• Welcome to the new and improved Building Code Forum. We appreciate you being here and hope that you are getting the information that you need concerning all codes of the building trades. This is a free forum to the public due to the generosity of the Sawhorses, Corporate Supporters and Supporters who have upgraded their accounts. If you would like to have improved access to the forum please upgrade to Sawhorse by first logging in then clicking here: Upgrades

So you wanted to be a Building Official? Longevity?

Understand your job. Do your job. And educate anyone and everyone who wants to learn along the way. Be confident, not cocky. Be approachable. Learn something new every day. Be personable. Love what you do. Have enthusiasm for every project, no matter the size. Call a spade a spade. Know when to say NO. Don't take crap, and don't give crap. Keep your integrity. Let go of the ego. And the most important secret: have fun. :):cowboy
 
The longest I stayed with one jurisdiction was 8 years. A lot of that had to do with my personal goals and wanting to move up as I was not a building official at the time. When I did become a building official, I could have stayed there indefinitely, but my staff was reorganized into a new department and the new department head was a terrible manager and micromanaged everyone, including those of us that had already been in a supervisory role. Nevermind the fact that Napoleon came with him…

I loved being a building official. One secret to longevity is your staff and how well they serve you, which is in turn based on well you take care of them.
 
sheep&you and codegeek nailed alot of what it takes on the head...unfortunately, some of the other parts come down to being lucky enough not to land in a political quagmire or under a super-id boss.
 
Good stuff and I thank you all. It seems that there are different levels of having a target on you back? The inspector level, the plans examiner level, and then the BO level? It seems that you are a much bigger target at the BO level? I have been thinking about this a lot lately for some unknown reason. Don't want anybody to think that I'm having any major problems here in Gillette. Pretty standard challenges that just come with the job.
 
unfortunately, a lot of it is politics...i work for a third-party and in my last town the previous inspector for our company was, well, a dick and fired by our company...i took over and was in there for about a year when the new council was elected...a few of them had very poor experiences with the last guy and, despite good reviews for me, decided to take their long-seated anger out on our company
 
cerealandbands said:
unfortunately, a lot of it is politics...i work for a third-party and in my last town the previous inspector for our company was, well, a dick and fired by our company...i took over and was in there for about a year when the new council was elected...a few of them had very poor experiences with the last guy and, despite good reviews for me, decided to take their long-seated anger out on our company
Click to expand...
Yes politics is quite a lagre part of it. Comes with the job. Just a recommendation but you may want to replace the word D*** with something along the lines of "Large Richard"?
 
The Napoleon that I worked for was a "large richard" too and it was actually his name! So we would affectionally refer to him as "dick", head of the department. :D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
richard cranium is the name and bo for 11years is my game. having a sense of humor is extremely important in this field. :mrgreen:
 
The secret to longevity in a code enforcement position is......

Make yourself personally valuable to the employer.

Demonstrate an interest in your job, assume other responsibilities that increase your indispensability to the jurisdiction. Safety Officer, motor pool manager, liason to the city or county, get the idea?

My current favorite line - "I'm in the busines of approving projects. If nothing gets approved, then nothing happens in the town, no new homeowners or businesses move in; tax base tax base!"
 
I think Ewenme and CG hit it pretty well....if your higherups don't value the position,(and let you do the job)it can be pretty difficult to stay somewhere....if you get a good team attitude and participate well....I can see staying somewhere for a long time...and the historical knowledge you gain about a particular jurisdiction becomes a wonderful asset as well...
 
I'm with pretty much all the posts above, I try daily to do as ewenme stated. I'm about 7 1/2 years into the BO position. Would not have even thrown in for it if the staff here wasn't what it is, and I knew the boss wouldn't micro-manage me, and keep the politics out of my hair. I threw in because I didn't want to see a good group screwed up with someone new from thew outside. Here I am, still have the same staff, except a couple that moved on for other reasons. There are days i wonder why the heck I did it, but for the most part it is satisfying.
 
"There are days i wonder why the heck I did it, but for the most part it is satisfying."

I sometimes wonder about it as well. Something in the blood, something in the passion for the job keeps driving me. Or am I just crazy like the rest of you? Hum...
 
jpranch said:
"There are days i wonder why the heck I did it, but for the most part it is satisfying."I sometimes wonder about it as well. Something in the blood, something in the passion for the job keeps driving me. Or am I just crazy like the rest of you? Hum...
Click to expand...
For me "even though I am not an inspector" passion for what I do drives me every day. My wife told me if I showed her as much passion as I do my work, I would not have time to work.

Now I am on the fence, we have seven kids the youngest is 3 and I am 55. I cant keep up as it is.

but I love both with passion.
 
I was with my previous employer for just over 16 years. I didn't leave because I was unhappy, although I was becoming somewhat unhappy with how things were managed; I left because I got an offer I couldn't refuse: 20% increase in pay, and an opportunity for personal growth, and professional growth. I've been with the new employer for about 5 years now. Where does the time go? My next move will be into retirement, consulting work, and designing houses [no I'm not an architect, but my houses are liveable and take into consideration budgets and style of the owners]. I have forged excellent working relationships with a great many people, some which have lasted 2+ decades, and are still growing stronger. I've had some bone-heads want me to be fired immediatley, and then, in six months or so, they are thanking me profusely for making them play by the code. No one likes to be told NO, but sometimes they have to hear it anyway. Just let go of the bad stuff and it won't bother you. If you hang on to it, it will eat you up and you'll become bitter. Sweet is much nicer, no matter who it's from. :)

Love your job, and the people you work with, and the people you meet, and when necessary take off your rose-colored glasses and have some lemonade. When life deals you lemons, make lemonade! And, as my license plate proclaims, always: ASK WHY. It gets a laugh sometimes.

:chpill
 
It can become very tough to love the people you work with when you have had your throat cut several times by the same person and you are still bleeding profusely from the last attack. Ah... but this too shall pass... Ya, like a damn kidney stone! :cowboy :lol:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
jpranch said:
"There are days i wonder why the heck I did it, but for the most part it is satisfying."I sometimes wonder about it as well. Something in the blood, something in the passion for the job keeps driving me. Or am I just crazy like the rest of you? Hum...
Click to expand...
I've been told it's a genetic disorder!
 
I've been told that the job requires a minimum amount of brain damage and I exceed the minimum. :D

Wouldn't want to do anything else. Just started in a new AHJ but been on this side of the counter since 93.

Keep learning, take nothing personal, know when to say no, and when to say I was wrong. Keep the higher-ups from getting blind sided if possible.

DO NOT MAKE ANYTHING UP!!!! If it isn't in the code you can't enforce it. Tell the truth even if it hurts.

Don't do anything illegal, immoral, or that will pi$$ off the wife.
 




  1. Live each day with courage.
  2. Take pride in your work.
  3. Always finish what you start.
  4. Do what has to be done.
  5. Be tough, but fair.
  6. When you make a promise, keep it.
  7. Ride for the brand.
  8. Talk less and say more.
  9. Remember that some things aren't for sale.
  10. Know where to draw the line.
 
"Being mediocre at the job helps and that's not a secret."

Well, fortunately, most (not all) of the BO's I know and am associated with, do not fall in that category, they have the work habits and ethics of the positive posts to date.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top