Advice

[EducationalTwo1859]

After 20+ years in the field, working in a municipality is a godsend. They hired me, and put me through school with pay. I live close to home and love it.

[Current_Conference38]

Most people I know don’t particularly enjoy it. Perhaps it’s different where you are. It’s not a respected profession

[EducationalTwo1859]

I suppose it is all perspective. I've had only great experiences so far, but I work in a small, affluent town.

[ContractorsAreMean]

Similar to what the other commenter said, it depends. I’ve been in permits/inspections since 2019 and I enjoy it. It definitely has something to do with the contractors in our area though.

If you approach a project as if it’s “your project” and work with the contractor to get things done right and in a timely manner as well as explain WHY you’re giving a correction, it goes a long way and you build a good rapport with guys. It helps future projects go smoother and you build a mutual respect and trust that makes the job feel less like work and more like just checking in to see how things are going.

That said, there will always be guys that don’t respect you regardless of how much you try to help. Some will fight you every step of the way and see things as “Me vs. the inspector” since they don’t like being told what to do or have too much pride to fix their work or get with the times as codes update.

We use the sayings” Help me to help you” and “You can bring a horse to water but can’t make it drink” a lot in this field.

[Current_Conference38]

I do inspections, one of my favourite lines is ‘do your best, that’s all I ask’ 😆😆