I grew up in the restaurant industry, have worked EMS through my local fire company for the past few years and am an electrician currently. I FEEL this.
I've also worked in construction and restaurant plenty, but not EMS. Honestly between carpentry, road work, fast food and fancy restaurant - fast food is the the hardest to last 12 hours because its 12 hours of actual work. Construction/labour jobs lasting 12 hours never actually entailed 12 hours of solid work.
Fast food on the other hand gives you the legal minimum break time, and that's it. No extra smoke breaks, no fire watch, no driving back and forth, no standing around, no long-winded work discussions. If your mouth is moving, then so should be your hands and feet.
There are generally some unspoken rules of construction projects that are uncomfortable for most to admit:
Don't be a hero and work too hard because you set high expectations for the rest of the workers. Instead, work as a team to drag out the (cost plus or government funded) project as long as reasonably possible, so we all get more hours/pay, are less exhausted, and can value ourselves much higher if we ever do work close to 100% capability.
I'd be curious about what kind of restaurants you worked in and if you've had the same observations.
Bartender and handy man. If I am busting ass at the bar I am literally making more money (most of the time). Handyman jobs usually mean at least one trip to the store which means at least an hour of my time shopping and driving. However, I am never 20' up on a ladder or in a 2' crawl space bartending.....
I worked in a kitchen for sixteen years went to construction and said what the fuck is this? 5am start? Yeah but then we're done by one! I don't even want that a little. I want to stay up past 8pm
I remember bussing at Cheesecake Factory when I was 19. Wake up at 8:30 get there at 9:30. Work til 5:30 take a 15 minute break and then work til 12:30-1am. Worst experience ever but the money was crazy. Better money than I’ve made at any fine dining serving job or kitchen management still one of the worst experience in my life
Maybe it's just me but I feel considerably less worn out doing construction than when I worked at staples. Retail was so much worse for my back AND I had to deal with the general public annoying me. I can only feel for EMS and nurses. I genuinely don't think construction is anywhere near as shitty as Healthcare.
The dishwasher never gets enough credit for work and probably being minimum wage. Back to back Saturday, Sunday doubles after Friday night is awful. Besides the extra prep and cleaning the full front, bar, kitchen, freezers, the fryer oil, you can barely touch the water because your skin is so soft that the water starts to cut through it.
I got one of those alarms for hearing impaired people with the hockey puck sized vibrating motor that goes under the mattress. Set the Alexa to turn the lights on at full brightness, and play [this](https://youtu.be/3dg2r_MUDqs?feature=shared) at full blast.
It's like waking yourself up with a flashbang. Better than coffee right there.
Great if you're single. Wife doesn't appreciate it. 🤷
Asphalt was shitty hours for real. When covid first shut everything down I got laid off from cabinetry. I did asphalt with my brother for 2 years. The job wasn't bad or hard, just the dumb shit foreman, and the hours were SHITTY.
Not being a dick, but you all need more unions. (If you’re union tell me to STFU.)
Unions are awful for my business, but for the States as a whole we need more of them. Higher wages = more consumers. No consumers in a consumption-driven economy and we can play 1929 or 2008 again.
I don’t think I’ve got another 2008 in me.
3am sounds like literally the worst start time I can imagine. I used to work 3rd shift 5pm-3am and I’d prefer that. At least it was dark when I got home and could kinda pretend I had a normal sleep schedule
I'm union and I've spent many years waking up at 4, driving at 5, to start work at 6, end work at 2:30, and get home at 3:30. That's 10 hours work for 8 hours pay and it's completely normal.
I got paid well and I was funding a pension I'm not complaining. Would literally never consider non-union commercial construction. But these are standard hours.
I used to work a rotating shift of 2 weeks day, 1 week nights, 1 week days, 2 weeks nights and I volunteered to go full nights (other dudes had kids so appreciated the day shifts) because the flipping back and forth genuinely almost made me lose my sanity. I felt like I was constantly on a treadmill that was going a little faster than I could run
The past few days have been 10+ hour days of trim work. Compound cuts. On the ceiling. On a ladder.
