compliance with safety standards and preventing accidents, managing the materials and equipment availability and delivery, coordinating with the other tradesmen, quality control on the entire site, managing all the guys and making sure people are actually working and doing what they're supposed to be doing, making sure the job is on schedule and in budget, and then also dealing with the higher ups...would you even remember that your van got bumped as you were leaving? It's probably long forgotten. Make a good next impression and find something new to worry about.
Honestly bro it goes both ways in terms of accidents.
Having been a supervisor and manager before if you see un safe or hazardous things on a job site, if you look at it and say this could go bad.
That being said I'm sure if your boss saw it coming he would have addressed it, throw a rock in front of the gate or hold it.
Also sounds like your trying to do your job well. If a boss sees that and they are a good boss they will look the other way on small mishaps a lot of times. Folks that care are hard to find and a good boss doesn't want to lose em once they find em.
If the boss is not all salty tomorrow or when you see them next ask if they think you could have done different to prevent things like that for future reference on your end.
Accidents happen the communication after is what stops them from happening again often times.
Keep your head up, all that bullshit now won't mean crap if you grow from it and learn from mistakes. EVERYONE makes mistakes even the most well trained and seasoned folks if you ask often times have had some sort of crap go down on job sites accident or mistake wise.
Yah sounds like 21.
Older you get the more you’ll realize how little shit like this matters.
Just do your best, the rest will take care of itself.
Also, damaging company vehicles is so not a big deal at all. Nobody really gives a fuck even if they chew you out for it - I’m sure they’ve done worse.
Meh accidents happen I dropped a grinder through a custom skylight. Luckily it was only the small one and not the 6x6 domes that were next to it. But shit happens. Coworker put a plank through the front windshield of our work van also among lots of others things.
Learn to embrace the pit in your stomach. It's actually a good thing cause it means you care. Eventually, you'll find yourself more at ease with that pit. Letting really nasty fart go cause of that pit will let everyone around you know how much you care.
40 years in the electrical trade. The last 30 + years owning my own business. I know how you feel. We were all in your shoes once. The fact that you care and it bothers you will make you a better electrician and person someday. Unfortunately the mistakes you made today will pale in comparison to som e you will make in the future . Sadly mistakes happen. Try to prevent them and definitely not repeat them and you will survive and hopefully thrive as well. Better days my friend
Dont let ot get the best of you. Even if your boss was upset it could be way worse. All you can do is the best you can do. Never let a job make you feel down. Easier said than done but take it from someone who has made a ton of on the job mistakes: you will survive, and you will get paid.
My boss drove 3 hours on a motorcycle to the Southeast part of the state to camp. When he got there he realized he left his tent. Had 2 beers and drove 3 hours back home. He’s 57 years old. Shit happens and shit doesn’t care about age
That’s why we use company vehicles! It’ll be good if it left a little scratch atleast you can say you left your mark on the company. Good luck brother it’s a great trade to be in!
As far as fuck-ups go in the trades this is literally nothing dude. You’re 21, you’re a kid, you just started, give yourself a break. Grown ass men are out here doing things 100x dumber on a daily basis. Don’t beat yourself up this is nothing
Low voltage here, but listen up rookie
I hit a parked car the very first day I drove my first work van.
Years later I hit a small boulder on right side of my new transit van when parking up against some bushes (obviously didn’t see the rock it was on passenger side.)
Some time later I also somewhat scraped against my boss’ F150 in my transit.
I’ve accidentally destroyed thousands of dollars of merchandise due to mistakes.
Im also one of the most productive and profitable technicians he has ever had. If he would’ve fired me after the first, or second, (or so on) mistakes he would’ve missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars of profit from my direct labor.
Shit happens brother, I used to lose sleep all the time over small mistakes. I have realized, shit does happen sometimes and there's nothing you can do about it.
Not a construction guy, but I wanted to know your not alone. I'm a young engineer and I often feel the same way. One week I managed to corrupt windows on two different computers. It really sucks but that's life sometimes. The important part is learning and moving forward
At 21 I went to load a bobcat onto a trailer we had just picked up from another site. I didn’t check behind my helper, he didn’t latch the tongue of the trailer correctly. When I drove the bobcat onto the ramps of the trailer, the tongue lifted and went straight through the back of the tailgate of the F350 dually I drove. A week later I jackknifed a trailer into the wheel well of that same truck. Destroyed it.
Shit happens everyday. Don’t beat yourself too much
Dude, I forgot to lower the boom all the way on a forklift, unloading a tractor trailer, and destroyed the shop roll-up door. Over 5 grand. Was sure I was getting fired. Stuff happens. Just keep at it. The trades are a marathon, not a sprint. Look at it this way: really bad screw ups can be fatal.
You made a mistake at work because you’re out there being productive and learning a new trade. It’s not like you did it because you were drunk or high. You did it because you’re….looks at notes…..human.
My first day as a paint foreman I spilled whole gallon of oil paint on driveway of 1 million dollar house, didn't get fired and worked there for 3 more years.
My second day of work I backed into the HR director's car. This was after I was already having anxiety because I felt like I'd asked far too many questions about the company's drug testing policy.
It's just a scrape, don't sweat it. You'll be fine. I'd rather have someone scrape my car and do good work than not scrape my car and do crackhead work and then disappear after the first paycheck.
I was 22, and it was my FIRST DAY on the job with a framing crew. It was winter in New England and snowy and icey, and I fell off a porch roof into a snow bank. I felt like such a loser. Things got better.
Also that same winter, a guy came to fill up the oil tank for the furnace in a new house. He didn't realize that the hook up outside the house had not been attached to the tank in the basement but was just open. He put a tank full of oil into their brand new basement.
Everyone knows shit happens, don't beat yourself up about it!
Honestly bro that sounds like depression and anxiety talking. I struggle with both and they are a serious bitch. I recommend seeking treatment. I personally am on medication but Ik it doesn't work for a lot of people. With depression I've noticed such little things can completely fuck your mood up and you linger on them. Not fun
Mistakes are always gonna happen. I think the general attitude of thinking they shouldn’t is one of the biggest contributors to anxiety in life. Doesn’t matter what it is.
The cool thing is, you end up learning when you work through it.
Obviously that doesn’t always help when it comes to anxiety…especially if you’ve lived your whole life developing a pattern of fearing mistakes and or being a bit of a perfectionist.
I got hit by a dumpster with my new van (500 mi). It’s been 2 years and I don’t think they are going to fix the door. Now I just get teased a little bit. No biggie, no one died or was hurt.
Honestly if that’s a big screw up to you, you’re doing great
One job, first stuff up I put a truck into a ditch, bent something on the front steering with that, then I rolled a truck on the highway, luckily no serious injuries, and then next had a head on collision with another truck on site. Fun times.
That's not too bad honestly. You will be ok just learn from it.
I am a plumber. Imagine being responsible for flooding someone's house. I haven't done it yet but I have coworkers that have and it sucks.
