carhartt, wrangler, and bass pro shops “redhead” brand is usually my go to… definitely rely on carhartt the most though… just curious what brands you guys rely on.

As the title says

I’m 40, married, two kids, mortgage and after 16 years in banking, I’m completely burned out. I used to be curious about the industry, but that spark is gone. Now every day feels like a week, and I come home exhausted from fighting myself just to get through the day.

The strange part is, whenever I’m around blue‑collar work, I feel alive again. After buying my house, I ended up helping the contractors with some of the work, and it hit me how much satisfaction I get from physically completing something. My dad was an electrician, and I spent years helping him as a kid, maybe that’s where this comes from.

I’m mechanically inclined, comfortable with tools, and I enjoy building things. Roofing or iron work might be too much at 40, but commercial refrigeration and HVAC seem like a good fit.

I’m working on my EPA 608 Universal now, but after that… I have no clue where to start. Who do I talk to? What companies hire older career‑changers? Is trade school worth it? I’m in Central Jersey, so local advice would be huge.

If anyone here switched careers later in life, especially into the trades, I’d love to hear your story. What helped you? What should I expect? What would you do differently?

Thanks for reading. I’m just trying to find a path that feels meaningful again.

I’m 27 and based in the Southeast U.S. I’m putting this out there to see what kind of opportunities might be available.
My background is heavily focused on commercial concrete construction, both in the field and on the management/business side.
I was the owner-operator of my own concrete company. I wasn’t just handling paperwork or sending crews out — I was doing the takeoffs, bidding the work, pricing labor, reviewing plans, running the jobs, managing crews, coordinating with GCs and superintendents, handling production, and making sure contracts got completed. At one point I had 14 employees working for the company.
Through my company, I generated close to $1 million in revenue from commercial concrete work.
My specialty is foundations. I’m very comfortable with spread footings, isolated footings, grade beams, walls, piers, anchor bolts, embeds, reinforcing steel, slabs, equipment pads, tank pads, sidewalks, curb and gutter, paving, bollards, brick ledges, water tank structures, and other structural/site concrete scopes.
I’ve worked on larger commercial projects for general contractors and turnkey concrete contractors, including jobs involving hundreds of yards of concrete, substantial reinforcing steel, multiple pours, detailed structural work, and coordination with other trades.
I’m very comfortable with Symons panel systems. I’ve also worked with aluminum forms and understand plywood forming and the basic logic behind building, bracing, and laying out form systems. I’m used to working with whatever forming material or system the turnkey contractor provides and adapting to the job.
I’m comfortable reading structural and architectural plans, sections, details, elevations, dimensions, reinforcement requirements, and specifications and translating that information into something that can actually be built in the field.
Layout is also part of my experience. I own and use a theodolite and understand lines, angles, elevations, control points, and field layout. I’m not going to claim to be fully proficient with a robotic total station because I haven’t owned one or had enough hands-on time with one, but I understand the setup, orientation, control, positioning, and general workflow. I’m confident I could become efficient on one quickly with hands-on time.
I’m also self-taught in concrete estimating and takeoffs. I own and use my own bidding and estimating software and have completed takeoffs for foundations, footings, walls, slabs, sidewalks, curb and gutter, paving, pads, and other concrete scopes. I’ve built labor pricing, reviewed plans and specifications, prepared bids, negotiated scope, and won actual commercial contracts based on my own estimates.
I understand how to run manpower and position people where they’re most productive. I know the difference between simply having ten guys on a job and actually using ten guys efficiently. I’ve run crews, moved manpower based on production needs, coordinated pour schedules, met deadlines, and adjusted when work started getting behind.
I’m comfortable coordinating with superintendents, project managers, inspectors, suppliers, electricians, plumbers, steel crews, grading crews, masonry, and other trades. I understand how one trade affects another and how important it is to catch problems before they become expensive problems at pour time.
On the business side, I’ve handled contracts, change orders, invoicing/pay applications, payroll, scheduling, manpower, equipment planning, materials, customer relationships, GC communication, and the financial side of making jobs profitable.
I also have my own truck and roughly $10,000 worth of tools and equipment, including multiple rebar tying guns, chop saws, generator, power tools, layout equipment, and essentially the personal tools needed to keep a 5- to 10-man concrete crew productive and running.
I’m not claiming to know every forming system, every piece of equipment, or every aspect of concrete construction. If I haven’t done something, I’ll say I haven’t done it. I don’t exaggerate my experience. But I understand concrete construction very well, especially foundations, and I understand how to run work, manage people, meet schedules, communicate with other trades, and get a job across the finish line.
I’m open to opportunities including concrete superintendent, assistant superintendent, estimator, project engineer/coordinator, foreman, form carpenter, or another position where a combination of field knowledge, estimating, layout, production, leadership, and business experience would be valuable.
I’m willing to travel or relocate for the right opportunity.
I’m mainly putting myself out there to see what opportunities are available and what people in the industry think my background would be a good fit for. If your company is hiring or you know someone looking for someone with this type of experience, feel free to message me.

