Chaotic Jobsites

Folks with 25–30 years in the industry — how does the pace of jobs today compare to how it was back in the day?

I’m currently on my first union jobsite in the Northeast, and the environment feels incredibly fast-paced, stressful, and at times borderline hostile. Everything is rush rush rush — just nonstop pressure to get things done as fast as possible. Half the time it feels like everyone’s running around like headless chickens.

One of the older journeymen I work with constantly says the trade didn’t used to be like this. He talks about how guys used to work more like “gentlemen,” where there was more pride, professionalism, and less chaos. According to him, it’s only getting worse, and he says he feels bad for the younger guys if this is what the future of the trade looks like.

I’m hoping this job is more of an outlier and not what the industry has become everywhere else. Curious to hear perspectives from people who’ve been around a while.