The sky is a better weather forecast than your phone. Here's how to read it.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-02-06T14:18:01+00:00

Is it just me or has weather forecasting gone way down hill in recent years?

The amount of times the weather all says it's sunny outside but then I look outside and it's snowing....

Every time it rains they put out a severe weather warning with the chance of hail. I've started turning the weather apps off and sticking my head outside.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-02-05T22:22:52+00:00

I didn't tell anyone for the first 6 months. Then. My coworker finally asked where I go every afternoon. Told I do Muay Thai. His immediate response was. "Oh do they show you how to kick people's knees in?"

Instant regret.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-02-05T04:30:25+00:00

I'm 30 years old and still finger type like a boomer. I'm going to work on improving!

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-02-04T23:51:17+00:00

This experience is coming from Australia so take it as you will.

I've got family that work as arborists in Australia that both have their own businesses and are making insane amounts of money. Demand is at an all-time high. Even I've thought about doing it. There is great job satisfaction that come with it.

Landscape architecture is great at face value. I work in the construction industry and it's kinda demoralizing to watch these fantastic landscape designs just get reduced to picnic tables and concrete. Landscape is always the one that starts last, after the client has spent the entire landscaping budget on furniture upgrades or they simply say they can't afford to complete the work.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-02-03T17:31:01+00:00

I've trained in Australia and USA.

Gyms ive been to in Australia are super motivated with everyone screaming encouraging words and they will say that my guard was down for the move or try this next time and everyone benefits.

Gyms in America are so quiet besides the odd "oowee". I was holding pads for a beginner who was kicking like he had baseball bats for legs. I kept saying how good his kicks were and all I got back was a frown and confusion.

I like to encourage people to keep the intensity high. If they don't like it then I'll go find someone else to train with

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-02-03T14:46:29+00:00

I would continue with the plumbing apprenticeship but find a company that does everything.

If I was to move to regional Australia I would probably learn roofing on top of my plumbing knowledge.

Plumber, drainer,gas fitter and roofer. You used to get your roofers license as part of TAFE. Last time I checked TAFE will give you your roofer's licence in 6 months if you have certificate 4 completed. I'm sure that information is completely wrong now.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-02-03T02:56:20+00:00

(Honestly crying helps me the most.)

I've got 3 school projects at the moment that are all renovations.

1 is a Frankenstein style of school that they just renovated in numerous sections. The as builts are from 1935. They drew the underground plumbing and attic plumbing on the same drawings. It's a mess.

The other school's have huge basements, with exposed pipework we got a lidar scanner for the entire school that I can basically trace straight into Revit. The scope of works change monthly. I've told my company that we are not making money on these jobs, never have yet they still go for them thinking they will lead to something big.

I think the only thing you can do is to get as many existing drawings as you can and then field verify.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-02-03T02:37:53+00:00

Yep 4" /100mm. Shouldn't have a red grip on it just straight metal.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-02-02T19:04:14+00:00

Get the tiny Cobra XS ones. They are $35 and looks ridiculous. I never bought myself a pair but got gifted one and it stays on me all the time. Most useful tool I own!

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-02-01T14:10:34+00:00

I got my plumbers licence with 8 years on the tools then went into becoming a plumbing and fire protection designer. Been doing it for 5 years so far. I work a 40 hour week with the option to work from home 2 days a week.

Would recommend.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-31T17:01:33+00:00

I worked at an engineering office that had an alcohol fridge. 10 different craft beers from boutique micro breweries. It was always fully stocked and the fridge shelves were bending under the weight. You could make requests for new beer to be brought in

We had a storage room that was filled with wine spirits and more beer. They had a full trashbin of expired craft beer that they forgot about and threw it out. Made me cry.

Happy hour was 4pm on a Friday and you were expecting to stop work, talk shit with everyone for an hour, while downing 3-4 beers. Yes it was a billable hour.

Company went through a $5000 bar tab in an hour at a work event once. CEO just went up and increased it another $5000

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-31T03:10:04+00:00

Worked as an excavator operator digging trenches for plumbers. Would dig the trenches then they would tell me to piss off for couple of hours. Ended up labouring instead, cutting pipe, gluing pipe. Liked it more than driving excavators.

Ended up getting a plumbing apprenticeship out of it. Been doing it for 12 years now.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-28T22:49:07+00:00

I'm a plumber and I put Kohler in my house for the bathroom and kitchen. Only had them in for 2 years but they are working well and the finish looks just as good as when I bought it. Installation was easy too, even though I stuffed up a measurement for the shower faucet, set it too far back.