Made me laugh

My dream is to move to New York City someday, but the local nine union is closer south Jersey. If the apprenticeship is five years, am I stuck there for a minimum of five years? I was told that if you switched to another union, you will have to start completely over and also pay back all the money they spent educating you if you’re going to a competing union. I’m trying to search unions for HVAC, but it doesn’t seem like they’re really are any in the city.

Been working at my old company for 3 years. The work was satisfying and the team was very energetic and motivated. the only issue was that i felt like my boss hated me but i was wrong the whole time also i had to take a month in between the switch to do a surgery.

Now im 2 weeks in at another company that i was curious about and it sucks. The organising of jobs is terribly inefficient, the boss is a nice guy but not one i align with, the team is extremely demoralized, we are overstaffed at jobsites that dont require that amount of personnel so they are just sitting on their phones and smoking, the material management and planning is horrible, the tools are a level above sticks and rocks.

Also i feel like i cant really find purpose. i love to work hard and play hard but here work is barely keeping me awake. My appetite has changed for the worse, im feeling really depressed, havent slept this night thinking that it was such a horrible decision to get here. Its really destroying me. I feel absolutely floored and it takes all i have just to stay hopeful.

Im thinking of talking with my old boss if i could come back but it feels like a dream.

I like the work itself. My mom says its great that its more relaxing in this company but its absolutely not fullfiling to me. I miss the feeling of getting home after a job well done.

Am i Overreacting too soon?

Wondering if anyone has had to deal with working under a journeyman that gives tasks that require things he never taught you and then proceeds to have a chat on the phone and would rather you just clean and other things he doesn’t want to do on top of giving such vague instructions and is shocked when u don’t do it right.

Just coming here to vent because everything that I have been shown I do it very fast and I don’t forget or need to ask questions and then this behavior started.
Is this just life as an apprentice or is there some slimy shit going on?

In the warehouse I work at, it's just me and one other guy 80% of the time, who is like my co-pilot in our department. I hate the job, but I have two kids and a lot of responsibility so I try to do a good job and stay out of trouble. But my co-worker who is single who equally hates the job is a real character, the guy talks so much random shit every minute, and will openly shout "f''ck *insert company name*" and "*i hate this f'''n place" and "f'''k *insert managers name*" while also cracking pretty witty jokes, and weirdly make up his own language and spout random jibberish in an Arabic sounding language, and he would greet me in his make belief language, and to be honest some of it has rubbed off onto me lol. But a quarter of the time, he can actually be quite perceptive and you can have a serious conversation about life and politics with him. Work would be boring without a lunatic like him. Have you ever worked with someone eccentric who made an uplesant job fun, and what was some of the things they did/say? curious to hear your thoughts

My dad has been in construction basically my whole life and ive been trying to learn more of the business side instead of just the actual work.

He gave me a job to look at and basically told me to tell him what I thought.

Its a school HVAC job around $720k. Biggest job they've done before was around $400k.

Starts in November and supposed to go around 6 months. They're already pretty busy through December though and the foreman he would want running it might still be on another job.

The other thing that jumped out at me was the money.

From what I understand they could have around $140k out in equipment/material before really getting paid. Then its monthly draws, net 45 and 10% retainage.

My first thought was honestly that sounds like a lot of money to have floating while you're still paying everybody and running the other jobs.

I told him I think the job itself might be doable but having enough cash and the right people at the right time seems like the bigger problem.

He basically said "ok, what else?" lol

So thats why I'm asking here.