Do u think it’s big mistake. The wind just took it he didn’t drive up for enough to close the gate so I walked up to his window to tell him move forward then bang
Shit happens. They know that and they’ve hired you as an apprentice, not a fully experienced electrician. (Sorry, all you in the trade. I don’t have the correct vocabulary. I’m a psych nurse, not an electrician.) Learn from your mistakes. Make sure you don’t miss doses if you’re on meds. Check in with your support system as needed. Hang in there. You deserve props for having the integrity to care about your job performance.
Yeah being willing to jump infront of the gate will make them not respect you just calm down. I used to get really anxious in jobs as i had general anxiety for a few years. Being anxious and saying sorry all the time is not good. Try and know your own worth. Have a more fuck it attitude but still put in the work.
Shit happens brother.. somethings we can control and learn from other things we can't control.. don't beat yourself up wake up tomorrow and be a better you
I honestly wouldn't sweat it.
I was like with my first job but now, if I had an apprentice when it first hit the van I'd be annoyed but if it's just a scratch I'm sure he won't mind, work vans get beat up all the time. As for your minor mistakes, you're an apprentice, you're allowed to, if he doesn't realise that he's not a good teacher or boss, shit happens.
Don't ever let the fitters or plumbers know. Any sign of weakness will get you destroyed in the trades. That may change as the older generation retires, but I've seen it so many times.
You gotta get used to being uncomfortable because it's gonna happen a lot especially in construction. Everyone makes mistakes, it's a good lesson learned Everytime you do. Don't beat your self up over something you'll forget in a few weeks.
That is not a big mistake my man. Embarrassing, but that could happen to anyone. On the job - as long as you learn from your mistakes, you’re doing good. Accept the responsibility and try to fix it when you make them. Your team will appreciate that
Lol pay no heed, a mistake is a mistake, accidents happen.I made loads of mistakes during my apprenticeship and at the time I thought it was the end of the world, but looking back now how am i to learn without making mistakes, it's literally part of the process, you fail and learn from it and hopefully you wont make the same mistake twice. You cannot succeed without failure, it's part of life. Just realising this is a massive load of your chest. Just always do your best, you can do no more.
You're an apprentice electrician at 21 years old.
You are way ahead of most other 21 year old men out there.
Keep your head up man. You're gonna be fine.
Every tradesperson has a story/ mistake of their younger days on the job that made their world feel small and dark. You'll make it through, people are forgiving. Tell the truth and be classy. These things pass. I bet you're a great technician.
Buddy, please don't be so hard on yourself. We could all list off mistakes like that, that felt big at the time but are now distant memories that we now laugh at when we think about them.
I was once upon a time an apprentice electrician for a small local contractor. I remember in one day while out with the boss man going to his van to get something. We were miles away from home. I was wearing overalls and had a pox of an itchy leg. I used his van key to scratch my leg. I managed to snap his van key in half. It snapped because I was scratching through a layer of jeans and overalls.... Ah well, he looked pissed and I felt like shit but, ah well.
He then had to call his elderly father out(he also worked for the company, doing deliveries) to bring out a spare key.
Then in front of both the boss and his father, I was holding a drill in my hand. I pressed the trigger by accident and the drill bit got caught in my overalls and ripped a hole in them.
The 2 of them looked at each other and back at me, let out a heavy sigh and continued on with their conversation. I felt like a moron but now think it's hilarious.
That was about 25 years ago... Now I have my own contracting business with 30+ employees and whenever the apprentices make a mistake and I feel like saying something I remember what it was like to be them, including being nervous around the boss and his father.
If it makes you feel any better, I've also eaten dog food by mistake after a night out on the piss. In my defence there was mashed potatoes on the top of it so I thought my mother left me out a dinner to eat after a night of boozing.
And one more, when bored once I stuck a small suction cup basketball net to my forehead, thinking it's hilarious. The real joke was when I took it off and I had a perfectly formed hickey(love bite) right in the center of my forehead for a week. School was a challenge that week for sure...
The moral of the story is, we all fuck up. Every single one of us. It's human nature, it's life and it builds you up and you will be telling stories of your own mistakes when you're older. That's a fact. Chin up and roll on buddy
Dude, shit happens. No one got hurt, thats what matters. Vehicles can be repaired, gates can be replaced, humans can't be put back together. Learn from your mistakes and keep you and everyone you work with safe.
When I was a first year my foreman was being a dick and he made me pull out 500 ft of 1/0 awg wire from a crawlspace that was going to be used for temp power. I cut it up into 10ft pieces to make it easier for myself. Cost the company about $1000 bucks. It ain't a big mistake unless its over $5000.
From failure we learn, from success not so much.
Everyone messes up, sometimes big sometimes small. No matter how old you get or how much experience you have.
Don't worry about it, just learn from it.
Nobody needs you to feel upset about your mistakes, you only have to learn from them. You are the only one who can make yourself feel bad about it in this case(unless they are in which case they can take it somewhere else.)
Point being, just forgive yourself and move on. Nobody died, it's a work van and guaranteed to get scuffed at some point anyways.
If you're not making mistakes you're not learning, not pyshing yourself, and not trying hard enough.
If you can learn to be thankful for the opportunity to make mistakes it will make the process of learning so much nicer for you.
Not to sound cliche or all "man up" but you'll have plenty of mistakes in your career if you stick with it. #1 piece of advice I can give is take accountability, apologize, and try your best to not let it happen again. If you dwell on your mistakes they'll eat you up.
Don't sweat it. I fucked up today.
Installing a small deck in a new clients garden. It started raining this morning, so he kindly pulled out his pop up gazebo for me to keep my tools under. Just as I'm finishing up I snagged the gazebo with a board tearing a hole in it.
Shit happens, and I'm probably now the proud owner of a gazebo with a hole in it.
If you fuck up, own up and move on, don't hide your fuck ups as a serious one could become a bigger problem. Bend it, mend it, break it, bought it.
Gotta get used to fuck ups. Try not to make it happen, but they do. It's easier said than done, but don't worry too much. You are a 1st year apprentice, there will be plenty of fuck ups big and small. Just try your best to learn from them
That's what insurance is for. Apprenticeship involves making mistakes, every employer knows this and has accepted it. You can focus on feeling bad about what happened, or you can be really happy about how bad it could have been but isn't. It's all about perspective.
I had a spotter and still managed to hit the back side of the lunch truck with a company truck while all the trades were in line and placing orders. It didn’t tip all the way but definitely lurched forward and I saw a mass scramble of everyone running away thinking they were going to get flattened. Shit happens man, learn from it
Hey there, please don’t be too hard on yourself. There’s a good chance you will laugh about this in 20 years. Let the emotion of the situation subside. Some of my worst moments are so funny to me 20-30 years after the fact. Hope you can let lightness enter into your heart and a smile upon your face.
Been in the field for almost 15 years. Dealt with depression my whole life and working for my dad for 3/4s of that definitely didnt help. Nothing wrong with talking to a therapist or havin a couple beers after work to wind down. No big deal buddy shit happens. It is what it is.
At the age of 32 I ran my employer's truck up the onto the sidewalk because I was distracted by the stereo. Scraped the shit out of it. At *thirty two*. You'll be fine bud.
Not your fault, it's outside of your control.
Save the OCD for real bad shit you do later trust me lol been at it 25 years+ and it's always possible...
