“There’s a big difference between people who want to be in construction and people who end up in construction.”
When I went to Colorado State University, I was enrolled in the Construction Management program. I realized right away that this degree and career path would not involve hands-on work, rather a management career of construction projects. Huge difference. My goal was not just to manage construction projects, I actually want to be building and remodeling houses, so I decided to leave college and get real experience.
Cut to, I live in Madison, Wisconsin with my older sister and brother-in-law, while I work full-time building houses. I landed myself a job with a company that focuses on remodeling, but I work on a framing crew for this company. There are two framing crews, each with five guys. From the day we show up on a new site, which only has the concrete foundation poured, we can build a two-story house with a two-car garage in one week. That is satisfying to say the least and gives a little extra motivation to keep showing up every day, even when it is snowing and 20 degrees.
When I applied for this job back in June, I had zero construction experience. My dad doesn’t work in construction, so I didn’t grow up with that background, and nobody else in my family works in construction, so when I say I had zero experience, I mean it. I’m making that point very clear because I am now one of the top framers among both crews. Within six months, I have developed skills as a framer that these other guys on the crew have years of experience with. The next youngest framer is 24 years old, so I started way behind them, or ahead of them, depending on how you look at it.
I’m not superhuman, I simply put in the work to succeed. When I don’t know how to do something, I ask for direction, and pay attention, so that I actually learn and won’t have to ask again. This has benefited me tremendously, because they now know me by my ability to learn anything they need completed. “Show Kevin how to do something once, and let him go, he’ll get it done.” Now, they joke, and call me the stair-master, because I'm in charge of stairs for my crew, and stairs are the most complex part of the houses.
Framing has provided me an incredible introduction to residential construction, but I know I won’t be doing this forever. I intend on learning other aspects surrounding residential work, such as trim carpentry and finish work, so that I can get into real estate and renovate houses on my own full-time.
Keep learning every day and keep pursuing your dream life.
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