Today I learned about working in construction! I was on the Muni, headed home from UCSF Mission Bay. The guy sitting next to me had steel-toed shoes, w/ the steel showing through... i mean, the leather had worn so much that the steel was actually showing through at his toes!
Anyways, we struck up conversation b/c I followed him to figure out how to pay for muni (it was my first time catching it from the street vs from a BART station)... he thought I was a student b/c of my huge, heavy-looking (and heavy in reality) computer backpack.
So I replied, no, not a student, but that I worked WITH students today. I explained that I give lectures and teach people how to use instruments. I could tell he wasn't the talky brash type, actually he seemed a bit self-effacing....by the end of my muni ride I decided he was just being polite/reserved b/c i was a stranger.
anyways, he told me (and another guy, a "suit" --eg suit-sporting white-collar business-type muni rider) that he was working on building a parking lot at the mission bay campus, and had been on that same project for the last 1 and a half years!
he explained, you gotta know about everything.... framing, electrical, concrete.... the old days you specialized, but nowadays, you go through a 4 year apprenticeship where you learn all the areas of construction. after that, you become a journeyman.....and currently, he contracts.... on projects such as roofing, installing solar panels, concrete work.....
who would have thought, a 4-year education to be a contractor! us college kids never realize i think all the other forms of education out there!
which reminds me of the german girl i met while out in cortona, italy! again, the recurring theme that aside from your standard 4-year college experience, the world offers much more! in Germany, people often study AND work in industry at the same time, with the studies completely paid for by the company. in return, the student works for the company for 2 years (a guaranteed job after college-- pretty good deal for both sides, I'd say, considering these tough job markets)
i also learned from the conversation between him and Mr. Suit is that it can cost $25,000 just to install solar panels! That the $25,000 may only be worth it if you start your 30-yr mortgage w/ solar panels, ie to pay off the $25G in energy savings (of course, you're also helping save the earth)!
Then the conversation moved into all the different "green" building trends.... recycled tires in roads and playgrounds, recycled wood in building materials....
Mr. Construction made us all laugh when he told us about the newest fashion-housing trend in Fresno: the use of shipping containers
Anyways, it was an entertaining Muni ride home : )