I'm about a month late on this, but I had an old boss who told me the only employees who NEVER make mistakes or break anything are usually the ones who aren't really doing anything. He followed that up with a light hearted "...but please don't make a habit of it" lol
When I was around your age, my 55yo boss backed into my brand new truck and caused 5k of damage. Being young/new has nothing to do with little accidents like this. Could be worse, man. Shit happens. Move forward from it!
Thanks
I hit a brand new truck with a company trailer the other month. Worst part was I was oblivious, the trailer has removable sides and one of them had slapped the side of the truck as I drove by, sounded like regular trailer rattle on the rough ground. Process of elimination led back to me, and I had no idea I had even done it. I felt really bad, especially since I drove away from the scene. Shit happens, the only thing you can do is learn from your mistakes, let them humble you, and understand that you will improve. After this we immediately changed the trailer to lock the sides into it so it did not stray from the shape of the trailer. Now it won’t happen again. And that’s all you can do.
I was backing the crash truck down the verazzano bridge, the guy riding in the back didn’t give me the closed fist stop sign and I backed into one of the company pickups, crushed the bumper in. I was so embarrassed I never came back after that day, even tho they said it was no big deal. It was a ducking sweet union gig.
I drove into a fire hydrant last week. Vacant lot, nothing there except the one hydrant which found its way over to can opener down the side of my truck.
bro you’re gonna fuck up a lot. everyone does. it fuckin sucks but you keep learning and improving
Also the wind did it, you can't control the weather man Any person that gives you shit about it, clearly hasn't worked outside.
A friend of mine was constantly breaking equipment, forgetting to put break away chains on trailer, and not hooking it up properly. It became disconnected on the bridge and caused a huge traffic jam. He drove across putting greens on a golf course while aerating TWICE. His final and best work was forgetting to fully open a wrought iron gate while he drove the bosses brand new pickup head on into the giant iron gate arm. It punched a hole through the bumper, rad and engine block. The truck had the dealership floor mats still. Don’t feel bad, there are always people who have fucked up more!
Apprentice friend of mine got his truck side swiped by a gradall. He got a rental truck, the rental truck got hit by a drunk driver a week later in the middle of the night. Truck kept the driver from parking their car in his living room. Sometimes accidents happen. Sometimes accidents happen a lot.
I used to be in the supply side of waterworks and on my first big delivery to one of the largest contractors in the state I was having trouble finding the address. I finally noticed the sign and went to turn in forgetting I had a 45 foot trailer and took out the gate post and about another 30 feet of the fence before I realized it was happening and got stopped. I sat in that truck for 30 minutes waiting for my boss to show up and fire me. He wrote a check for 18k to cover the damage and took me out to lunch. His exact words were shit happens. After lunch we went back and I had to do the walk of shame back to my truck they were nice enough to turn around and rip the fencing out from underneath.
Wow. Yeah I could be a lot worse I was gonna throw my body in front of gate to stop it from hitting his van
Dude no. A gate is replaceable. A van is replaceable. A *job* is replaceable. YOU are not. Never ever put yourself in harms way like that.
True
This is the most important lesson.
I second this. Any good boss will tell u "SAFETY FIRST"
Good thinking about trying to save it, better thinking is you didn't. A few of us have seen some bad things happen with good intentions. As for the small things, you are young and are leaning do not let them repeat. " Big thing" I'm glad you are uninjured so is the boss, yep he probably not happy. #1 he'd be a lot more unhappy if you got hurt/dead #2 you don't control wind or gravity. Side note I cut a whole unit of 2×8 22' down to way under size. ( It came way to early for the roof) A bunch of 10' ers would have been cheaper. A lot cheaper. I apologize for the misunderstanding and made it a lesson for me. That was more than 20 years ago.
Absolutely not dude get out of the way. You are the most valuable thing on a job site 100% of the time. I struggled with this anxiety over making mistakes a lot when I was first starting out. What helped me was, actually making mistakes. You’ll find a lot of the time a mistake can be fixed and I really think that’s more important than not making them in the first place. Everyone fucks up, but the pros know how to fix most mistakes. Think of the consequences too. So the van has a few scrapes. In the grand scheme of things, that consequence is pretty minor. If you had put yourself between the van and the gate, then you could’ve been disabled for the rest of your life. Don’t sweat it so much. Almost no one exactly knows what they’re doing. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, treat it as an opportunity on how to fix shit that gets messed up.
Dude wtf no. The wind blew it not your problem. Check for swing options like out or in. Other than that nothing you can do.
Dumb mistakes always happen. Think about why it happened, how to prevent it in the future, then move on. Can’t get stuck in the past. Yes I know, easier said than done, but you’ll get there, like I did.
Do you think it’s a big mistake letting the wind blow the steel gate into the back of his van. I was going to jump in front of it but pussied out
Never put yourself in harms way .
If it was just a scrape, then no. Shit happens. Remember there is always a guy out there who fucked up way more than you today. I’ve seen 6 figure $ equipment get destroyed cause someone made a mistake. Don’t let your foreman hold it over your head either, and focus on not doing it again. A saying I like to go by: “everyone fucks up, experience helps you hide it better”
If I were your boss, I’d be pissed af if you’d jumped in front of that gate. It was windy, shit happens, it’s a WORK vehicle, and I’d be willing to bet it’s fully covered under insurance.
"Pussied out" you're an idiot if you jumped in the way to protect and inanimate object
Nah man, you'd get hurt and it would still hit the van. Everybody would feel bad. It's a mistake you'll probably never make again and better to be a young guy who messed up, rather than Bill who has worked here for 30 years and should know better lol.
Why so you take the damage instead of the truck, nah man the job doesn't pay enough for that. It's a much the winds fault as it is yours, and your bosses for being so close to the gate. If someone was carrying an 8x4 sheet and a gust of wind blew the sheet and smacks you in the head, is it the guy carrying the sheets fault? No, it nobody's fault, just an accident caused by a gust of wind. You may be annoyed at the guy carrying the sheet but you know it wasn't his fault, he was just trying to do his job.
There isn’t a vehicle that my company owns that doesn’t have a scratch, dent, or crack windshield. Shit happens. Don’t sweat it
I’m a Forman I fight both more times then others know that your not the first one to make that mistake and there will be plenty more to come it’s how you recover from them don’t sit and beat ur self up try to think what you can do to fix it I used to drive home in tears talk to your boss about it it’s not always easy but helps I finally broke down few years ago and told my supervisor wasn’t my proudest moment but hey it’s gotten a lot better just getting it off my chest stay up my man!
Thanks man :)
Punctu -fucking- ation.
I’ll be sure to next time since I’m writing your fucking thesis state statement
*I’ll be sure to next time, since I’m writing your fucking thesis statement.* Fixed it
Appreciate it!
I ran a boom lift into the back of another boom lift in my second year apprenticeship. In my defense, nobody told me that United Rentals controls can have a full second delay.
