EXAMINING HOW REWARDING A CAREER IN CONSTRUCTION CAN BE
The years fly by, and we live in a world of constant change but when it comes to building a career in construction, several things stand to the test of time. One of those constants is that in our industry, there will almost always be more projects than there are laborers to work on them. Proving this still remains true today is the fact that this theme came up again recently when Ray attended Build Witt’s first Dirt Summit in Houston, TX last month. There are plenty of strategies out there to address the labor shortage and not surprisingly our favorite one is a contractor making better use of their technology and leveraging their people in different ways. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 10% growth rate by 2028 in the construction industry – one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. This scenario can create tremendous opportunities for individuals who are looking for a rewarding and fulfilling career.
Different Backgrounds
Ray, President & Andres, Civil Engineer - different paths led them to ECI
Maybe you’re like one of us, and you started out working a construction job one summer, which led to more summers. Eventually, you went off to college, but upon graduation decided working in the construction industry was exactly where you were meant to be. Maybe you’re like another one of us, and you grew up in your family’s construction business working dozers, scrapers, and other heavy equipment before you could barely even reach the pedals. Because of that experience, you decided to go to school for construction. Maybe you’re working as a Project Manager on several job sites and never had to or wanted to go to college, and you’re doing great! Perhaps you’re in school for civil engineering, and you’ve always known that’s what you want to do. The point is many different paths can lead to a successful and rewarding career in construction.
Hard Work Leads to Great Opportunities
Some people question how successful a career in construction can really be. These folks might only be thinking narrowly about one or two entry-level job types they may have heard about or seen through their personal experiences. However, what might not be so apparent to some is that there are many specializations that one can build off of from working construction. Not everyone has to be a carpenter or a heavy equipment operator. However, if you choose to start as one of those, your opportunities to build out your skills are endless. We know people who have started out working as machine operators, and through hard work and being a team player, they have gone on to get jobs with heavy equipment technology companies. They are looked to as subject matter experts. That is because they had put in the hours sitting behind the wheel and knew the ins and outs of the machines and how to operate them. By leveraging that experience, they have positioned themselves to be a valuable member of the team. We know many others who have worked very hard on the job site and have shown that they are reliable, responsible, and willing to take on more responsibilities. In these cases, they have usually been quickly promoted to Supervisor and then to Project Manager, etc.
Different Paths that Lead to Success
There is not only one path to choose when it comes to entering the construction field or advancing your construction career. That’s the excitement of working in our industry – no two days are ever the same! It comes down to knowing your strengths and interests, having goals, and putting your best effort towards achieving them. When construction workers are driven in those ways, they will have many options to choose from for which direction they want to take their career in. For some, they’ll never want to work in an office or sit behind a desk, and that’s great because not everyone can, or else how would the bridges or buildings ever get built?! For others, they may choose to work towards managing projects, so they get the opportunity to take all they’ve learned while working hard on the sites and applying it to making sure projects are running safely, on time, and budget.
Technology is Construction’s Friend
Technology is ever evolving, and despite our industry not being the first adopters of every new creation, we have made significant strides over the years in this area (think GPS equipment). Working in construction today looks a lot different than it did two decades ago. Perhaps a career as a virtual construction engineer which marries construction and technology could be worth considering.
The fact is that there will always be a gap between supply and demand in construction, how you choose to fill that gap for your business is up to you. We know it will be worth your time to learn how GPS technology on your heavy equipment can help your operators work smarter and get the job done faster & better. Give us a call and we can help you explore some options.