Career Path Dilemma
 

Hello everyone, it has been years since I have posted on here, but an issue that has been building over the last year has started to get to me more and more. My job as a project manager is known to be stressful. There is also the general expectation that one works as the job demands, sometimes 40 hours and other times 70 hours a week. I have built up a lot of stamina, and can handle a 60 hour week, but a 60 hour week of stressful work is another story. It seems that over the past two years my job has worn on me, and now I am left wondering what to do having no interest in a job that is not good for my health and that I spent four years going to school for. I have practiced stress management and keeping a good work/home balance, but some aspects of a job cannot be ignored it seems.

I had always thought in college before my injury that if I ever got sick of a stressful office job I would get a "real" job in construction again working hands-on, but now that is really not an option either due to the risks and my sometimes unpredictable PCS symptoms. I truly loved getting out and working hard though.

I was wondering if anyone else had been put into this position? My soon-to-be fiance has two more years of grad school, so for now I'm the breadwinner. I would like to put together a long term solution, hopefully with some good input from some who have been in a similar situation. Thanks in advance to anyone who might be able to offer advice.

So, are you a construction project manager for a GC or sub?

How about another position in the system? Or a subcontractor position.

My son left PMing to consult with a Contractors software company.

Have you mastered any PM skills above and beyond the normal?

My son now helps contractors maximize technology to make the systems run more efficiently. He is a high end expert on the software.

Some training in database and spread sheet conversion and integration may open some opportunities.

Hi Mark, good to talk to you again. I work for a large design-build contractor, so basically a GC only we manage more design and early preconstruction compared to bid-spec GC’s.

One thought I had was taking a safety director path as that seems to be more forgiving for stress, and it’s something I care about. Their is the potential though to get buried in paperwork. The idea of working for a sub is one that I go back and forth on. Some sub PM’s are convinced the grass is greener for us, others it seems obvious that they have less on their plate.

I like the idea of developing a skill beyond a typical PM. Since starting I have helped to implement new scheduling methods using our softwares and have become known as someone who will go above the standard practices. Like your son, I think good opportunity may lie with consulting.

Thanks for the help Mark.