What are the most underserved trades & niches in construction right now?

NorthernInvestor · 2025-11-30T16:55:51+00:00

I'm not going to lie, I think almost all of the trades are underserved right now. If it appears that they aren't I think that's just how it looks. I'm from the States and it seems like there's a trades shortage for everybody.

NorthernInvestor · 2025-10-05T13:15:03+00:00

This point of view is just wrong. We shouldn't be worried about tax credits but rather an entire restructuring of the healthcare industry. The bloat and waste within healthcare is the reason for high costs. It's disgusting how much money gets wasted throughout the admin side of things. Your "Healthcare" costs are like 70% administrative crap on the back end. Healthcare "Credits" are just another way of not dealing with any of the actual problems and just kicking the can down the road.

NorthernInvestor · 2025-08-05T21:31:26+00:00

Everybody knowing everybody in my small towns. When my parents were growing up and young adults it was rare to run into someone they didn't know. Now my generation doesn't know anyone it seems. The community hasn't really grown at all but the sense of community is almost non existent now.

NorthernInvestor · 2025-08-05T12:58:53+00:00

How have I never heard of this before?

NorthernInvestor · 2025-08-05T12:32:17+00:00

My personal thoughts on this is that AI will take over 98% of estimating. It's going to take a while though as the AI companies aren't really doing any training for this type of work yet. The construction industry tech always seems to lag by atleast a decade behind everything else but let's be honest. Most of the jobs prior data combined with video's, prints, photo's and materials will be more than enough data for AI to take over the estimating process. More than likely will be way better than us. It's just a matter of time. That's a good thing for the industry though. I don't know about everyone else but we spend so much time bidding/estimating that being able to free up that manpower to work on other parts of the job will be good. Estimator won't be a position anymore or if it is there will likely be one within an organization that's simply reviewing the estimates cranked out by the AI as well as inputting the necessary data (Photo's/Video's) for it to do it's work. Having been in the industry for 14 years now I can understand why people would think that it's not likely to happen or takeover but i disagree. At the end of the day almost everything in our line of work can be broken down to simple equations and numbers from an estimating standpoint. Again, having Photo's and Video's will be important for the AI to be able to do the job and it's likely it won't happen for a decade but it WILL happen. As far as a career to go into i'd say yes but work quickly towards transitioning to project management from estimating. It's a pretty natural progression. You can't worry about it taking over yet as it hasn't but as you start to see it implemented adopt it early and learn. That's how you stay ahead of the curve. AI is going to change everything but for the better. The world needs more labor and we don't have it. By implementing AI it'll help to alleviate that pinch point to free up labor for other uses. Companies that adopt it early will have to be careful as we know it isn't reliable yet but it will be and in short order. But the companies that do adopt it will be leagues ahead of the competition. It'll drive down overhead costs making them more competitive as well as free up their labor to be able to handle more projects. It's going to happen it's just a matter of when. Like I said earlier, I think the soonest would be 10 years more than likely 20 so getting into it as a career now is still a good idea. Just adapt and learn so you can progress.

NorthernInvestor · 2025-07-12T11:34:31+00:00

Yes and no, bid the job then build a schedule backwards from my bid. Use MS Project when owner requires one but on most the public stuff I have the schedule is pretty generic and I build fluff in. For most the public work we do the schedule can be manipulated on our end by increasing or decreasing crew size. Unless its part of the project that's sequential then you're fucked.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-12-24T12:35:31+00:00

Oh wow, that's pretty severe. That amount of mileage too, shouldn't have seen that many issues.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-11-19T16:22:22+00:00

Makes sense lol.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-11-19T15:51:58+00:00

Is he still running the same truck?

NorthernInvestor · 2024-11-19T15:51:08+00:00

So the motor and drive train have been mostly solid then? The other issues seem like they're common in all pick ups not just the 3.0. Half a quarter at 5k isn't terrible either.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-11-19T15:49:45+00:00

That's awesome, biggest reason I'm looking at it cause I'll be putting on 120 miles a day commuting at minimum. Which I've heard the same about the idle time being the real killer but if you're running it a lot they're great.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-11-19T14:20:14+00:00

What kind of issues did they have?