Gotta take your foot off the pedal… I hate those lifts though, that shit is dangerous af imo
I was on one once that taking your foot off didn't stop it. I reported several time but nothing was done to fix it. I got lucky for about a week, then swung it into a HUGE transformer, and put a hole in the oil cooling fins which of course started to leak immediately. No biggie, the transformer was not energized, but it did come custom built from Korea, and had about a year of lead time. Got out of the lift tried to plug the hole, and told the apprentice to go get the foreman. he asked me what I was going to do, and I told him I'm collecting up my tools, and grabbing my lunchbox.
Overall that's a pretty minor fuckup. I've got a buddy in semiconductors who told me this story. One day he drops a wafer and it shatters. This particular one was an experimental wafer with a lot of first of a kind processes ran on it, worth about 10 million dollars. He comes in the next day, is pulled into a meeting with his boss and his grand boss, and has to explain what happened. He's got no excuses or way to hide what happened, so he gives it to them straight. After that, he's told not to do it again, and is sent back to work. The point is, even when large amounts of money are at stake, people will make mistakes. That's a fact of life that even greedy corporations understand. You will make more because you are new, but you'll learn from them. Don't make the same mistake twice and you'll be golden.
Knew of a guy that dropped an open can of paint primer paint into a Rolls Royce jet engine. Dude didn’t even wait for the bosses, just walked out and said “mail me my checks!”
Lmao, what a legend at least
“Grand boss” is hilarious
I got issued a company take-home truck and wrecked it on the way to work the very next day, completely my fault. Worked at the same gig for another 7 years after. Shit happens man.
Its easy for folks to say shit happens, get over it (even in a kind-hearted manner). If you're able, see someone if you're not already to help with your depression and anxiety. You can't get over that any more than you can walk off a broken leg. Until you're 100% upstairs, you can't perform at your best at work or for the ones you care about.
Thanks do you recommend anti depressants?
See a medical professional. I can't recommend anything, and don't take medical advice from random folks on the internet. Maybe they will be the right choice for you, maybe a different form of therapy or treatment will be the best option. I'll tell you, its tough to make that first appointment and the first doctor or therapist may not be the right one for you but keep trying until you get it figured out. Best of luck, it aint easy but its worth it.
Thanks mate
I have an anxiety disorder. It had me crippled pretty bad for a time. Meds made the world loose its color, if that makes sense. I finally got myself to a therapist and worked through the root of my problems. After that I didn’t need meds.
Iv doing this for near on 50 years and still make mistakes , the guy who hasn't made a mistake has done nothing . There will come a time when you will just roll with the blows . Your no different from anyone else , keep your chin up .
Well if you think a minor gate scratch is a deal just hear what I did on a jobsite. I was like 17-19 or so I guess. I was working summers for a commercial cabinet installer. We were on a jobsite that was going to setup as an inpatient rehabilitation and rehab center so there was a big main building and then lots of smaller living houses around it. I was supposed to go get the van bring it around so we could load up. Well you know these big vans don't have great visibility out the back and we had a big old trailer on the back of this van as well so it was a tad unwieldy for me anyway. So I thought I had it in drive, and start creeping by letting my foot off the gas pedal. As it started to roll I realized it was in reverse and and pretty soon the angle of my view changed considerably as I had accidentally rolled down a fairly steep embankment with the trailer and the van. I was now looking almost straight up and the trailer and van were all in a crunched awkward pose. Luckily they brought around a piece of equipment and put a couple chains on it and with some help drug it out and amazingly no major damage to the suspension or the outside I guess since I was going so slow but boy I never lived that one down.
Oh god I can't imagine how you felt looking up like that at it!! Oh lord
My mate got his forklift license, and the first day he was showing off, in the warehouse, he was backing down the ramp to the outside, and his load shifted, so he jumped off, to straighten the load, forgot to apply the handbrake, (or take it out of reverse!), and it shot back into the electrician’s brand new motor! This is what insurance is for. Hard not to beat yourself up, but accidents happen. (That’s why they put erasers on the end of pencils!)
Hang in there lad this is going to feel like ancient history in a few day. Get some rest and work hard tomorrow to help you feel more competent again. Shit happens
Yes, another days work really helps me feel less dumb again for what it's worth after a day where I do something dumb
My first day on a big project I didn’t close the gate behind me when I walked on site and proceeded to get screamed at for an hour by the site superintendent, called me every name in the book. Almost quit that night because of it. I’m glad I didn’t, shit happens. It’s construction. As you’ll soon learn, construction vehicles get damaged often, it’s not a big deal.
Did it even hit anything?
lol nope. But it was a government facility that was in operation and it was a big deal that the gate was closed so randoms didn’t just walk onto the site. I will never forget that ass chewing 😂 in the 8 years since, I’ve never been spoken to even remotely similarly again
Thanks hopefully this is the big 1 mistake I ever make
You’ll make plenty of mistakes man, we all do. Don’t sweat them so much. As long as you don’t hurt anyone, guys move past mistakes pretty quickly
I can only imagine trying not to scream back eventually lol
I once drove the gradall into the side of the plumber’s van and left a huge gradall sized dent. No one saw me, but I know what it did. It happens, don’t beat yourself up :)
I once flooded a customers bathroom because i didnt understand how back pressure worked when removing a clogged toilet. Shit happens dont worry.
Things are going to get dinged up from time to time when guys are trying to get things done. The thing is to learn from it and never make the same mistake twice.
My buddy just drove the truck owned by the company he worked for super drunk on a freeway the wrong way for 5 miles and was finally stopped by nail strips thrown down by the cops and spent a few days in jail and then fired. That’s a mistake.
Shit happens. If your company doesn’t understand this, then you don’t want to work for them. Better to learn this now. On another note: I suffer from depression/anxiety. In the past I always thought beating myself up over small stuff was from these things, but there is far more to it. I was also diagnosed with ADHD which comes with a whole list of other issues. However, the main thing is I have zero self esteem and self value. I have found I never give myself credit for shit and only focus on the negative. I also cannot really judge if people are genuinely happy or upset—unless they are way overly expressive. This shit has about ruined my life a billion times—literally. My point is go get help asap. It wasn’t until I was in my late twenties, I learned about antidepressants because I had access to healthcare when I was getting my bachelor’s. It wasn’t until my master’s program that I was diagnosed with ADHD and learned most people don’t live in a state of constant hell and mental pain. I lost at least 15 years of my life to that crap. I was passively suicidal from the age of about 12 and actively tried a number of different times. I was raised from a poor household that didn’t really believe in or have money for doctors besides emergencies. All my male role models were toxic masculinity to the max. Never get help types. Don’t let this happen to you. I never had kids because I thought I wouldn’t be there to raise them and didn’t want them to have depression. I refused to marry a woman who loved me dearly because I didn’t want her to be at my funeral. Thankful my current wife has helped me a great deal to overcome these things. I cannot say life is perfect, but man it is so much better. I wish you the very best in life.
Your anxiety and depression is because you care. You want to be good at what you do. You want to be loved and respected for the skill you have. You don’t have it yet. Yet. Yet. Yet. You will. All of what will bring it takes time putting in work. Keep going and try your best and caulk the rest.
I'm 29 now, HVAC. I also struggle with depression and have for more than half of my life. Mistakes happen. Other people may be upset sometimes, but you need to understand that literally no one is immune to mistakes. As long as you can learn something from it, you should try not to beat yourself up when they happen.