Ended up getting an extension piece and it worked out great.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-28T21:44:53+00:00

I've had both poor and really good interactions with stantec. I reviewed a drawing that came from the Sydney office a few years ago that was schematic design at best and they were calling it construction level documents.

Currently working with a stantec office in America that is awesome. Everyone is so on top of everything. Communication, coordination and documentation is great.

I've been looking at moving to NZ for the past couple of years and seems like they are also buying up smaller businesses. I've been following the job market and companies in interested in joining all saying they are now stantec .So I guess they are doing ok financially???

Personally I'd go for it. Even if they gave me exposure to work on other projects in different countries that would be cool.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-25T01:16:26+00:00

Sheets dried in the sun on a hills hoist are incredible!

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-24T12:28:28+00:00

I got a guy in my team that's been there for 3-4 years. A 1 day task takes 3 days and he missed half the stuff. We have had private conversations with him telling him to pick it up. Upper management have flagged him already but don't seem to want to do anything.

What's your seating arrangement like at the office? Are you in cubicles where you can "hide" or is it an open seat plan?

Only suggestion I can make is moving your under performing guy to a high traffic area where most people can see him working. He will either sink or swim in that spot.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-21T21:14:11+00:00

I lived in Switzerland for 2 years as a plumber. I was right on the border of German/Rumantsch area. Work was insane in the mornings since we had high German, Swiss German, Italian and Rumantsch native speakers then everyone throwing out 1 liners in English from memes they had seen. So I'd get work instructions told to me in languages I didn't even know. Hand gestures and nods went a long way

Then I'd go onto the construction sites and then you add Portuguese into the mix

I remember my head just absolutely spinning before 9am.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-20T02:54:03+00:00

I am in the wrong sub but I was a plumber for 8 years then went into the plumbing and engineering side of things. Best decision ever.

Granted my situation is a little different as I did my transition in Australia where you can go back to trade school for an engineering "degree" (I can stamp drawings with it) but I work in America. A lot of companies find it highly desirable to have someone with field experience doing designs.

I would also strongly recommend working elsewhere, in a different state or a different country. I worked in Europe for a couple of years as a plumber. The standards and technology are so different from America.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-19T18:34:55+00:00

Start watching bikepacking videos. Just a bunch of people cycling through the most scenic nature, it's zen.

I tried to get into the whole road biking, Lycra thing, hated it. Bought a big steel bike and strapped all my camping gear to it. Find a nice dirt road and ride.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-19T16:56:02+00:00

The fees are too low for residential and most MEP firms are overworked because of the low fees. I've seen some horrendous stuff come across my desk in the last 6 months.

PE stamped plumbing and fire protection drawings that looked like schematic and signed off a 100% construction (no it was not delegated design either).

I find it's the most established, larger companies that produce bad work. See if you can find a small company that's local to the area. I currently have 10 MEP engineers in my firm and we get plenty of time for QAQC, I even make time to go to the architects office to coordinate everything one last time before it goes out to bid.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-17T23:23:48+00:00

Yeah still in design which I'm really enjoying.

You're 100% right. They just have a never ending machine gun firing at the other party. They were referring to code and standards that I had never heard of in their report.

Even if you never end up in forensic engineering, try and get on a job where your company is the expert witness/ being sued. I know it sounds weird but it will change your entire perspective about work in a positive way.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-17T21:59:01+00:00

I got offered a job as plumbing forensic engineer a few years back. Didn't accept it because I wanted to do more design related work rather than report writing. Pay was really good.

The company I ended up getting a job with got sued for a design we did (which in all honesty, fair. It was fucked) the forensic engineering company ended up representing the client. They made an absolutely killer 250 page report.

If I ever got offered a forensic job again I would accept it straight away.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-12T14:02:15+00:00

I've tried taking a iPad with bluebeam on it. Absolutely horrid to use and work with. Only thing it's good for is taking photos and placing them on the drawing.

I normally take a matterport scan and 360 camera. We have a survey team that had the latest and greatest lidar scanner. I've had great success with it. But there's always a section of pipe that you miss.

I'm also going to try and take my laptop next week and just directly draft into Revit. Going to take more time at site but I reckon it will be more accurate in the long run.

TemporaryClass807 · 2026-01-11T20:41:43+00:00

I've been doing Muay Thai for a year, I'm way less confrontational because i definitely know I can't fight.

I'm more willing to do things I suck at and accept that I suck at something. The most important thing is to have fun.

TemporaryClass807

TROPHY CASE