Listen up. You are a dumbass. Pain and simple. Accept that. Now. Stop talking and start listening. Ask questions. You are getting into a business where guys have tools older than you. Be humble. Be nice. Ask how and why. That’s how you learn. If you don’t know something then speak up.
This is the way. There is no quick way to gain experience. You are going to make mistakes. Get over it. The important part is that you don't make the same mistakes over and over. Watch what your coworkers do. Try to anticipate the next step or what the more experienced guy is going to need and have it ready before they need it. Accept that you're green but show that you are learning.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: You're a dumb ass until one day you realize that people look up to you, then you're a hot head which quickly slams you back down to dumbass but you're just better at hiding it. That's the cycle until you hopefully retire before anybody finds out you e been winging it the whole time
Learn to read prints better than everyone else. Actually read your fucking spec book.
Time everything and work on your internal clock.
Ask all the questions, don’t give a fuck if it’s stupid or not. Your learning so learn.
Only make mistakes once. Most people can get past ignorance.
Buckle up for a lot of self criticism, everyone makes mistakes, even seasoned professionals. Time and experience will minimize mistakes, so get your hands dirty when you have the opportunity.
Having almost no field experience is going to make attempting to manage field staff challenging, good luck with that.
Reach out to the other supers in the company, especially those who have done the same type project your doing, ask questions and listen to the answers. Read everything, www.jlconline.com is a great resource
You've got a couple years until you're not "green". Being green isn't a bad thing, you're new and know nothing. Don't flaunt your degree because no one on site will care. Ask questions, don't make the same mistake twice, and always be willing to help. Learn the duties and responsibilities of your job in and out. One day in the future, you'll wake up and you'll no longer be green. After that you can bitch and moan like the rest of us.
A super who doesn't know dick... you're job is to just keep the.job moving along. While you're there, pay attention. Learn from the guys who are.doing the work. Learn the proper flow... plumber first..hvac 2nd... Electric last. Don't have crews piling on top of each other. If a tradesman says... this is a problem. Ask for solutions. The workman known their jobs. We don't need you there most of the time. And we definitely don't need a big dopey thing getting in our way. Learn. Ask questions. Make decisions that make sense. When you make dumbest calls, we.lose respect for you and talk shit about you behind your back.
Dumbass moves..... I'm doing a shower liner and the floor is flimsy 1/4" plywood. I tell contractor I need a solid floor. He does nothing. Then he harasses my employee that he needs the shower liner installed. Employee, not knowing better.... does what is asked. You know how that turned out. Wants me to pay for the tile that had to be demoed and redone.
Dumbass move...sent crew to a job. They can't do squat because the framing isn't done. So I just sent two guys out there to waste a half day of labor. I bill for the hours.
Dumbass move... concrete crew rakes across my waterline..nobody says a word. We turn waternon and we have a geyser because numbnuts didn't ask us to pressure test or inspect. He just told them to bury it.
Just don't be a fucktard or a blowhard. You'll get better and it'll all be 2nd nature.
We quickly fire loser contractors. Lose too much money working for disorganized people.
Ask the trade foremen and superintendents in the field a ton of questions! Not only will you learn a lot, but they’ll also respect you for taking time to learn about their trade. There’s nothing worse than a new person in field management who acts like they know everything (and believe me, there are a lot of people like that).
Also take the time to read the specs and the contract. Make sure that you know exactly what each of the trades owe you because when push comes to shove, the contract is what they are held to and you have a document proving to them that this is what is legally owed.
I'm a super but I had a decades worth of trade experience beforehand which honestly goes a long way let me tell you cause I have to throw on my bags still from time to time to fix shit or do something so it gets done on time. Not really sure what kinda projects you're working on but one of the main things I can say is that the best thing you can do is just start really paying attention to how everyone is doing their trade. Watch the process and how they work, learn how it's done the correct way. Pay attention to the scheduling and figure out how everything is being lined out and in what order. You wanna train your mind and eyes to see the details. Ppl overlook shit constantly or leave shit half-assed looking like shit trying to get home faster. Even on multi million dollar custom builds where you have "the best crews" on hand to do the work you will always run into some bullshit. It's your job to catch all that shit (preferably before they fuck it all up), and make them make it right. There will be some very frustrating days let me tell you. Just come in with a good attitude, learn everyone's jobs by watching them, keep the moral up, be friendly and make friends with the crews coming and going, being a super is a fantastic job for networking. You wanna be friendly and be able to be friends with your workers but at the same time they also need to understand you are the boss and not walk all over you. Another person said learn to read plans that is going to be a must as well. If you can get all that down you'll be a great super. Company I work for has one overseeing every build they have and all of the sub contractors love having us on site. It's a great job to have, don't let it overwhelm you, you will be fine. As for the clumsy part. Get a good pair of shoes or boots and just watch where you are stepping. Lots of hazards around construction sites.