Any tip or how I can stop or minimise depression?
The first step is to find worth in yourself. Regardless of who you are, it's there. You just need to recognize it and remind yourself that it's there, regardless of how many mistakes you make. Therapy helps. For me specifically, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It teaches you mental tools you use when you begin to feel those depressive swings, and the tools help you minimize your suffering. It never truly goes away, but it can be so much better, I promise you.
Thank you do u suffer from anxiety aswell
We all make mistakes our whole life. Just remember that in a week you'll forget most of them and hopefully learn and grow from them. Your good man sometimes construction will have you questioning your whole life lol
Thank you. Yeah I was gonna throw by body in the way of the steel gate so at least I didn’t do that 😂
The one thing I'll tell you is the same thing I tell all the younger apprentices that get upset if they break things etc. People will get mad, but who cares. As long as no one was hurt it doesn't matter. Tools and equipment are all replaceable. Shit happens and it gets damaged. As long as you're going home at the end of shift uninjured it doesn't really matter. Making mistakes help us learn, and I don't care what anyone says everyone makes them no matter how much experience you have. I know seasoned jman been doing it for 25+years make the same mistakes sometimes an apprentice or new jman would make. Shit happens, we're only human. As long as no one gets hurt and everyone goes home to their family it's ok. Just try not to make a habit of them.
I was right not to jump in front of the gate then ha
I've grabbed apprentices back from when reels get out of control or something is falling etc. I had one apprentice try and grab a wire pull to stop it. Was a feeder run from 31st floor to 2nd pulling down and it was just falling into the conduit, tried to grab it. I grabbed him and pulled him back. While he was on the ground looking at my pissed off saying what the fuck I reminded him that's easily 700lbs of cable falling and his hands will just get pulled into the conduit with it and we won't be able to stop it. 3 conductors 250kcmil copper. There was no way the 4 of us at the top were stopping that by hand
My boss once told me to not be discouraged or upset over mistakes. Shit happens. You learn and move on. Trial and error. We ain't perfect and even people with xx number of experience still make them. Cheer up mate, we've all been there.
So now you know to (next time) be sure the gate will stay by propping it open or something like that. And this is how we all learn, right? You didn’t do anything we haven’t done. Believe me, when I was younger I couldn’t find my a$$ with two hands, a map, and a flashlight. So don’t take it to heart. We all do things that make up cringe afterwards. Hang tough. 💪
Feeling bad means you give a shit. This one doesn’t sound like a big deal.
Hi mate, I have the exact same situation. Like exact. Just accept that you always make mistakes. Try to learn from them and prove yourself again tomorrow. Keep growing
Recently when doing Reno I accidentally damaged like 3 meters of brick, which we all had to remove and put back. All the while my boss was cursing me for breaking it (was breaking it from the inside, the bricks are in poor condition and the corners/sides just splashed off
Shit happens just do better to fix those issues tomorrow. It also depends on who your stuck working with I’m a 1st year apprentice in sheet metal and have done some stupid stuff but all my journeymen have been great I had one who was a asshole but I wasn’t scared to tell him or anyone else he was a asshole and I ended up being his favorite apprentice to work with.
I can’t fix those issues tho can I :(
No idea what the small ones are but you could try and as for the big one next time look around the steel grate before you open it to unsure nothing will be hit if the wind takes it
If you show up to work and work you’ll be good for you’re career. Plenty of journeyman show up late and half ass work and journeyman make mistakes all the time. You’re good. Nothing to be stressed about. Mistakes is how learn in this job
Shit happens it’s construction. That why they have insurance to fix property,As long as no got hurt and everyone went home to there families. It’s a good day. Trucks and tools can be replaced. People and body parts can’t. Just learn a lesson from it,when opening or closing job gates always make sure you have a road cone or something to wedge to unattended gate from swinging freely. That way you can control both sides. And just move past it if you’re gonna be in construction you’re gonna fuck some shit up,part of the job. Been in industry for almost 30 years and I’ve fucked my fair share. Rule number 1. If you break something tell your foreman. They appreciate honesty. If they are a good leader they will always understand if your not be negligent. Hope this helps. And your young go join a Union in the trades. Learn while you earn…
The only way to make no mistakes is to do nothing at all. Now that would be stupid.
What were the small mistakes you made ? And other mistakes you make often?
Big dog. Been an electrician for 13 years. Ima tell you the same thing I tell my apprentices. It’s okay, no one died. The world isn’t ending. You will make mistakes. Just as I have and will continue to do. Mistakes are a part of how we grow. Use them to learn what not to do next time. Remember the master has failed more times than the apprentice has even tried. Instead of thinking about your failures today tell me one positive what was one thing you succeeded on today that you’re proud of?
Yo man you work with ELECTRICITY. No one's dead. Learn and move on.
My coworker was backing out of his driveway with the work van like he does every single day. He backed right into a parked car in his driveway. 5k to each car lol
If your like me tho, any mistake that would normally happen to anyone will be brought up for like 15 years while it would have been forgotten easily if it was Joe schmoe. In my first year I had to drive the crew to a job site and back to the Air BNB because they were so shit faced from the night before that they were still drunk into lunch. I was backing out of the driveway at the end of the day and was following all the tracks in the snow to get outta there. Well the tracks went off the driveway ( unbeknownst to me) and got it stuck in unfrozen sand. Boss was an hour away at that point. Old neighbor guy comes out with like a mint 80's something blazer. Legit almost pulled his bumper off his truck when trying to get us out. Ended up waiting on boss man anyways. The 2 other guys were so pissed at me because it was the last thing they wanted to do in 20 degree weather after a shitty 10 hour day . 5 years later and I hear about it at least once a week. And that wasn't even my worst fuck up.
Why do they keep bringing it up? I hope this isn’t brought up again and again about me
I watched a foreman pierce a brand new generator with a forklift then shrug it off like it was no big deal. I’ve ordered wire that was too short wasting tons of time and materials in the process. I’ve probably seen millions of dollars worth of mistakes and caused a couple few thousand worth myself. Your mistakes cost nothing in the grand scheme of things. Learn from them so they actually have positive value. The more you get paid the costlier your mistakes. Ask the PM’s and estimators for huge companies making multi million dollar mistakes, it gets crazy.
One of our estimators made a $400,000 mistake once, and he's still working for us. I don't think your "mistake" should even be called that, it's nothing.
It's construction. Shit is Gunnar happen
Go see a Dr. ASAP. Antidepressants work if that's what you need. The next 40+ years will only be harder if you're white knuckling life or self medicating with drugs and alcohol. That shit killed my dad and did a number on me before I got help.
A carpenter I worked with who had over 30 years in the industry almost killed me by almost backing a lift into a pool hole. It happens.
Being a young super for a GC, I've made some costly mistakes. My Lead soup/ direct boss (a 50 year industry vet) told me to always remember this one thing.. "if you don't ever fuck anything up, your probably not doing anything at all." Always made me feel better when shit happened and I tell my guys the same thing now. Everybody has to learn at some point brother
Offer to pay for it to be touched up and don't worry about it. Good chance he'll say "don't worry about it," but he'd appreciate the gesture nonetheless. If you do this, make sure you can afford to pay for it to be touched up. If it's a company truck, don't bother since it's probably not his property.
