Building a future: Construction offers multiple career options
Building a future: Construction offers multiple career options
Project managersIn addition to laborers, there's a squadron of trained professionals who work directly for the general contractor, on site and behind the scenes. Their job is to make sure the project is finished on schedule and as close as possible to the bid price.
Whether they're on site or in the home office, they share a fascination with the building process and tend to have a can-do attitude, says Alan Laibson, vice president at Kimmel & Associates, national recruiters for the commercial construction industry.
"Construction is not a touchy-feely industry," Laibson says. "There's typically a lot of testosterone. I don't want to make it sound like the Wild West, but it's a contentious business. You're dealing with contracts and working to (finish a job at the bid price). It takes someone accountable to get the job done." Rebecca Bourn had no trouble finding a job after receiving a degree in civil engineering three years ago. As an assistant project manager for John S. Clark Co., she puts in an average 50 to 60 hours a week on a luxury condominium site in downtown Winston-Salem. An important part of her job is relaying information between field and office staff, ensuring that the superintendent gets needed answers quickly from the designer or owners so the project stays on schedule. Sometimes called field engineering, her job is considered entry-level, with starting salaries around $50,000 for individuals with a four-year degree, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
"I love every part of my job. Things are constantly changing in the field, which keeps me busy," Bourn says.
Her advice to anyone considering this career: Get experience early. Bourn interned for a mechanical engineer in high school and as a field inspector for the New York State Department of Transportation during college. Now she is trying to persuade her college-bound sister to follow her career path.
John Weiler, project manager at RL Casey Inc., entered the industry 30 years ago armed with a math degree and summer experience as a carpenter. As a young office engineer, he learned to process paperwork, such as distributing shop drawings, approving pay applications and writing purchase orders. Now, as a project manager, he splits his time between job sites and the home office, taking care of administrative tasks.
"I spend a good part of the day on the phone, talking to the superintendent, problem-solving, keeping up with project changes, negotiating purchase orders or change orders," Weiler says. "You have to be a good manager because so many people are affected by what you do during the course of a project."
Ricky Touchstone, senior project manager, joined Frank L. Blum Construction Co. in 1996 with a degree in architectural design and a master's in construction science and management. Starting out in the field lets you see "what happens when things go wrong and how proper management affects field progress," he says.
Because his father was a laborer, he grew up working summers in the field. Even today, he learns something new every time he's on a site, and still gets satisfaction from seeing plans evolve into a tangible structure.
"That's pretty powerful," Touchstone says. "A building is something you can show off. Nothing against accountants, but nobody wants to show a file to their kids."
Mike Lancaster, another senior project manager at Frank L. Blum, interned at the company during college breaks while working toward a civil engineering degree. Commercial construction never gets monotonous because the variety and complexity of projects — from the college football stadiums to Lexus dealerships — lets you "touch so many different industries," he says.
An estimator's taskCommercial contractors typically get work through a bidding process. The estimator's job is to come up with an accurate, winning bid price.
At Lomax Construction, 35-year-old Jim Melvin handles pre-construction services, which encompass estimating and business development. With a political science degree and experience as a mortgage banker, Melvin was fascinated by construction but had little exposure, he says.
Company president John Lomax hired him anyway, realizing that Melvin would be good at attracting new business. He learned estimating simply by doing it; studying old plans, asking questions, reading books and attending seminars. Now, six years later, he's comfortable pricing most projects.
"Estimating is not rocket science," he says. "You have to want to learn it, but with repetition, eventually you'll get it. Every plan is different, so you're learning every day. Even a similar building in a new situation calls for different methods of construction."
Education and trainingNot everyone who works for a commercial contractor has a four-year degree. At a minimum, though, candidates should be able to interpret two-dimensional plans and visualize in 3-D, and you're miles ahead if you understand the lingo of the trades, says Thom Roever, interim department chairman of the construction division at GTCC.
Most GTCC students who pursue the two-year associate degree in construction management have field experience, he says. Occasionally, though, a young person who "doesn't know a hammer from a spatula" applies to the program, he says. They must start with a hands-on elective, such as carpentry or plumbing, to get familiar with blueprints or codes before moving on to core classes. Other required degree courses include human relations, safety and project scheduling.
From a recruiter's perspective, the future looks promising, particularly for candidates who are willing to go where the projects are, Laibson says. The rewards for professionals who stay in the industry "a solid 12 to 15 years with a good company" and invest 50 to 55 hours a week are lucrative, he says. Sometimes they earn six-digit salaries, depending on the location.
Unlike housing construction jobs, employment on the commercial side is less volatile even in a recession because "there's more diversity in the types of projects," Laibson explains. "When private investment slows down, public projects can get very busy."
Good companies typically look to hire leaders who have handled responsibilities on a certain size project, rather than a type of project. That's good news because chances are if you can manage construction of a shopping center or a high-rise condo, you can apply the same skills to a college laboratory or a county jail.
Ricky Touchstone, a senior project manager with Frank Blum Const
