field technician

excavator operator

associate project manager

crew leader

project manager

Worked (and lived) at "Sheffield Court" apartments for just under 25 years as a "live on" Maintenance technician. Beautiful 80 year old garden apartment community, with friendly and appreciative residents who came to think of me as a fixture of the property.

    A normal work day comprised mainly of dealing with all manner of apartment maintenance....plumbing, drywall, and maintenance of infrastructure (central hot water plants, community center lighting and HVAC systems), light grounds-keeping and almost any thing the residents might require, but my main duty was repair of the individual HVAC split systems.

    The most enjoyable part of the job came from the fact that the property was "pet friendly" and the residents were either older adults or young adults going to the local university (George Mason). the early evening walks around the property would often involve meeting the residents and playing with their dogs or socializing.

    During the last 10 years the property was "acquired" by a large property management company (EQR) which put a priority on health and training, adding many benefits for the workers, and they really seemed to care about our being happy / safe workers. 

    In the last 5 years my parents have passed, and my siblings have all moved to the central Florida area, and have been asking me to follow them, added to that the weather has been "brutal" in northern Virginia (hot and humid summers, outrageously cold winters with snow and ice storms). If you peruse my long version resume (available on request) you will note that I thrive in hot environments having worked in Saudi Arabia, Guam, Hawaii, and the Philippines, but the heavy "commercialization" of the "DMV" area made for poor air quality, I am really liking the weather in the Clearwater and Tampa area.

    I was a happy and productive worker for many years, but my company decided to terminate my position in February of this year (lack of work in my specialty due to the HVAC systems being rehabbed and the new systems not having enough of a failure rate to justify the size of our team). We parted amicably, and I was glad to have the opportunity to finally move closer to my family.

If you stay on managments good side things should be good for you. Be prepared to have your travel time unpaid, put a lot of miles on your car with low reimbursement. Most sites are gorgeous some are dangerous with no hazard pay. All my foreperaons and fellow crew members are awesome I made great friends here and learned a lot while i was here. But waking up at 4am and not getting home till almost 6pm losing time with family and loves ones is not worth it because reimbursements is penny's on the dollar. This place is stingy as far as having tools and equipment to get the jobs done. Be prepared to come up with some 'creative solutions' to figure out how to get things done. They will pay for your certs but it's like pulling teeth to get them to kick out reimbursement. Any issues you have in the field get good a squashing it on site because HR is basically just there to resite policy and the employee handbook. This is a good place to use as a stepping stone to better things. Unless you are of the lucky few to get the red carpet rolled out for you just keep that head low and work hard and this place won't be so bad. Be ready to run your car into the ground check engine lights should just be tattooed on crew members at this point. Don't get sucked into work politics, get your certs, smile and get out because a good raise comes with a lot more work and responsibility 

Supportive work environment with open lines of communication.  Projects are unique and exciting to be a part of. Opportunities for growth and advancement as operators, field personnel, or office personnel.  It's construction at the end of the day, so not always glorious, but the work EQR does has a direct, positive impact on the environment we all share as a society.  Those who cherish and value our natural environment are excited to put their fingerprints on changing for the better for future generations.  Company is evolving with young middle management sector open to change and devising new approaches to construction process.  Self-performance of most construction activities provides avenues for specialization in employees, which in turn provides possibilities for ongoing development and education.  You get out what you put in, if you're dedicated, motivated, and care about what you're doing, company reciprocates tenfold.

I worked here as a contractor. Now my immediate supervisor was amazing. However, I can tell that the company showed a lot of favoritism. My job was to clean up the mess that previous employees in my position lacked on. I did my part and they gave me the boot without notice on my last day. Now I know my job was contract. However, any other contractor I have ever worked for let me know in advance if and when the contract would be terminated (if it was to be terminated). Long story short, I did my part and I am pleased with the job I did. It was a very relaxed environment, nonetheless, cut-throat. They expected too much with such little pay. I personally would not recommend any one to work in the office but outside in the field I would recommend.

What is the best part of working at the company?
There are not many positives to working with this company.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Extremely poor operational standards

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic, prejudiced, and exploitative

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Arriving at 6:30 a.m. after an hour-long commute, the job is exhausting from the start. The workdays are long, physically draining, and often done in extreme weather while meeting unrealistic expectations. Management is either unhelpful or absent when problems come up, leaving workers on their own. The toxic, often prejudiced culture creates a harsh hierarchy that makes an already difficult job even worse. Overall, the inability for this company to come up with immediate working solutions will cause problem after problem for their employees.

I learned a lot while my time at EQR but there were also a lot of downsides. Specific boss's will help grow and foster your professional development and then there a lot of people that do not care at all. It was interesting environment to work in with poor management on and off the job site, it was hard to find a good reason to come to work besides getting paid. This job is very labor intensive, especially if you are new. You will get your workout in but the real question at the end of the day is if you enjoyed doing that work, and that is up to you personally. 

I'll start by saying EQR does in important work for the Chesapeake watershed.
Schedule changes day to day, week to week, and the commutes to and from site can add up quickly if using your own vehicle (milage reimbursement for sites further than 50 miles).
Ostensible start time on site is 6:30, but if the site is an hour away expect to be rising before the sun.
Job could be significantly improved if compensation for all those extra hours was included and if schedules stayed more fixed or at least predictable.

Reimbursement for training, certifications, etc is a huge plus for those entering the industry.

I enjoyed working for this company despite drawbacks such as mediocre pay and high workloads. Most of the people were nice and open minded, and space use in the office was efficient (almost too efficient - sometimes rooms for one person had 3 people crammed in there). If management would rent another office to deal with overflow and hire more people to help with the overworked staff then it would be an awesome place to work.

I was here maybe 2 months and hated it. Left almost every day feeling like I was incapable of doing my job because of how the management and others in the mechanic shop treated me. There was no encouragement or feedback, just constant negative and passive aggressive comments. The fleet manager has no clue how to treat or talk to other people in anything approaching a respectful let a line friendly manner. When I quit I was never asked why and there was no attempt to get me to stay at the company. This only leads me to believe that upper management couldn't care less about employee turnover and is aware that there are other people that are a larger problem.

I have worked at EQR for over 2 years now. They have an excellent benefits package and fairly competitive wages. I have had to work much harder for less in the past (not that we don't work hard!) The hardest part is dealing with upper management, as they nit pick and harp on minute details which ultimately impede productivity, but middle management are easy to work with, and everyone is usually willing to help guide new people.  

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Field technician 5 salaries reported	$24.20 per hour
Excavator operator 6 salaries reported	$29.00 per hour
Associate project manager 1 salary reported	$26.00 per hour
Crew leader 2 salaries reported	$26.25 per hour
Project manager 2 salaries reported	$80,000 per year

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