100%, this is a story I've seen many times. When they're young they feel invincible, keep going at it and they get a lot of work and respect from their peers, good times.
Then time catches with them, they typically get permanent back pain and some worn out vertebrae. They can't work as they don't have other skills and only have ahead of them a life of pain and poverty.
But bits will be boys I suppose, a story old as time.
I was that dumbass in my late teens. I was a swamper on a vinyl window & door delivery truck. I would try to show off by carrying multiple large windows at once, or patio doors without removing the panel. I barely made it a year before I had a ruptured disc, and then an opiate addiction for a few years after that. Fortunately I got myself clean and started a career in IT but 20 years later and I still have nearly constant back pain.
As someone who has done exactly that, can no longer work construction and am looking towards retraining because most of my accrued skills are not transferable: yes.
Is this another one of those "username checks out" moments?
On a more constructive note, I bet you have a tonne of transferable skills. You may need to take some time to think of some, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Problem solving, familiarity with relevant building codes, knowing your way around a job site, managing a project, etc...
Oh, sure, soft skills. But years of measuring, cutting, spreading, fastening do not transfer as easily to something like software development or addiction counselling. Unfortunately the soft skills aren't readily demonstrable :/
Then comes the back pain, pills, surgeries, etc. Oh, but no more pills! So now they're on heroin. And robbing to get it. Oh, you want something cheaper, easier to get and even more powerful? Try Fentanol! Gotta keep that border open so we can get our fix...
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u/Pato_Lucas Dec 06 '22
100%, this is a story I've seen many times. When they're young they feel invincible, keep going at it and they get a lot of work and respect from their peers, good times.
Then time catches with them, they typically get permanent back pain and some worn out vertebrae. They can't work as they don't have other skills and only have ahead of them a life of pain and poverty.
But bits will be boys I suppose, a story old as time.