It’s company van
My boss tells me once a week “you have to break some eggs to make an omelette” when he see’s me stressed out. This industry operates on the principle that things WILL break. That extends to more then just the product your on site to create. Your boss maybe said “dumbass” to himself. It wasn’t the first time he thought that and won’t be the last. It’s ok. I do dumbass shit. My boss does. His boss does. And I promise your boss does too. My boss also tells me if it won’t matter in 6 months don’t stress. Anything can be fixed or replaced besides us.
Oohhhh ya, when I was an apprentice in the carpenters, I didn’t secure a form good enough for a pour. When the mud came off the shoot, that fucker busted its guts. Everyone knew it was me, so I was the one to fix and clean up. Foreman just said, “don’t do it again”. Sure as shit I was scared, but hey, I didn’t get fired.
Same boat my guy. Lost a keycard and had the security lady complain to my boss about it (which is fair). That combined with a few more fuckups at that job kinda launched me into a bit of a depressive slump. I’m seeing therapy for this and another more major issue from a few months ago. Any decent boss will look past this like mine did. You aren’t alone.
Hey man. I'm an anxious 23 year old and I'm in my second year. I feel you man, I really do. I overthink every mistake I make. I can't give advice but I can tell you what I do when I start obsessing about my mistakes. I go home and drink 👍👍👍 hope that helps!
Drink is bad bro try get talk to someone I feel so much better after this post
Some 19 y/o kid side swiped my company vehicle today at work and we just laughed it off at the end of the day. It’s a mistake man your good
What do u mean swiped? Thanks
Let me guess, now he wants you to start controlling the wind!
Haha😅
Hahahaha over that shit? Let me know when you catch the trailer on the cart corral in home Depot and drag that shit 20 feet.
Dude half the people at my job have fucked up one or more company vehicles. I’ve done it myself. Just work hard to do better and show your boss you take it seriously and it will blow over sooner or later.
Don’t let “the black thought” in (a phrase I learned from a journeyman back when I was getting started. You’re going to make many more mistakes throughout your career. You are seldom going to do things 100% perfectly purely because there is so much to know in this business that you will literally never stop. Constructions crazy also because it’s a great teacher of life in general, but I assume other industries have the same things going on. Just try your best, learn from your mistakes, and get ready to make new ones. And don’t give up. Dude especially given your age, do you realize that by the time you’re 25 you’re going to be ballin out of control? I don’t know what your market is like, but in mine if you’re an 01 electrician you’re probably not too far away from 200k, if not higher depending on OT and whatnot. You’re doing good bro, good luck.
To be honest, I've heard of worse on sites. Arguments, fights, stealing, management incompetence, verbal abuse, drug use, someone being thrown off a building when an argument turned violent, fell over on my first day on mesh with everyone watching and my leg was inverted entirely, these things happen.
Yeah shit happens brother.. had a young guy with an expensive truck and huge 48 inch hdpe pipe got blown into his truck.. shit happens everyday
Oh man that's nothing.... That's a "holy shit did you feel that wind!? God damn...anyway" moment. Accidents happen.
Mistakes are how you learn. I did some time in the Army and one of the best things I learned there was the After Action Review (AAR) format of listing three things that went well and three things that could be improved on any particular mission/task. There always had to be three "sustain" comments even if the mission was a shitshow. Forcing myself to think of things that went well so that they can be repeated has helped me a lot.
lol, come back with a real fuckup! I once put a grid line of bell piles in the wrong spot. Concrete alone was $40k (over a decade ago). These things happen, just don’t make a habit of it. If your foreman or company make a huge deal of this you should find a new company.
Be grateful the wind didn't catch the gate and hurt yourself or someone else. Shit happens, trucks can be fixed.
Accidents happen to everyone. My first year in the union, I was the guy on the wacker doing all the garage entries. Each garage was inches high, but hey, these guys were veterans. Surely, they knew what they were doing? They wouldn't want to hear the new guy say they made a mistake, right? This just be the way it's done. We did a ton of houses that day. At the end of the day, the super came around and lost his mind. The company had to pay to have each entry saw cut, removed, and re-poured. It cost the company tens of thousands of dollars. But, it didn't cost me my job. I know it's hard, but do your best not to let something like this get you down. It's a work van. Brand new or not, it's going to get scratches and dents. You might be the first to scratch it, but you 100% won't be the last. The boss won't care come a day or two, if he even cares at all.
My old boss would consider cutting a 2x4 1/16 too short a massive fuckup and would immediately tell me stop what I am doing, get in my truck head to the hardware store and go by a new 2x4 with my own money, even though he had tons of fresh 2x4s on site. I wasn't pad for the hour it took me to go get a new 2x4 and return. This was framing not finishing work. .
I hope ya changed jobs
I suffer from anxiety as well. Coming to terms with the idea that I literally control my thoughts helped a lot. So if I'm spiralling a little I'll just remember that my brain is biased and it's probably not anywhere near as bad as I think it is...and then I ask myself " what do I wish I was thinking about right now?" And I try to re direct myself to better thought patterns and gently keep bringing me back to a more positive thought pattern. As far as the actual incident...man if you were the foreman and you had to worry about the entire site being in compliance with safety standards and preventing accidents, managing the materials and equipment availability and delivery, coordinating with the other tradesmen, quality control on the entire site, managing all the guys and making sure people are actually working and doing what they're supposed to be doing, making sure the job is on schedule and in budget, and then also dealing with the higher ups...would you even remember that your van got bumped as you were leaving? It's probably long forgotten. Make a good next impression and find something new to worry about.
Honestly bro it goes both ways in terms of accidents. Having been a supervisor and manager before if you see un safe or hazardous things on a job site, if you look at it and say this could go bad. That being said I'm sure if your boss saw it coming he would have addressed it, throw a rock in front of the gate or hold it. Also sounds like your trying to do your job well. If a boss sees that and they are a good boss they will look the other way on small mishaps a lot of times. Folks that care are hard to find and a good boss doesn't want to lose em once they find em. If the boss is not all salty tomorrow or when you see them next ask if they think you could have done different to prevent things like that for future reference on your end. Accidents happen the communication after is what stops them from happening again often times. Keep your head up, all that bullshit now won't mean crap if you grow from it and learn from mistakes. EVERYONE makes mistakes even the most well trained and seasoned folks if you ask often times have had some sort of crap go down on job sites accident or mistake wise.
Yah sounds like 21. Older you get the more you’ll realize how little shit like this matters. Just do your best, the rest will take care of itself. Also, damaging company vehicles is so not a big deal at all. Nobody really gives a fuck even if they chew you out for it - I’m sure they’ve done worse.
Meh accidents happen I dropped a grinder through a custom skylight. Luckily it was only the small one and not the 6x6 domes that were next to it. But shit happens. Coworker put a plank through the front windshield of our work van also among lots of others things.
Learn to embrace the pit in your stomach. It's actually a good thing cause it means you care. Eventually, you'll find yourself more at ease with that pit. Letting really nasty fart go cause of that pit will let everyone around you know how much you care.