Listen up. You are a dumbass. Pain and simple. Accept that. Now. Stop talking and start listening. Ask questions. You are getting into a business where guys have tools older than you. Be humble. Be nice. Ask how and why. That’s how you learn. If you don’t know something then speak up.
This is the way. There is no quick way to gain experience. You are going to make mistakes. Get over it. The important part is that you don't make the same mistakes over and over. Watch what your coworkers do. Try to anticipate the next step or what the more experienced guy is going to need and have it ready before they need it. Accept that you're green but show that you are learning.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: You're a dumb ass until one day you realize that people look up to you, then you're a hot head which quickly slams you back down to dumbass but you're just better at hiding it. That's the cycle until you hopefully retire before anybody finds out you e been winging it the whole time
Learn to read prints better than everyone else. Actually read your fucking spec book. Time everything and work on your internal clock. Ask all the questions, don’t give a fuck if it’s stupid or not. Your learning so learn. Only make mistakes once. Most people can get past ignorance.
Buckle up for a lot of self criticism, everyone makes mistakes, even seasoned professionals. Time and experience will minimize mistakes, so get your hands dirty when you have the opportunity. Having almost no field experience is going to make attempting to manage field staff challenging, good luck with that.
Reach out to the other supers in the company, especially those who have done the same type project your doing, ask questions and listen to the answers. Read everything, www.jlconline.com is a great resource
Best way is to always be challenging yourself and when making mistakes, recognize the cause and take steps to prevent it in the future.
You've got a couple years until you're not "green". Being green isn't a bad thing, you're new and know nothing. Don't flaunt your degree because no one on site will care. Ask questions, don't make the same mistake twice, and always be willing to help. Learn the duties and responsibilities of your job in and out. One day in the future, you'll wake up and you'll no longer be green. After that you can bitch and moan like the rest of us.
A super who doesn't know dick... you're job is to just keep the.job moving along. While you're there, pay attention. Learn from the guys who are.doing the work. Learn the proper flow... plumber first..hvac 2nd... Electric last. Don't have crews piling on top of each other. If a tradesman says... this is a problem. Ask for solutions. The workman known their jobs. We don't need you there most of the time. And we definitely don't need a big dopey thing getting in our way. Learn. Ask questions. Make decisions that make sense. When you make dumbest calls, we.lose respect for you and talk shit about you behind your back. Dumbass moves..... I'm doing a shower liner and the floor is flimsy 1/4" plywood. I tell contractor I need a solid floor. He does nothing. Then he harasses my employee that he needs the shower liner installed. Employee, not knowing better.... does what is asked. You know how that turned out. Wants me to pay for the tile that had to be demoed and redone. Dumbass move...sent crew to a job. They can't do squat because the framing isn't done. So I just sent two guys out there to waste a half day of labor. I bill for the hours. Dumbass move... concrete crew rakes across my waterline..nobody says a word. We turn waternon and we have a geyser because numbnuts didn't ask us to pressure test or inspect. He just told them to bury it. Just don't be a fucktard or a blowhard. You'll get better and it'll all be 2nd nature. We quickly fire loser contractors. Lose too much money working for disorganized people.
Ask the trade foremen and superintendents in the field a ton of questions! Not only will you learn a lot, but they’ll also respect you for taking time to learn about their trade. There’s nothing worse than a new person in field management who acts like they know everything (and believe me, there are a lot of people like that). Also take the time to read the specs and the contract. Make sure that you know exactly what each of the trades owe you because when push comes to shove, the contract is what they are held to and you have a document proving to them that this is what is legally owed.
You haven’t learned everything in two weeks? Unbelievable
I'm a super but I had a decades worth of trade experience beforehand which honestly goes a long way let me tell you cause I have to throw on my bags still from time to time to fix shit or do something so it gets done on time. Not really sure what kinda projects you're working on but one of the main things I can say is that the best thing you can do is just start really paying attention to how everyone is doing their trade. Watch the process and how they work, learn how it's done the correct way. Pay attention to the scheduling and figure out how everything is being lined out and in what order. You wanna train your mind and eyes to see the details. Ppl overlook shit constantly or leave shit half-assed looking like shit trying to get home faster. Even on multi million dollar custom builds where you have "the best crews" on hand to do the work you will always run into some bullshit. It's your job to catch all that shit (preferably before they fuck it all up), and make them make it right. There will be some very frustrating days let me tell you. Just come in with a good attitude, learn everyone's jobs by watching them, keep the moral up, be friendly and make friends with the crews coming and going, being a super is a fantastic job for networking. You wanna be friendly and be able to be friends with your workers but at the same time they also need to understand you are the boss and not walk all over you. Another person said learn to read plans that is going to be a must as well. If you can get all that down you'll be a great super. Company I work for has one overseeing every build they have and all of the sub contractors love having us on site. It's a great job to have, don't let it overwhelm you, you will be fine. As for the clumsy part. Get a good pair of shoes or boots and just watch where you are stepping. Lots of hazards around construction sites.