My Journey Learning The Ropes As A Project Manager

hello everyone, I am taking on more and more responsibilities at work. I help out with a job in Flushing, sometimes in Brooklyn, and two jobs in Manhattan. I have some good project managers to learn about the PM process. One job I send out PowerPoint presentations, loaded with job issues, each week to the jobsite contractor who serves the owner and supposed to coordinate work with all of the trades. I even got to walk with a retired NYC electrical inspector on another job in lower Manhattan. I was asking lots of questions and getting alot of answers. We have the retired inspector as a consultant for my shop. I truly work with some talented guys in my shop. I help out anyone in need. They return the favor by inviting me to different job events to learn or walk me through different processes. Most of the guys I work with hold A journeyman cards. Being an electrician helps out tremendously when learning this job. At the end of the day, the inspector and the other guys asked me to consider becoming a NYC minority contractor. They all said that they would love to come work with me. If I did become a contractor, I would want to hold my own license. I have heard that the test, written and a practical,is a very tough test to pass. It would be a distinction to hold a NYC master electrician license. I would be able to capture a good 20-30% of the work on each project in New York City. The issue with becoming a minority contractor is the requirement to have tremendous amounts of capital to fund payroll and material needed for the project. I would have to figure that out prior to going into business. I need to get the electrical license before even considering going into business. Another key to success is having great guys to work on the jobs. I would need great supervision and estimators to help bid the work and monitor the jobs and become highly profitable. I was going up to learn from estimators in my shop. I have been busy and need to get back into learning how to estimate. Our bread and butter is properly pricing out changes, from ownership, to the job that differs from the contract plans. You can make a few extra million dollars in changes off a $30 million dollar job. I have to learn more about doing the quarterly financials we have to do. We are a public company so we have to project how profitable our job is going to be in the near future. This process is tricky and gives me anxiety since it is very important!! I have a coworker who is going to help me learn more about the financials real soon. First quarter is coming up really soon. We are already starting the process of putting together the paperwork in a few weeks. Like with anything, I want to learn and be really good with this task. I have been learning how to shop for quotes and fill out purchase orders that are big and small for material on the job. There is an internal process to purchase material. I have to include minority suppliers with offering quotes to me. Sometimes they offer reasonable quotes and sometimes their quotes are outrageous! I am not allowed to reveal prices to suppliers so they can adjust their numbers. There are alot of rules when working for a public company that I must follow. I feel that if I can learn to be the best in my shop, I can work for any shop in the country. My goal is to retire in Florida in the future. I have quite a few years before I am able to retire. I am at the halfway point with my pension. I will probably always want to work in some capacity. Once I got past my 20 year mark, I have now earned my union medical for life. That is super important as a retired person. This will be the point in life where I will need it the most. Then again, at the very least, I have VA benefits. My son is following in my footsteps on the road to becoming an electrician. He is a shop boy right now delivering material for an electrical contractor. He is scheduled to come in as an apprentice electrician this fall. He is looking forward to learning the business and becoming an electrician. I have a sense of pride in his choice to learn my trade. I did originally want him to go to college and become a nurse. He was learning to become an EMT and earn an associates degree. He lost interest and dropped out. He got this job opportunity to deliver material and he took it. Now he loves it and eager to get in and start learning. He finds it cool that alot of people know his name and know me. He is learning how hard I have worked through the eyes of my coworkers. He will appreciate my hard work even more as he travels through the business. I know there are few women in this business. I am going to be there at his topping out ceremony when he gets his A card in about six years from now. I want to be the member giving him his A card. I am sure that time will be here beforr we know it! As always, thanks for taking the time to stop by and reading my blog! Have a great day! Thanks, Cheers! Leslie M Jasper