Barbara J. Jackson - Construction Management JumpStart

The Web is no longer a passive place where people idly surf, read, listen, or watch without engaging. Today, the Web is also a business tool that allows us to network together, participate in dialogue, and collaborate. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are just a few of the networks people are using regularly to interact socially and professionally.

Although the construction industry, in general, has been slow to take advantage of many digital innovations, several peer-to-peer messaging and meeting platforms are growing in popularity and use by the next generation of construction professionals. Examples include: GroupMe, WeTxt, GoToMeeting, and Zoom. These collaboration and communication platforms allow team members to easily reply to hundreds of contacts at once, or organize team communications into groups to quickly send project updates and jobsite broadcasts. The challenge of scheduling meetings has been mostly eliminated by using any number of online meeting services to connect and discuss projects while sharing files and images right on our computer screens. And these examples don't even represent those designed specifically for construction. I'll discuss those in more detail in Chapter 15.

The contributions of the construction industry relative to the changing needs and demands of our society are becoming more apparent. Construction management holds the promise to help close the gap between design and end user satisfaction by offering team leadership, project feasibility reviews, constructability analysis, value engineering, and life-cycle cost evaluation.

There are not many professions where you can look around and actually see the difference that you are making in the world. In construction, the results of your work are right there for the whole universe to see. This became very apparent to me just as I was about to leave the construction industry and return to the university to complete a master's degree and doctorate.

In 1995, I left Virginia, where I had had my design and construction business for 10 years. On my last Sunday there, a woman from my church whom I did not know came up to me. She took my hand and, with tears in her eyes, thanked me for the wonderful contribution that I had made to the community. Her husband had worked for me as a subcontractor before his passing, and she spoke of how proud he'd been to be working on some of my buildings. Well, I too began to get teary-eyed, and when I left church, I rode around that town and looked at the many homes, restaurants, and office buildings that I had designed and built. Until that day, I had never realized the impact that I and others make every day we go to work in construction. Knowing that I can return to that community 50 years from now and still view the fruits of my labor is a pretty awesome thing. The truth is that my work will still be standing long after I am gone—if not quite as long as the pyramids have lasted, at least long enough to impress my grandchildren's grandchildren.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “employment of construction managers is projected to grow 10 percent from 2016 to 2026, faster than the average for all occupations.” Construction managers are expected to be needed to oversee the anticipated increase in construction activity over the coming decade. Those with a bachelor's degree in construction science, construction management, or civil engineering, coupled with construction experience, will have the best job prospects. The bottom line is that the industry needs more construction managers than the universities can turn out. This is the case across the nation. As the level and complexity of construction activity continues to grow, so will the demand for qualified construction managers.

One of the things that makes a career in construction so appealing is that the firms that perform construction services come in all shapes and sizes, across all sectors of the industry. One of the ways we distinguish construction companies is by their geographical reach. Construction companies may be identified as local, regional, national, and even international. Anyone choosing a career in construction will be able to easily match their personal and professional preferences when it comes to selecting a size and type of firm to work for. You can find sector-specific companies within each type of geographical distinction—residential, commercial, civil, industrial, and environmental.

Each type of company will have various pros and cons relative to a number of factors. For example, number of employees, number of offices, location of offices, organizational structures, annual revenue, wage and salary ranges, training opportunities, use of technology, relocation requirements, scope of services offered, and opportunities for advancement and promotion are just a few of the distinguishing characteristics.

Local companies—Local companies are just that—they are local and serve a narrow clientele usually limited to a city or county area. The advantages to a local company are that they are most likely well known in their communities and often family owned. The number of employees could range from just a few to 50–100+ depending on the type of construction performed and the sector of the industry. Similarly, annual revenues will vary depending on the same variables—type of construction and sector of the industry. One of the advantages to working for a smaller, local company, is that you have an opportunity to learn many aspects of the business because you have to wear many hats. This could also be construed as a disadvantage. But the biggest complaint that I have heard from employees of smaller local companies is that there are fewer opportunities for advancement and often a lack of formalized training and limited use of technology. You may also see lower wages and salaries. On the upside, most likely you won't get pigeon-holed and stuck doing narrowly defined tasks for long periods of time. More than likely you will be tasked to do multiple jobs—sometimes all at the same time. But if you like being part of a smaller organization where everyone knows your name, then “local” is good. There will be little to no distance between the field and the leadership of the company—you may expect to have daily interactions with the president of the company. And you won't have to worry about being asked to pull up stakes and move to a new location when one job ends and another one begins.

Regional companies—These companies usually will branch out across an entire state or may even work in a multistate area such as the Rocky Mountain region, or the Mid-Atlantic region, or the Northwest Region. Once again, the number of employees and revenue will depend on sector of the industry and type of construction. It's likely they will have more employees than a local company, but still have a pretty good grasp of the names of the individuals who work for them. Compensation will likely be more than a local company can afford, but still may be shy of what the nationals can pay. You may enjoy some perks at a regional company that would not be available at many local companies, such as a company truck. A regional company may or may not have more than one office. Or they may have a main office with perhaps one or two smaller satellite offices. Expanding to a regional market is often a first growth step for successful local companies. This can sometimes lead to a good opportunity for an up and coming younger employee who seeks advancement in responsibility and compensation. They may be charged with setting up a satellite office and soliciting for new business in a new area. The growth of regional companies often begins with a single satisfied client who wants their “local firm” to do work for them elsewhere. In other words, the contractor follows their client to a new location and then grows from there. Once you have a reasonably sized job in a new locale, it may make sense to pursue additional clients and additional business which leads to the company having a presence in a new area. This scenario is a common impetus for expansion.