>just got a job in construction any tips for the job? What

High top if your expected to work in the rain, if not then the 2nd option is good. Look for comfortable insulation to put inside the boots.

Pack a bigger than normal lunch. Labor made me hungry.

>>17574653
I've heard from others digesting food slows you down, is that true?>>17574633 okay cool thanks

>>17574700
I'm not saying a heavy lunch, but bring two sandwiches instead of one for example. If you don't eat both you can eat the other on a later break if you get hungry again.

>>17574715
True, i see what you mean thanks. Any brands for pants or shorts that are good?

>>17574733
Dickies for the poor tier
Levies for the mid tier

I dont know top tier because I sit around shit posting on 4chan in my construction job.

I did building for 2 years.

Be well-rested. This is probably the most important thing, you gotta have your body and brain working at 100% at all times.

Always keep yourself occupied, if you have no current task to perform, clean up the work site and keep tools and material organized, put batteries on charge, etc. There's always something to be done on site.

Never do something half-arsed. Go all in from start of work and until you get off. If you aren't sure about something, ASK. Better look like an idiot asking "what?" 3 times than fucking something up.

Genuine builders are some of the most reasonable, logical and honest people on earth. They'll read through your bullshit in a second. Be honest and you have nothing to worry about, everyone makes mistakes, better let them know than them finding out by themselves.

Also, be prepared to work hard.

If you're going to be lugging around heavy shit that can be dropped, steel or composite toed boots are always a good idea (I'm not talking about cowboy boots with shiny tips or whatever the fuck, a lot of work boots have a steel/composite material frame around your toe that's not visible under the rest of material, and it protects against impact damage/penetration.)

Depends on climate. Brahma boots from Walmart ain't too bad and they are cheap. Eating too much is a mistake it will make you feel bad when you go back to work especially if it's hot out.

>>17574625
I worked in a quarry once, we had a new lad start with us, his mum bought him all new boots (like you have posted, but not timbs) and hi vis stuff, he showed up looking like he walked from a catalogue shoot.
Basically he got annoyed as soon as we went out into the rain and mud, his Armani watch (yes, he wore a nice watch to a quarry job) got scratched and he got his phone got muddy because he couldn't stop checking it, by the end of the day he was asking everyone how we got the mud off our boots and stressed how much they cost his mum, so we laughed at him, a couple of weeks later he packed it in and last I heard he collects scrap.

Basically, don't wear anything you don't expect to not get dirty, stained or damaged, invest in good waterproofs should you need them, invest in good boots and socks too.
Also if you drive to/from work, look at getting seat covers for your car.

DON'T FORGET YOUR PPE SHIT, seriously, if someone walks in and spots you not wearings eyewear/head gear/steel toe caps, you will get bollocked.

DON'T WANDER LIKE A DUMB CUNT, this goes for milling about when you have completed your tasks and looking where you are going, I lost count of the amount of times people walk out from behind things assuming the person in the digger with the shovel up can see them, hi-vis isn't reinforced and it doesn't guarantee you will be seen, if you walk where a machinery operator is working and you haven't had them stop and let you through before hand, chances are they will get out and have a go at you as if you get hurt they are at fault.

>>17574653 is right about a bigger lunch, ideally pack food that you aren't fucking about with resealing and pack plenty to drink, the physical activity will leave you tired and hungry.

>>17574741
Thanks, and lmao
>>17574859
Got it, i feel like being well rested will be easy enough since ill probably be exhausted after a day of work and want to sleep
>>17574880
Yeah whatever shoe i get will definitley have steel toes. Im just trying to find the best shoe

>>17574912
>>17574928
Ill be sure to get durable shoes. I was thinking about timbs and i know theyll be getting plenty dirty. Ill also invest in some more socks and maybe bring an extra pair in my glove box just to be prepared for whatever whether i or a fellow worker needs a pair. Ill also bring a canteen or water bottles.

>>17574625
Sunscreen my dude. Even if you don't think you need it it'll keep you young.