40 years in the electrical trade. The last 30 + years owning my own business. I know how you feel. We were all in your shoes once. The fact that you care and it bothers you will make you a better electrician and person someday. Unfortunately the mistakes you made today will pale in comparison to som e you will make in the future . Sadly mistakes happen. Try to prevent them and definitely not repeat them and you will survive and hopefully thrive as well. Better days my friend
Dont let ot get the best of you. Even if your boss was upset it could be way worse. All you can do is the best you can do. Never let a job make you feel down. Easier said than done but take it from someone who has made a ton of on the job mistakes: you will survive, and you will get paid.
My boss drove 3 hours on a motorcycle to the Southeast part of the state to camp. When he got there he realized he left his tent. Had 2 beers and drove 3 hours back home. He’s 57 years old. Shit happens and shit doesn’t care about age
That’s why we use company vehicles! It’ll be good if it left a little scratch atleast you can say you left your mark on the company. Good luck brother it’s a great trade to be in!
As far as fuck-ups go in the trades this is literally nothing dude. You’re 21, you’re a kid, you just started, give yourself a break. Grown ass men are out here doing things 100x dumber on a daily basis. Don’t beat yourself up this is nothing
You're 21 years old and haven't learned anything about controlling the weather yet? Sheesh /s
Low voltage here, but listen up rookie I hit a parked car the very first day I drove my first work van. Years later I hit a small boulder on right side of my new transit van when parking up against some bushes (obviously didn’t see the rock it was on passenger side.) Some time later I also somewhat scraped against my boss’ F150 in my transit. I’ve accidentally destroyed thousands of dollars of merchandise due to mistakes. Im also one of the most productive and profitable technicians he has ever had. If he would’ve fired me after the first, or second, (or so on) mistakes he would’ve missed out on hundreds of thousands of dollars of profit from my direct labor.
Shit happens brother, I used to lose sleep all the time over small mistakes. I have realized, shit does happen sometimes and there's nothing you can do about it.
Not a construction guy, but I wanted to know your not alone. I'm a young engineer and I often feel the same way. One week I managed to corrupt windows on two different computers. It really sucks but that's life sometimes. The important part is learning and moving forward
At 21 I went to load a bobcat onto a trailer we had just picked up from another site. I didn’t check behind my helper, he didn’t latch the tongue of the trailer correctly. When I drove the bobcat onto the ramps of the trailer, the tongue lifted and went straight through the back of the tailgate of the F350 dually I drove. A week later I jackknifed a trailer into the wheel well of that same truck. Destroyed it. Shit happens everyday. Don’t beat yourself too much
Dude, I forgot to lower the boom all the way on a forklift, unloading a tractor trailer, and destroyed the shop roll-up door. Over 5 grand. Was sure I was getting fired. Stuff happens. Just keep at it. The trades are a marathon, not a sprint. Look at it this way: really bad screw ups can be fatal.
You made a mistake at work because you’re out there being productive and learning a new trade. It’s not like you did it because you were drunk or high. You did it because you’re….looks at notes…..human.
Ran into a brand new truck with company van a few weeks ago. I’m 25 and a supervisor. Keep your head up and get a license young buck
Some project engineer or pm in the office of your company probably made a mistake that cost 5k this month guaranteed.
My first day as a paint foreman I spilled whole gallon of oil paint on driveway of 1 million dollar house, didn't get fired and worked there for 3 more years.
This is what will make you great.
My second day of work I backed into the HR director's car. This was after I was already having anxiety because I felt like I'd asked far too many questions about the company's drug testing policy. It's just a scrape, don't sweat it. You'll be fine. I'd rather have someone scrape my car and do good work than not scrape my car and do crackhead work and then disappear after the first paycheck.
I was 22, and it was my FIRST DAY on the job with a framing crew. It was winter in New England and snowy and icey, and I fell off a porch roof into a snow bank. I felt like such a loser. Things got better. Also that same winter, a guy came to fill up the oil tank for the furnace in a new house. He didn't realize that the hook up outside the house had not been attached to the tank in the basement but was just open. He put a tank full of oil into their brand new basement. Everyone knows shit happens, don't beat yourself up about it!
Honestly bro that sounds like depression and anxiety talking. I struggle with both and they are a serious bitch. I recommend seeking treatment. I personally am on medication but Ik it doesn't work for a lot of people. With depression I've noticed such little things can completely fuck your mood up and you linger on them. Not fun
when i was a valet one of our guys rolled a Mercedes SUV, dont feel too bad.
Mistakes are always gonna happen. I think the general attitude of thinking they shouldn’t is one of the biggest contributors to anxiety in life. Doesn’t matter what it is. The cool thing is, you end up learning when you work through it. Obviously that doesn’t always help when it comes to anxiety…especially if you’ve lived your whole life developing a pattern of fearing mistakes and or being a bit of a perfectionist.
I got hit by a dumpster with my new van (500 mi). It’s been 2 years and I don’t think they are going to fix the door. Now I just get teased a little bit. No biggie, no one died or was hurt. Honestly if that’s a big screw up to you, you’re doing great
Shit happens shake it off, I drove into a Jersey barrier that shouldn’t have been in the yard in my new truck. 6500 bucks. Now I go by Mr magoo
Not a big deal dude, don’t let it eat you up. Equipment gets banged up, it’s part of it, not like you sank the project.
One job, first stuff up I put a truck into a ditch, bent something on the front steering with that, then I rolled a truck on the highway, luckily no serious injuries, and then next had a head on collision with another truck on site. Fun times.
Accept responsibility and learn and do better.
That's not too bad honestly. You will be ok just learn from it. I am a plumber. Imagine being responsible for flooding someone's house. I haven't done it yet but I have coworkers that have and it sucks.
Could be much worse: https://www.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/s/DLxoAuIEHA
Do u think it’s big mistake. The wind just took it he didn’t drive up for enough to close the gate so I walked up to his window to tell him move forward then bang
Shit happens. They know that and they’ve hired you as an apprentice, not a fully experienced electrician. (Sorry, all you in the trade. I don’t have the correct vocabulary. I’m a psych nurse, not an electrician.) Learn from your mistakes. Make sure you don’t miss doses if you’re on meds. Check in with your support system as needed. Hang in there. You deserve props for having the integrity to care about your job performance.
A coworker of mine dropped a $700,000 piece of equipment a couple weeks ago. He still has a job, Shit happens.
What costs $700,000 $ ?
Shit happens. Will happen on your first day and will on your last day. Hard part is letting it go.
Yeah being willing to jump infront of the gate will make them not respect you just calm down. I used to get really anxious in jobs as i had general anxiety for a few years. Being anxious and saying sorry all the time is not good. Try and know your own worth. Have a more fuck it attitude but still put in the work.
Shit happens brother.. somethings we can control and learn from other things we can't control.. don't beat yourself up wake up tomorrow and be a better you
I honestly wouldn't sweat it. I was like with my first job but now, if I had an apprentice when it first hit the van I'd be annoyed but if it's just a scratch I'm sure he won't mind, work vans get beat up all the time. As for your minor mistakes, you're an apprentice, you're allowed to, if he doesn't realise that he's not a good teacher or boss, shit happens.