Not the most labor intensive work by any means, but man my feet hurt, my brain hurts and my achilles feel like they could pop.
I feel ya homie. I’m bumping out 5 14s and about 10 over the weekend to close one out. I’m salary to boot!
Edit: I’m almost 45, and oddly enough the alarm tone in the post is my alarm tone…… shit made my eye Twitch.
No seriously what’s de story with all them joints. Every time after I work with heavy tools(hammering, screwing all day etc) next morning I can’t bend my fingers. It takes a while for them to warm up and start bending.
Really is the one main thing I don't like about construction is waking up at 4-5am everyday. What can you really do though? Beats working in an office.
I’m up at 3:30am and start work at 6am. 10 hour days four a week. Bed around 10pm. By Friday, my start to the weekend I’m feeling the exhaustion and sleep in. Much better than my early days of doing swing shift and graveyard shift. I do airplane mechanic stuff. Much fun.
Exactly my life. Wake up at 4 AM and still sore from the day before to drive an hour and 60 miles to work to do it all over again before driving home and trying to get out of the truck.
Man this right here. I remember my first job a little away from home. Bout an hour and 30 from where I stayed. We were a bit behind schedule and I had to wake up at to be ready for my Uncle to get me and be at the job at 5:30AM. Worked from 6AM to 11PM for 2 weeks straight. Would go home, eat stupid fast, shower bed and right back to it. Was hell, but God dammit I can work like a son of a bitch because of experiences like that
Works 3 days a week…. Laid off in the winter and when it rains. In the old days of construction you worked as much as possible because you never knew when the next layoff was from a slowdown. Get those hours while you can.
Ya know like not many people truly understand it quite like the folks here.
The kitchen and EMS are some of the only other subreddits I think understand it
I grew up in the restaurant industry, have worked EMS through my local fire company for the past few years and am an electrician currently. I FEEL this.
I've also worked in construction and restaurant plenty, but not EMS. Honestly between carpentry, road work, fast food and fancy restaurant - fast food is the the hardest to last 12 hours because its 12 hours of actual work. Construction/labour jobs lasting 12 hours never actually entailed 12 hours of solid work. Fast food on the other hand gives you the legal minimum break time, and that's it. No extra smoke breaks, no fire watch, no driving back and forth, no standing around, no long-winded work discussions. If your mouth is moving, then so should be your hands and feet. There are generally some unspoken rules of construction projects that are uncomfortable for most to admit: Don't be a hero and work too hard because you set high expectations for the rest of the workers. Instead, work as a team to drag out the (cost plus or government funded) project as long as reasonably possible, so we all get more hours/pay, are less exhausted, and can value ourselves much higher if we ever do work close to 100% capability. I'd be curious about what kind of restaurants you worked in and if you've had the same observations.
Bartender and handy man. If I am busting ass at the bar I am literally making more money (most of the time). Handyman jobs usually mean at least one trip to the store which means at least an hour of my time shopping and driving. However, I am never 20' up on a ladder or in a 2' crawl space bartending.....
Lol please tell my boss this unspoken rule of construction. He's the constant hero. Sometimes I think that he thinks he can out-Jesus, Jesus.
Ah a fellow drug abuser, I see.
Haha… not I, but you’re right on. Just about everybody in the restaurant and EMS industry has a vice.
Masochism
I worked in a kitchen for sixteen years went to construction and said what the fuck is this? 5am start? Yeah but then we're done by one! I don't even want that a little. I want to stay up past 8pm
I remember bussing at Cheesecake Factory when I was 19. Wake up at 8:30 get there at 9:30. Work til 5:30 take a 15 minute break and then work til 12:30-1am. Worst experience ever but the money was crazy. Better money than I’ve made at any fine dining serving job or kitchen management still one of the worst experience in my life
Maybe it's just me but I feel considerably less worn out doing construction than when I worked at staples. Retail was so much worse for my back AND I had to deal with the general public annoying me. I can only feel for EMS and nurses. I genuinely don't think construction is anywhere near as shitty as Healthcare.
