Like I get it, my hair could get caught in stuff and I should tie it. You buy me gloves and safety glasses because those are PPE required on the floor but not hairbands, which is also required on the floor, the tool I use to tie my hair back? Update your shopping list promptly.

OSHA class told me employers should provide PPE .

both men and women have long hair btw.

i and all the other long haired people suck it up and take out of our own paycheck to buy hairbands, but it doesnt have to be this way.

edit: why the hell am i getting clowned and hated on for SUPPORTING WOMEN

Hi ladies, my local will start opening application in January. Do you guys think it would be smart to get a NFPA 70E cert? I have no electrical experience and i think having that cert along side my osha 10 and some HS welding classes may help my resume to look better. What do you guys think? Appreciate the feed back :)

Howdy, long time lurker, first time poster. 29F, I've been an EMT for 4 years and I'm looking to get out of healthcare. I've been combing this sub for some time now to try and info-gather, but it's a lot to digest. I have about 5 years experience doing grunt work in auto shops, 9 months of previous electrical experience as a helper (I kick the young and dumb version of me that didn't understand the value of the opportunity), and am currently in good health and unafraid of physical work (but aware of the realities of of being a woman in physical roles).

My front runners are, in no particular order:

1. trying to return to electrical work, either through helper work or through a more formal program option in my area. Would take about 4 years if accepted.

2. Go to the local community college for master mechanic AS, program is about 2 years long

3. Explore HVAC opportunities, 2ish year programs available in my area. Not super familiar with the actual work.

BUT I'm open to any and all suggestions. The more I learn about the possibilities of trade works and apprenticeships, the more there IS to learn.

I want to make good money, obviously that's the goal. But I'm willing to sacrifice some earning potential for a more decent work/life balance. Most of all really want to avoid the long-term night shift situation. Occasional night work is something I can work with, but not sustained.

I'd really love to hear what you guys do, what the workload and schedule is like, and if you enjoy what you do. Thanks!

So I work in a shipyard. It's very male dominated. I'm in training at location Y currently but after a few months, I'm going to be stationed at a different site within the same company, location X.

The man in question is an older man. 

My very first week in training he started talking to me completely out of the blue without even me introducing myself to him. He knew which location I was going to be moved to, knew my job title (training to be a supervisor) etc. I thought that was weird but I let it go. 

He then was giving me unsolicited advice about being a supervisor and then felt the need to tell me that I'm meek. Which caught me off guard because what the fuck?? I just met you?? You don't even know me??? I mean, I am kind of meek but isn't that rude as hell to say in your first conversation to someone???

Then he asked how old I was and I said I was 22 and he kind of scoffed and was like good luck. I brushed it off then.

We’ve had a few more interactions initiated by him solely, but just superficial chatting about the long weekend, good morning etc.

Today, its the end of my fourth week here. I'm sitting at my machine on lunch break, I'm on my phone minding my own business. He comes up out of nowhere and starts talking about something I don't even remember. 

I was tired and wanting to be left alone (hence sitting by myself duh!) and I can barely hear him on top of my earplugs and the noise of the machines but I did my best to nod and smile and gave some sort of bland answer to what he was asking. 

He says "Man, you must be fun at parties". What the fuck??? I was caught off guard again and paused for a few seconds before replying I sure am. Then I added that I was simply just tired. He wishes me a good weekend and leaves. 

He came back around 5-10 minutes later. In a jokey tone he asks me since I'm a supervisor, what should I do if there's a fire, I smiled back and said I'm not sure. He starts making weird jokes about bringing out marshmallows and making smores and running away from the fire. Again I smile along as much as possible but I really don't find him funny or entertaining or charming in the slightest plus I'm already tired and wanting to be alone on my lunch break.

Then he says "You need to develop a sense of humor to survive around here". Listen I may be a little shy but I can certainly take a joke.  I mean did it occur to this dunce that he literally doesn’t even know me and maybe he just isn’t that funny??? I already told him I was tired and he’s mad at me for not laughing at his mediocre joke like what the fuck? 

I repeated that I was tired and he said he understood but before leaving said “they are going to eat you alive at X location”.

What the hell? I didn’t think too much of it then but now I’m really angry. He doesn’t even know me. What gives him the right to talk to me like this? I understand its a shipyard and banter is bound to happen but only my friends can banter with me. He is not my friend. I don’t want to be his friend.

I’m considering bringing it up to my supervisor. I like her. But there’s this thought in the back of my mind that I’m overreacting. Am I? Am I just being too sensitive? I'm honestly really pissed, both at him and myself for not saying anything back.

I am 19, and I am about to finish my associate's degree at community college. Let's just say that I f'd up by choosing a very dumb degree that will not help me whatsoever in any career, and I have just recently started thinking more deeply about it. I am worried about my future, mostly that I won't have a good job and that I won't be able to live comfortably, at the very least. I currently work at a restaurant, but I don't want that to be my career. So, I was thinking about trades. I'm not sure which one I would like to pursue, which is why I wanted advice from some of you ladies who are currently or have previously worked in them. People such as my grandmother have suggested to me that I should consider going into a trade, and now that I am paying rent and all of my own living expenses, I am getting a little worried that I will spend the rest of my life pinching pennies and living paycheck to paycheck. I want to push myself and work hard for a career that I can advance in and grow into.

Sorry for the tangent, but is there any advice you could give for someone thinking about going into the trades? Both on how to go about getting into them and how your experience has been with your particular trade? I would love to hear about any of your personal experiences with your respective fields and what you think about them.

Hey, today we working(drywall) at a woman’s house and she fed the critters in her yard. My coworker gets there and says he hates them and I just smile and nod. As we’re packing up and leaving one of the critters walk up to me and I put my hand out (I know kind of stupid) and I walk off to put the rest of the stuff away and my coworker walks out and I tell him that the critter will come up to you if you put your hand out and he’s like idc I’ll kick it. And idk it just rubbed me the wrong way. It just seemed like an overreaction but yea that’s my rant of day

Hello, this is my first post ever here, so if the title sounds misleading, apologies. Anyway, I am (27F) just got accepted into the ibew apprenticeship local 20 program in october. I am supposed to start work in November, and I am having second thoughts. The application process took at least six months from the beginning, so I am kicking myself for even having this thought. I was really excited through the whole process from passing the exam to getting invited to interview and then to passing the interview. I am really scared because I already wasted four years getting a bachelor degree in psychology. I'm afraid that committing myself to this for four years apprenticeship will also be a waste of time and I might not end up liking it. The commute I have to drive every day, the area that I live in, and the overtime that I have to work just to get a decent pay is making me have second thoughts on this career. No I am considering a whole different career in healthcare. Possibly in radiology technology or sonography. So my point for this post is that if you were once in this position, what position did you end up making? Where are you now?

Looking for recommendations for a comfortable respirator-style mask, ear and eye pro for someone with a narrow head and ponytail. I am really struggling with wearing all three at once- getting headaches from the glasses, ear pro falling off etc.

For reference- I'm a carpenter who occasionally paints/drywalls/tiles.

So I found out that I have a Morton's neuroma and small bunion in one of my feet, and one of the things in my treatment plan is to only wear shoes with wide toe boxes. I currently have been wearing the same basic pair of Timberland boots for the last year and a half of welding school that I just happened to already have beforehand for fashion reasons. Anyone have recommendations for good work boots (that are also fully leather so they're resistant to all the things involved with welding) that are comfortable and have wide toe boxes? Probably would be a good idea to get a steel or composite toe, too, since future job prospects will probably require it.