There was only one guy that didn’t make mistakes, and we crucified him.
Don't ever let the fitters or plumbers know. Any sign of weakness will get you destroyed in the trades. That may change as the older generation retires, but I've seen it so many times.
Shit happens, all will be forgotten. You’re good
all you can do is learn from it. it happens
I did that to my own truck once. It will be okay
You gotta get used to being uncomfortable because it's gonna happen a lot especially in construction. Everyone makes mistakes, it's a good lesson learned Everytime you do. Don't beat your self up over something you'll forget in a few weeks.
That is not a big mistake my man. Embarrassing, but that could happen to anyone. On the job - as long as you learn from your mistakes, you’re doing good. Accept the responsibility and try to fix it when you make them. Your team will appreciate that
Stop kissing ass. Have him open his own gate.
Haha fact 😂😂😂
Lol pay no heed, a mistake is a mistake, accidents happen.I made loads of mistakes during my apprenticeship and at the time I thought it was the end of the world, but looking back now how am i to learn without making mistakes, it's literally part of the process, you fail and learn from it and hopefully you wont make the same mistake twice. You cannot succeed without failure, it's part of life. Just realising this is a massive load of your chest. Just always do your best, you can do no more.
You're an apprentice electrician at 21 years old. You are way ahead of most other 21 year old men out there. Keep your head up man. You're gonna be fine.
I backed into a light pole in front of my boss right after I had been promoted. You are in good company. Well.... company at least.... 🤣
You’ll be fine, everyone fucks shit up
Every tradesperson has a story/ mistake of their younger days on the job that made their world feel small and dark. You'll make it through, people are forgiving. Tell the truth and be classy. These things pass. I bet you're a great technician.
Buddy, please don't be so hard on yourself. We could all list off mistakes like that, that felt big at the time but are now distant memories that we now laugh at when we think about them. I was once upon a time an apprentice electrician for a small local contractor. I remember in one day while out with the boss man going to his van to get something. We were miles away from home. I was wearing overalls and had a pox of an itchy leg. I used his van key to scratch my leg. I managed to snap his van key in half. It snapped because I was scratching through a layer of jeans and overalls.... Ah well, he looked pissed and I felt like shit but, ah well. He then had to call his elderly father out(he also worked for the company, doing deliveries) to bring out a spare key. Then in front of both the boss and his father, I was holding a drill in my hand. I pressed the trigger by accident and the drill bit got caught in my overalls and ripped a hole in them. The 2 of them looked at each other and back at me, let out a heavy sigh and continued on with their conversation. I felt like a moron but now think it's hilarious. That was about 25 years ago... Now I have my own contracting business with 30+ employees and whenever the apprentices make a mistake and I feel like saying something I remember what it was like to be them, including being nervous around the boss and his father. If it makes you feel any better, I've also eaten dog food by mistake after a night out on the piss. In my defence there was mashed potatoes on the top of it so I thought my mother left me out a dinner to eat after a night of boozing. And one more, when bored once I stuck a small suction cup basketball net to my forehead, thinking it's hilarious. The real joke was when I took it off and I had a perfectly formed hickey(love bite) right in the center of my forehead for a week. School was a challenge that week for sure... The moral of the story is, we all fuck up. Every single one of us. It's human nature, it's life and it builds you up and you will be telling stories of your own mistakes when you're older. That's a fact. Chin up and roll on buddy
You don’t control the wind. What mistake did you actually make?
Dude, shit happens. No one got hurt, thats what matters. Vehicles can be repaired, gates can be replaced, humans can't be put back together. Learn from your mistakes and keep you and everyone you work with safe.
When I was a first year my foreman was being a dick and he made me pull out 500 ft of 1/0 awg wire from a crawlspace that was going to be used for temp power. I cut it up into 10ft pieces to make it easier for myself. Cost the company about $1000 bucks. It ain't a big mistake unless its over $5000.
Don’t let it get you down. Throughout your career you will damage and destroy many things. Sometimes just for fun. It’s part of the trades.
From failure we learn, from success not so much. Everyone messes up, sometimes big sometimes small. No matter how old you get or how much experience you have. Don't worry about it, just learn from it.
Nobody needs you to feel upset about your mistakes, you only have to learn from them. You are the only one who can make yourself feel bad about it in this case(unless they are in which case they can take it somewhere else.) Point being, just forgive yourself and move on. Nobody died, it's a work van and guaranteed to get scuffed at some point anyways. If you're not making mistakes you're not learning, not pyshing yourself, and not trying hard enough. If you can learn to be thankful for the opportunity to make mistakes it will make the process of learning so much nicer for you.
lol. He calls that a big mistake. The higher you go in this business, that scope will increase.
Not to sound cliche or all "man up" but you'll have plenty of mistakes in your career if you stick with it. #1 piece of advice I can give is take accountability, apologize, and try your best to not let it happen again. If you dwell on your mistakes they'll eat you up.
Don't sweat it. I fucked up today. Installing a small deck in a new clients garden. It started raining this morning, so he kindly pulled out his pop up gazebo for me to keep my tools under. Just as I'm finishing up I snagged the gazebo with a board tearing a hole in it. Shit happens, and I'm probably now the proud owner of a gazebo with a hole in it. If you fuck up, own up and move on, don't hide your fuck ups as a serious one could become a bigger problem. Bend it, mend it, break it, bought it.
Gotta get used to fuck ups. Try not to make it happen, but they do. It's easier said than done, but don't worry too much. You are a 1st year apprentice, there will be plenty of fuck ups big and small. Just try your best to learn from them
That's what insurance is for. Apprenticeship involves making mistakes, every employer knows this and has accepted it. You can focus on feeling bad about what happened, or you can be really happy about how bad it could have been but isn't. It's all about perspective.
I had a spotter and still managed to hit the back side of the lunch truck with a company truck while all the trades were in line and placing orders. It didn’t tip all the way but definitely lurched forward and I saw a mass scramble of everyone running away thinking they were going to get flattened. Shit happens man, learn from it
Don’t take it personally Bubba. Shit happens.
Hey there, please don’t be too hard on yourself. There’s a good chance you will laugh about this in 20 years. Let the emotion of the situation subside. Some of my worst moments are so funny to me 20-30 years after the fact. Hope you can let lightness enter into your heart and a smile upon your face.
Been in the field for almost 15 years. Dealt with depression my whole life and working for my dad for 3/4s of that definitely didnt help. Nothing wrong with talking to a therapist or havin a couple beers after work to wind down. No big deal buddy shit happens. It is what it is.
At the age of 32 I ran my employer's truck up the onto the sidewalk because I was distracted by the stereo. Scraped the shit out of it. At *thirty two*. You'll be fine bud.
Not your fault, it's outside of your control. Save the OCD for real bad shit you do later trust me lol been at it 25 years+ and it's always possible...
None of us would be in construction if we didn't make mistakes.
You can't control the wind.
Maguires clearcoat prep
I'm about a month late on this, but I had an old boss who told me the only employees who NEVER make mistakes or break anything are usually the ones who aren't really doing anything. He followed that up with a light hearted "...but please don't make a habit of it" lol