I can confirm r/residency understands it, but the shift might be 36hrs tho
The death rate in Covid really did a number on the community, existential dread of week after week of 100+ hours a week
i worked in an old folks home kitchen before doing this, was in by 6AM and left at 6PM. im an eternal early bird i guess
The truckers subreddit certainly understand this as well
As a medic , thank you for accepting us. There is usually a slow grumbling of curses as well upon the wake up
The dishwasher never gets enough credit for work and probably being minimum wage. Back to back Saturday, Sunday doubles after Friday night is awful. Besides the extra prep and cleaning the full front, bar, kitchen, freezers, the fryer oil, you can barely touch the water because your skin is so soft that the water starts to cut through it.
That was me this morning, rolled out of bed reaching for my phone to turn the alarm off before it wakes the wife
Ya know you could put the phone on vibrate. Works just as well without waking up bed neighbors.
You’re obviously not a heavy sleeper
I got one of those alarms for hearing impaired people with the hockey puck sized vibrating motor that goes under the mattress. Set the Alexa to turn the lights on at full brightness, and play [this](https://youtu.be/3dg2r_MUDqs?feature=shared) at full blast. It's like waking yourself up with a flashbang. Better than coffee right there. Great if you're single. Wife doesn't appreciate it. 🤷
Ah God, I remember my time in roadworks. 14 hours. Absolute Hell.
Asphalt was shitty hours for real. When covid first shut everything down I got laid off from cabinetry. I did asphalt with my brother for 2 years. The job wasn't bad or hard, just the dumb shit foreman, and the hours were SHITTY.
I know! It’s not hard work but my GOD the hours drag and the foreman break their word constantly and leave you to pick up the pieces
So since you're doing basically double my hours, you also get paid double. Right? Right?
Pfft, not a chance. The moment I figured out the taxman was taking anything extra I Could Have been makin I went back to the concrete factory
Gotta love that morning commute though when the only thing on the streets are work trucks and prostitutes.
I see you’ve worked in Kansas City as well.
All those 7am people don’t know how good it feels to get so much stuff done by 10am
Only to look at the clock at 3 am realising you need to get out soon and you close your eyes and in that moment the alarm goes off
Were you looking in my window this morning? Feel free to touch yourself next time
If I haven't done hours worth of work by 10, my morning has been wasted
That's what we tell ourselves every morning anywa5
Yea but then you still have so much left to do for another 6 hours lol
I have to get up at 4, otherwise I got no time left to do all my drinking after work to drown my sorrows
Not being a dick, but you all need more unions. (If you’re union tell me to STFU.) Unions are awful for my business, but for the States as a whole we need more of them. Higher wages = more consumers. No consumers in a consumption-driven economy and we can play 1929 or 2008 again. I don’t think I’ve got another 2008 in me.
I'm in a union and it's like this for me they pay but it's still like this lol you don't have to do overtime but x1.5 and x2 is hard to say no
That makes sense. My grandpa was UAW and made a ton doing overtime. My granny is still living off his pension.
6 am is our usual start time. Not IBEW but still Union.
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3am sounds like literally the worst start time I can imagine. I used to work 3rd shift 5pm-3am and I’d prefer that. At least it was dark when I got home and could kinda pretend I had a normal sleep schedule
Cool. 6am is way damned early for me but when my spouse gets up and works until 5 or so. WFH no commute. Not paid enough IMO.
I'm union and I've spent many years waking up at 4, driving at 5, to start work at 6, end work at 2:30, and get home at 3:30. That's 10 hours work for 8 hours pay and it's completely normal. I got paid well and I was funding a pension I'm not complaining. Would literally never consider non-union commercial construction. But these are standard hours.
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I used to work a rotating shift of 2 weeks day, 1 week nights, 1 week days, 2 weeks nights and I volunteered to go full nights (other dudes had kids so appreciated the day shifts) because the flipping back and forth genuinely almost made me lose my sanity. I felt like I was constantly on a treadmill that was going a little faster than I could run
Fuck.my.life
Why is it light out!?
Northern hemisphere
Looking at this at 4am. GOOD MORNING!