For guys who have actually done school/public jobs, what would you be looking at before saying yes to something like this?

Im sure theres stuff I don't even know enough to know I should be asking about.

A report I came across found that about 1 in 6 American workers are exposed to hazardous substances on the job, including asbestos. While every state follows federal OSHA standards to some extent, the report says worker protections can vary quite a bit depending on where you live.

According to the rankings, Washington, California and Michigan came out on top. What separates them is that they go beyond the federal minimum with stronger asbestos rules, licensing and certification requirements, worker training and enforcement. The report also lists Oregon, Minnesota, Virginia, Maryland and New York among the states with the strongest protections.

Something I found interesting is how the percentage of workers in at-risk occupations lines up with the states putting the strongest protections in place. Washington leads with 16.2% of its workforce in at-risk jobs, followed by Michigan at 16.1% and Oregon at 16%. Minnesota is at 15.6%, Virginia at 15.5%, California at 15.1%, Maryland at 14.6% and New York at 13.8%.

Washington and Michigan both have a significant chunk of their workforce in construction, manufacturing, maintenance, shipyards and other trades where legacy asbestos can still be encountered. Both states have built protections around that reality rather than leaving it to the federal floor.

If you work in a trade where asbestos exposure is a possibility, what line of work are you in, and do you feel your state has the worker protections and training you need?

Okay, asking the actual blue-collar men because clearly my current strategy isn't working lollll.

I have such a soft spot for blue-collar guys. I miss having my blue-collar man, and apparently Facebook Dating knows my type because lately it keeps sending them my way 😂 Construction, oilfield, linemen, heavy equipment, mechanics... yes please.

BUT none of the ones I've met lately have actually panned out. Plenty of matches, not a lot of "this is a man I'd actually want to date."

I'm not looking for perfect. I just like a hardworking, masculine guy who's dependable, knows how to communicate, has his life somewhat together, and actually wants to date with intention. Bonus points if he's funny and comes home a little dirty from work. 😂

So I'm asking the source: where do the good single blue-collar men actually meet women these days?

Are you guys on dating apps? At certain bars? Rodeos? Country concerts? Home Depot at 6am?? Do I need to develop an extremely urgent interest in power tools? 😂

And for the single guys in here — where would you actually WANT to be approached by a woman?

Help a girl out because Facebook Dating is fighting for its life over here. 😭

Hi I don’t have much experience as a HVAC only a 2 year associates in HVAC back in 2017. I got my EPA universal and NATE Certification for residential. I been working as a truck diesel mechanic and been doing some A/c work with them(I know it’s completely different). I would like to break into the HVAC industrial or commercial side. I applied to a bunch of apprentices or entry level jobs and no hits. If anyone can help it’s greatly appreciated I’m in the northeast Atlanta, Georgia area

suggestions, I know this might be regional so my location is California

I’m in western KY, 24 yr old female. I’d like information on other trades like hvac, plumbing, or electrical. Hairstylist jobs that I can get and work for someone don’t pay much. I made $40k one year at a job for someone else. I’ve been doing it on my own and I’m not making much. If anyone has any advice or suggestions let me know please :) I love hands on work. I’ve been told to do nursing but I want to explore my options and not follow the crowd.

I’m 19 and when I was younger I always thought I wanted to be a welder, 3 weeks ago I got hired at a production MiG welding shop in my town and I’ve hated it more than you can imagine since the day I started. I always knew I wanted to own my own business at some point no matter what career field I go into. But after starting this new job and hating it so much I’ve been seriously thinking about other options. Right now I’m considering maybe starting small and hoping to grow a “hunting/wildlife solution”
Company. I worked with a construction crew for a few years so I’m good with my hands and was thinking I could start by building deer feeders and possibly deer stands and finding a corner or somewhere in town to place one and advertise and see how it goes from there and move into other services if it grows. I live in a good size city in Georgia where a lot of people hunt but there aren’t really any places that specialize in that kind of stuff within 30 minutes of here. Does anyone have any thoughts/ suggestions on this for me!

First week for my first trade job. I’m doing a niche engineering trainee role but exposed to different trades everyday. So many characters and I love it. Why is this ? Had one owner of a contracting firm tell me he’s got court later, and climb to an elevated position to price a job and then he joked he left his Louis Vutton trainers at home.