>>17574956
>Ill also invest in some more socks and maybe bring an extra pair in my glove box just to be prepared for whatever whether i or a fellow worker needs a pair. Ill also bring a canteen or water bottles.
Are you fucking bent or something? Why would you share your socks with someone?
Take a big bottle of water, don't share your shit, keep your shit locked away safely, don't drink milk because we tend to piss in it to fuck with contractors who drink all our milk, if you aren't "in" with labourers you will be left with the piss milk.

Don't share your personal stuff (possessions and life stories), don't give people lifts to and from work (they will cover your car in mud), don't think anyone there will be your friend before they are your colleague/boss, if you must answer stuff about yourself give closed answers.
The last thing you want is people giving you a hard time because you tell them your gf bought you a teddy bear to help you sleep, you don't want them to know you take a long lunch because they will remember when they make it to being a supervisor, you don't want them knowing where your gf works or what she does because it will get back to her because "banter, can't you take a fucking joke?".

Also don't expect the same sort of professionalism like you'd expect in retail or office work, we will call you a cunt, we will call you gay and we will shove you into puddles of mud, and if we do, don't cry to the boss because it will only get worse.

We aren't your friends, we don't give a fuck about you, if we think you are a grass or kissing the bosses' arse we will give you a hard time.

My advice may not be the nicest, but I'm the most honest, manual work isn't like an office job and you need to learn to keep your head down, give as good as you get and look busy.

Im no builder but i did help out my father with some heavy duty stuff around the house. Its always nice to have some decent pair of work gloves, I personally use basic mechanix gloves but anything durable enough goes.

>>17574976
Got it
>>17575005
Yeah you're right, ill just assume everything will backfire on me so i should just keep my mouth shut about personal stuff.
>>17575019 true, thanks

>>17574625
Wear proper ppe that allows mobility, comfort, and won't snag.

>>17575005
Ive worked in construction during summers and school breaks for 4 years and Id say this is solid advice.

I personnally got along with everybody but people will pick on you and shit, I chose to laugh along and joke back with them too (for me it was making fun of me for being a student and young and shit, pretty inoffensive) and almost always ended up having good relationships with the different teams I've worked with but I've seen guys (especially young ones) oversharing, reacting too strongly (someones slags you about your shoes or something you did, don't get all in their face just clap back with a joke its no biggie) or showing weaknesses get picked on pretty hard which sucks when you have to work with the same guys every day.

From my experience if you just work and are not either a dick or a good for nothing crybaby everything will be ok. Also that's just me but don't try to prove anything by working overly hard, unless you're paid by the task, at the end of the day you're getting paid the same whether you kill yourself trying to do everything and run all over the place or keep it chill. Do what you're told, do it well and do it not too fast not too slow, save your energy. It will all be fine.

>>17575005
Don't listen to this guy.

I can't wrap my head around why you feel this way. Why do you think every single person there wouldn't want to be your friend? Don't you think thats jumping to conclusions? And come on,you have to admit it's much easier for everybody at work if the people working together actually get along and are friends with each other. Encouraging everybody to be mean and not be friends with eachother makes no sense. You should try befriending some of your coworkers.
Seriously i'm worried about you

>Don't cry to the boss because it will only get worse
Yeah it will get worse. They'll stand up to you over how mean you're being because you won't stop and then you'll have to deal with those consequences.

I'm sorry you are so unhappy right now in your life. I really hope you find the love and support you need right now to get out of this rut of misery you've caught yourself in.
>>17574976
Also this. So much this. Get sunscreen OP

>>17575100
See i'm not ok with you being shamed for reacting emotionally to the fact that the other guys are trying to disrespect you and be mean to you

That's not you being a cry baby. That's you having a normal respectable reaction to something unacceptable and mean that they are doing to you. What they are doing is not ok.

You should stand up to them 100% of the time and not let them walk all over you at all.

>>17575108
>Don't listen to this guy.
Thanks for your advice, I'm glad you could contribute so much to the topic.
I'll presume you have never worked in a physically demanding job, you need to have thick skin and you need to be able to handle banter, I have plenty of mates at work, I even go to the pub with them, but the advice still stands.