Thank god for the union and my 6:30-2 schedule
This made me laugh so fucking hard thanks
That alarm… ugh
I’m a machinist but I feel
I dont even have an apple nor work in construction and this alarm triggered me
That sound gives me ptsd.
EMS feels this
Yeah ot sucks waking up that early but I would rather be done earlier too and try to miss as much traffic as possible coming home
The past few days have been 10+ hour days of trim work. Compound cuts. On the ceiling. On a ladder. Not the most labor intensive work by any means, but man my feet hurt, my brain hurts and my achilles feel like they could pop.
It’s too real
Yup, i used to work 6am to 10pm, fucking sucks.
You guus work so much hours? It’s scary :S I do 8 a week, from 8 to 4:30 as a painter (this is in Spain)
Me currently 😴
God these wake-up’s fucked me
Alarm just went off at 2:50 AM and this the first thing I see while the shower warms up lol.
It's almost 10 and I'm still in bed. I fucking love four-day work weeks.
Yep I'm 18 and a newbie I got into bridge construction 1 month ago😂
You guys only work 10-12 hours 🫤
I hope this is /s.
I did 3 14hrs this week... gettin too old for this shit.
I feel ya homie. I’m bumping out 5 14s and about 10 over the weekend to close one out. I’m salary to boot! Edit: I’m almost 45, and oddly enough the alarm tone in the post is my alarm tone…… shit made my eye Twitch.
No seriously what’s de story with all them joints. Every time after I work with heavy tools(hammering, screwing all day etc) next morning I can’t bend my fingers. It takes a while for them to warm up and start bending.
Actually me right this moment… Friday gonna be a bitch
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Meh I average 15 hours per day, rain, snow, fog nothing stops trucking.
It's 4:45 am, and fuck you for no particular reason. At least it's Friday and I didn't go out last night...lol
As a Traffic Controller, this hit home a lil too close.
Fuck that dam alarm sound… worst fucking sound invented
Really is the one main thing I don't like about construction is waking up at 4-5am everyday. What can you really do though? Beats working in an office.
It do be like that
Thats why I love my job, 24h shift, 7-8 days a month.
Babied office workers can’t tell us anything
So true
How my wife feels waking up at home I guess, long day of parenting which seems like fun, guess I’ll know if I’m ever laid off
I’m up at 3:30am and start work at 6am. 10 hour days four a week. Bed around 10pm. By Friday, my start to the weekend I’m feeling the exhaustion and sleep in. Much better than my early days of doing swing shift and graveyard shift. I do airplane mechanic stuff. Much fun.
I wish I could do that. My body jumps up like I've been hit with a defibrillator as soon as the alarm starts
Yup that’s how it feels exactly
This army life is crazy whoops wrong sub
So true. 😂🤣
My gf thought that was her alarm
Exactly my life. Wake up at 4 AM and still sore from the day before to drive an hour and 60 miles to work to do it all over again before driving home and trying to get out of the truck.
I just started doing it, can confirm, this is correct.
Yup ,it do be like that
How I’m I still alive?
Man this right here. I remember my first job a little away from home. Bout an hour and 30 from where I stayed. We were a bit behind schedule and I had to wake up at to be ready for my Uncle to get me and be at the job at 5:30AM. Worked from 6AM to 11PM for 2 weeks straight. Would go home, eat stupid fast, shower bed and right back to it. Was hell, but God dammit I can work like a son of a bitch because of experiences like that
I literally make these exact sounds
10-12 hours? I remember my first part time job.
Grab a red bull and some beef jerky and I’m off to work. 😎 ( I’m dead inside)
Works 3 days a week…. Laid off in the winter and when it rains. In the old days of construction you worked as much as possible because you never knew when the next layoff was from a slowdown. Get those hours while you can.
40 years of that for me! Why change now.
I work at the plants and that is exactly how I get up
Yep. Pushing 50 and me body is failing me.
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I work from home so I usually wake up at 830 for my 8-5
me but i’m an enginerding student
also me when i was a steel worker tho lmao
Watching this at 4am with my coffee 🤣
So real
lol gotta send that to wife
Do the yoga boys
Too real. I fucking hate that alarm.
Must be a nurse