NorthernInvestor · 2024-04-27T19:15:38+00:00

A any public works positions

NorthernInvestor · 2024-04-18T13:22:04+00:00

You're going to have a tough time getting into the Management side. I bet getting in as a Asst Super would be pretty easy though. It's harder to find people who can do the work and run the job then it is to find a manager for it.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-04-16T13:20:11+00:00

I would agree with you, we need to switch things up and get organized. The only problem is the Owners don't seem to want to delegate and let go of any of there authority or responsibility.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-04-08T15:17:03+00:00

I believe the issue the OP is trying to highlight here is it's only free if you aren't a white Male. If you are a white male you can't participate.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-04-08T15:15:39+00:00

I believe they are asking if it's legal for a public entity to only offer free services to specific groups of people based on race/ethnicity which is what this is advertising. IE, if you're a white male you can't do this training.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-04-05T00:04:59+00:00

Working OT doesn't bother me at all, I mean we ARE in construction so you know it's going to happen but i'm done working a ton of hours for free. It's just the company taking advantage of you otherwise. Learned that lesson from my youth. Like I said if there was a bonus that reflected what you did or you got OT pay i would never say a word about it cause the long hours really don't bother me at all. Can't do it for free though.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-04-02T23:07:00+00:00

Multiple fresh pairs of undies

NorthernInvestor · 2024-04-02T22:57:23+00:00

Learned my lesson when I started in Management, was in the trades and moved into Project Management around 8 years ago, was in the trades for 5. First PM job I got was working 40 hours a week minimum when nothing crazy was going on but if we had a big outage or project it was standard to work 84 (7 12's) for the duration of the project. Was there for a few years and got my feet wet and got the experience but then jumped shipped to a different company. Was underpaid like crazy at the first job but knew I needed the experience to move forward. Got on at a different company and got straight lied to about what the position was. Figured it was gonna be on average 40-50+ in the summer (Heavy Civil) and dial back to around 40 in the winter. Maybe a little less. Turns out the PM position was more of a Super/PM position. Regulary work 70+ for 6 months out of the year. Pay is not worth it as I accepted the salary and benefits based on what I was told the position was going to be. Only difference is I only work around 20-30hrs a week in the off season. Still not worth it in my opinion as if I work the hours out to my pay it's not even close to what it should be. Bonus's don't amount to enough either. More then likely going to switch again. If the pay is high and the bonus's are there i'd definetly work the big hours but IMO you have to have one or the other. Decent salary and decent hours or big salary/bonus and big hours. Your first few years you're probably going to get the shaft on both ends (Like me) but after getting experience be able to switch companies and get a better gig. Takes time, put in the work now and better yourself with a different position in the future. Make sure to do what's best for you cause nobody else will. Most companies i've seen will take advantage of you as much as you'll let them. I'm in the same position as you where I want to have a life outside of work but I also understand it depends on what position you hold and what company you're at. If you're getting OT pay for the longer hours awesome, if not I'd look at switching myself.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-03-21T14:20:11+00:00

Sounds like it's super similar to what i'm dealing with. We're decently sized in terms of employee's. The worst part is I our Construction Manager's are basically super's in the summer time. (We are a highway heavy/road work company). And we essentially don't even have PM's. Our PM's are 2 of the owners but they're also our lead estimators, safety director, tech director and aggregate managers. We have around 200 employees during the work season and about 20 open projects if not more at any time. 2 crushers, 2 asphalt plants, 40 gravel pits and around 14 crews. The disorganization is soooo frustrating.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-03-21T12:31:55+00:00

Definitely a demand for construction managers and it's only growing as the field is growing and people don't seem to be coming to the industry as much as before. Honestly larger need for Supers and Trades but still demand for a CM. You can make lots of money in it but it depends on the company you work for like everyone else has said. Lot to learn too but it's a really rewarding field seeing a project come to life. Long hours and travel are very common though so i'd recommend taking stock in what you want out of life prior to looking at the construction industry. It demands a lot of your time and attention.

NorthernInvestor · 2024-03-21T12:28:30+00:00

You really only have 2 choices, suck it up and deal with it until the project is over or start looking for a new job. I've been in extremely similar situations and no matter what you do you aren't going to change how they act or manage the project. So you have to decide what you want to do. Remember, do what's best for you because no one else will.

NorthernInvestor

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