If we call you gay and you cry to the boss, we will know, we might not call you gay again after being told "don't discriminate", but we will give you a hard time, we will give you the shit jobs, we will hide tools from you and we will pair you up with the mean cunts (only after telling them what a bitch you are, of course).

If I call you gay, you respond with something like "shut your man pleaser" and we laugh, manual work isn't like school where your mother watched you play tag rugby and ran out with plasters if you got a boo boo.
Like I pointed out, it isn't an office job or retail, you can't be a bitch or a cry baby, there are plenty of people we know waiting for an opening so we can have mates who do a good job and can handle banter work with us, we won't bully someone out for being a bit weird, but we will do everything in our power to get your out if you are a little bitch who cries at every insult. Basically, if act like a bitch, you get treated like a bitch.

Next time try telling us your experience of working in anything harder than furniture removals before you start talking about your feelings or how we should accept your self diagnosed mental health issues, you prissy little cunt.

>>17575120
Maybe I didn't get my point accross correctly, of course if there's serious bullying going on you should react but what I meant to say is when you first start working in an environment like that it can be pretty rough, particularly if you're a young guy and not used to rough ass, big guys spending all day cursing around and shit. So don't get offended about everything and anything. Making fun of each other is alright and happens all the time in labour jobs, its not a big deal. Just joke around with them and don't make it a bigger deal than it is is what I meant.

If someone laughingly calls you a fag for not shoveling fast enough or whatever the task may be, realize thats how it goes in construction and don't go and report the guy for homophobic slurs, just tell him to do it himself or make a joke out of it, it's not that serious.

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>>17575005
>>17575136
This has pretty much been my experience with working construction (only did it while I was in high school). It's where I learned to take insults and dish them out. When you're around men who are doing physically demanding work and no one else around, all bets are off. If you're complaining, whining, or otherwise being a little bitch, you're just going make yourself a target. It's like being part of some tribe of Neanderthals; you've got to contribute to the tribe and establish yourself as a valuable member. I never had trouble getting a long with the other guys, but the first few weeks I was the punchline of every joke until I learned the "rhythm".

I honestly enjoyed the job, for what it was, but it's a place for a certain kind of man that's harder to find these days.

>Basically, if act like a bitch, you get treated like a bitch.
This. I saw guys get lit up by the crew every single day because they didn't know how to fit in. Eventually they couldn't take it and had to leave.

>>17575150
Not that guy but I really don't think people can even understand until they've been in a situation like that. Most people are too sensitive; every time they get called a cocksucker they want to file a complaint to the manager.

>>17575185
Watch out, >>17575108 >>17575120 >>17575150 will assume you are a friendless sad cunt for agreeing with me, because pointing out that banter is a big bit of it isn't clear enough and he will need to correct himself making another stupid helicopter parent tier post saying b-b-but I was talking about serious bullying ignore that I don't have any experience and couldn't contribute.

>>17575197
>every time they get called a cocksucker they want to file a complaint to the manager.
We had one guy like that a while back who did exactly that, he was constantly causing problems because he would even report us for having banter that didn't include him (he reported me for calling another colleague a rent boy), after a chat with the boss and a few others pointing out they had similar experiences, the boss gave him shit jobs like using the barrow in the rain, breaking concrete or watching his lunch breaks like a hawk ("you're on your break the moment you put that hammer down, not after you wash your hands and get your lunch out the fridge").
Eventually the guy fucked off and we got a new lad in who didn't whine like a cunt.

As a rule we tend to tell new (young) lads to expect it as a part of the banter, I tell them if they have obvious tells like their voices breaking or childish shit, I don't want anyone to get bullied, but if you can't handle a bit of shit going your way in a job where you are getting pelted with rocks and covered in mud, then you probably aren't cut out for it.

>>17575005

Supervisor of Manual Laborers here.

Pretty spot on. The nicer you are the more you get shit on and the less you get done.

