Welding Tips and Tricks

So the story without too many specifics, is that I am a long term temporary supervisor of a pipefitting crew. When the opportunity came up I of course grabbed it up. Now after about 2 months I have come to the realization that I just do not like being a supervisor. I like doing the work, and even with a little more money I just dont see myself being happy as a supervisor.

Do any of you have any similar experience? If so did you stick with the supervisor job until it grew on you or go back to your tools?

Any experience, criticism, or advice is welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Being a supervisor isn't for everyone. Are you willing to trade a job you like for a few bucks if it's going to make you hate it later?

I'd say it's a very common thing across many (technical) jobs and not limited to this situation.

It takes a very different skill-set and also motivation to coordinate and manage people than to do a (technical) job.

Not everyone is happy in the more people-oriented role of supervisors, managers, etc. etc. and to be fair not all people are good at it either! Many of the people on here probably have experience with a supervisor/manager who was promoted to the job for various other reasons but really has no people skills and is not interested in it at all so they really don't function well.

You are right that moving to the more organisational or people-oriented kind of job does tend to mean you get further and further away from the technical nitty-gritty and for some of us that's hard to do ot you don't get the same satisfaction from the other aspects of such a job.. I know I am one

But.. It's good to try and do something like this for a while, so you have some experience and knowledge on how that aspect of the job works and perhaps later in life/career/etc. you may see it more as something you want to pursue.

Bye, Arno.

I am a carpenter/scaffold builder by trade and I have never been a super but have been a foreman many times and I always hated it. When the Local designates you a foreman, you can't say no but if I had my choice they can shove that radio up their ass. I like to think about the best way to do something, not put out fires all day and listen to whiners. Iwork for myself these days and I prefer it that way, I am only in charge of me and I get to do as much thinking as I can handle. I like to be a crew leader but you can have that super shit.

Your original post says it's a "long term temporary" position. Can you ride it out, and resume your normal / preferred activities at the end of the assignment? Admitting to yourself (and the rest of the people that read this forum) that it's not for you is admirable, and displays self-knowledge that many do not have. Admitting it to the boss man, in such a way that it is not career-limiting, can be tricky.

BTW: FitNPipe, what part of VA are you? I'm in NoVA, just east of DC.

Fitnpipe,
What you require is an attitude adjustment.
You are comming from the tradesman POV, organise yourself and your tools and get on with it, right?
Now in your present position you find yourself having to "think" for everyone else, plan ahead, and cop crap from those above and below you. And now your wondering if its worth it.
Being just a tradesman is easy, its what you want to do, supervision as you are finding is a different animal and is a role that you will either grow on you or grind you down if you let it.
Confidence in yourself and your own abilities helps, having a good mental picture of the project and what's required and how itscarried out helps a lot. Time management is also an important issue.
People management (aka cat herding) some people have the knack, some get good at it by determination, some coyldnt organise a good time in a brothle with a fist full of hundred dollar bills and resort to yelling and insults. You need to tread a fine line between being everyones mate and the bloke no-one likes, you also need to stand up for your troops and give a kick up the bum when its needed.
Its not easy, its harder if you have had no training.
What helps, patience, being consistent, dont bullshit, treat people the way you like to be treated ie respectfully, have confidence in yourself, ask questions of those above you and your people on tne job if you dont have a clear picture of whats going on. Dont micromanage, give clear directions with timeline etc and let them get on with it but keep an eye on whats going on adjust as required.
Goodluck with it.

Thanks for all the input folks. I'm in the Hampton Roads area. I have a great group of guys working for me who understand that there are certain procedures/specs we have to meet wether they like it or not. I have also gotten to know enough about the project where I feel comfortable fighting for OT and working with project people to get things done in a proper order.

The guys working for me have my back, but dealing with the snakes in the office is a bit of a different animal that I get frustrated with quickly. A lot of politics and stealing work from folks going on. That also presents the challenge of standing back to evaluate the angles at work and taking the proper approach to get what we want.

This is a temporary assignment which I dont want to just bail on by any means. That will put too many people in a huge pinch, which I never want to do. That being said, I'm getting much more confident in navigating the office. We are getting work done which satisfies the project people who go to bat for us in the meetings. That in turn helps me convince the generals that we are should be taking on the work.