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>>17574625
Always wear safety boots, either steel toe cap shoes (sneaker types are very comfy) or long boots depending on the job.

Keep your tools well maintained.
Have the basic tools for your job and if you don't know what they are just ask.

Always wear your helmet.

Buy some work goggles. Like these, they won't fog up by the moisture being released from your body so you can see while working on hard tasks like pouring concrete, etc http://m.homedepot.com/p/3M-Clear-Frame-with-Clear-Scratch-Resistant-Lenses-Indoor-Safety-Eyewear-90551-00000B/202552394

Start eating healthy but hearty, there will be a lot of physical labor. Always eat breakfast and lunch!

Don't be afraid to get dirty.

Always carry a spare change of clothes for work, sometimes you may need it.

Get at least 6 hrs of sleep every night. This is extremely important.

Drink plenty of liquids, preferably sports drinks or water with a sports solution.

Try avoiding alcohol the day before working.

Depending on how much you sweat, the ambient temperature, humidity level, etc there is a risk of passing out from heat exhaustion/heat stroke. Be careful.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heat-exhaustion/basics/definition/con-20033366
Also read this
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet-bulb_globe_temperature

Don't be shy to ask the others since youre new they will show you the ropes. However, don't be a bitch and forget what they teach you.

Lots of solid advice in this bread, read on op and good luck.

OP here, its interesting to see different perspectives and ill be sure to be ready for jokes on me and i wont take them seriously. any good jokes to throw at someone having a go at you?

>>17575218,
>>17575100 and >>17575150 here. I was actually aggreeing with you mostly but I see how you thought I was the other guy. Anyways I think OP should be just fine as long as he can take a joke.

>>17574625 Another thing that worked out for me is to try and tag with the old, more experienced guy on the team (theres always one) when you start out, they are usually cool and glad to take you under their wing and show you the ropes.

Also I don't know how it is in America (if that's where you live) but here (frenchfag here) you go around and shake EVERYBODY's hand every morning.

>>17575290
I figured you were the original cry baby back pedalling to save face, my bad.

>>17575259
>any good jokes to throw at someone having a go at you?
Do you want us to tie your boots up for you as well? do you want me to come over and wear them in around the house so they are comfy for your first day too?
Just say stuff like "I can't hear you, it sounds like you are talking with a dick in your mouth", don't make insults too personal (I've seen someone get dropped for saying a guy's kids look retarded - they actually were) and don't take them much further than what they say, if someone says your hard hat looks unused don't call him a nigger loving faggot, and try not to show people that you are upset, I won't care if you found out your wife was cheating on you and is keeping you from seeing your kids, if you can't handle banter at the worst of times we won't let up on you (but we might ease off after the initial stuff)

More pointers:
>don't get financially involved
if your colleague forgets his lunch, don't buy him food, at most get him a drink, you won't make friends trying to buy people off

>don't whine about getting dirty
you don't need this explaining to you

>don't hold on to other people's tools
never, ever, you don't want them saying "I'll shout you when I need them", because they will need them from your car when you are busy and they will get excitable because their neck is on the block

>don't bring your own toys
that goes for personal belongings and tools, if you hurt yourself with your own cutter or something, you won't be covered unless it has been passed by your employer or is in date for its checks

>it isn't a fashion show
I've met guys who bought fancy protective glasses just to mince about and get upset when a stray stone took off part of the tacky reflective layer, don't bring your ray bans on site either.
The PPE shit your employer gives you will be up to scratch, don't waste your time or money on your own.

>>17574625
>WEAR YOUR PPE. your hands, toes, and un-run over body will thank you
>sunscreen if you work in a sunny location
>don't be a cunt to your coworkers, take shit and dish it back
>if your boss/foreman asks you to do something, you do it asap
>pack more water than you think you'll need
>be on time
>learn what's expected of you and do it
>maintain your equipment

>>17575343
Nah man, just asking for advice from experience people lol. Unless of course you want to come to my house and break in my shit, you can buy my new work wardrobe for me as well! (How was that?)

Carhartt and Danner boots.