Barbara J. Jackson - Construction Management JumpStart

National companies—National companies generally do business all across the United States and have offices in many cities with a headquarters or home office in one of them. The number of employees, annual revenues, and volume of work will correlate with the size of their geographic range and scope of services. Generally, national companies will have more formalized employee recruiting and training programs, as well as more formal organizational hierarchies. You can also expect higher wages and salaries with more expansive benefits and job-related perks like company vehicles, cell phones, and iPads. There are many advantages to working for a large national company. These companies often employ the latest technologies and provide training to employees in their application and use. They will also have more formal administrative and management processes and procedures. One of the disadvantages is that you will most likely not know your fellow workers in all of the various branch offices. You'll be familiar with your group but certainly not the entire company. And there is a great distance between the frontlines and the executive level leadership of the company. Opportunities for advancement and promotion will be greater than with a local or even regional company. However, it is far more likely that you will be relocated at least once in your career from one office to another.

International companies—If you choose to work for an International company, more than likely, travel and relocation becomes a common experience for you. The projects that international companies are often involved in are large-to-mega in size. Salaries and wages will be similar to the nationals with added “hardship” compensation paid for extensive travel, multiple relocations, or remote assignments. All the benefits and perks, trainings, technology, and opportunities that exist with a national company are going to be equivalent with an international company. It's common for the international companies to have thousands of employees located in offices and on projects all over the world. You often see international companies create distinct divisions like the U.S. Division, or a North American division. This is particularly helpful when cultural and operational protocols differ from one area of the globe to another. Obviously, the opportunities for advancement are immense—as is the accountabilities that come with those advancements. Anyone who likes to travel and experience other cultures could be right at home in an international company. The biggest challenges usually involve family matters associated with having school-age children or a working spouse. It's not so easy to pick up and move every one to two years once you have a need to establish roots. But if you have risen to an executive level in an international company, the need to relocate your family is most likely no longer necessary, although regular overnight travel is very common, along with the accumulation of a lot of frequent flyer miles!

Construction managers may go to work for a number of different organizations. On the private side, general contractors, construction management firms, architectural or engineering firms, developers, financial institutions, and large corporations may all hire construction managers. On the public side, various state and federal agencies, public schools and universities, departments of transportation, federal prison systems, and others may seek their skills as well.

As in any profession, advancement opportunities for construction managers vary depending on an individual's performance, ability, and the size of the company they work for. The customary progression for a new construction management recruit is to start as a field engineer and then move to an assistant superintendent position, superintendent, estimator, assistant project manager, and then project manager. Within larger firms, highly qualified construction managers may eventually become top-level managers and executives, often moving to the vice president level or higher. Many construction managers will opt to branch out and start their own businesses.

The ideal construction management candidate is typically an individual who has a bachelor's degree or higher in construction management, construction engineering, or construction science, as well as practical experience working in construction. The work experience and hands-on knowledge of construction are as valuable as the degree. For this reason, many construction management students combine their formal university educations with paid internships while attending school. It is also not uncommon to find experienced field personnel pursuing their degrees in construction management as nontraditional older students.

Opportunities for education and training in construction management are numerous. As previously mentioned, the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) lists about 160+ colleges and universities offering four-year accredited degree programs in construction management or construction science, in the United States and abroad. There are also a number of two-year colleges that offer construction management or construction technology courses. For graduate studies, there are dozens of universities that offer a master's degree, and at least a half-dozen universities that offer a PhD in Construction Management. In addition, several of the construction, engineering, and architecture trade and professional associations regularly host educational seminars on various construction management topics.

Typical course offerings in construction management include construction methods and materials, site surveying and layout, contract administration, construction documents, value analysis, cost estimating, scheduling, cost controls, accounting, business and financial management, building codes and standards, inspection procedures, engineering and architectural sciences, mathematics, statistics, computer applications, and information technology. Several of these topics will be discussed throughout this book.

One of the easiest ways to get acquainted with the construction management profession is to become familiar with the various professional organizations affiliated with the industry. At least 250 organizations are associated with construction and its practitioners. Two of these organizations offer voluntary certification programs for construction managers. Requirements combine a written examination with verification of professional experience.

The American Institute of Constructors (AIC) helps individual contractors who meet the requirements to achieve professional status through an examination and certification program. AIC is the certifying body for the designation of Certified Professional Constructor (CPC) and Associate Constructor (AC). The organization was formed in 1971 and serves the industry in a professional capacity similar to the professional organizations for architecture and engineering. You can learn more about the AIC at www.aicnet.org.

The Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) is dedicated to promoting the professional practice of construction management. The organization welcomes members from all construction and design disciplines as well as owners and various service providers to the industry. The CMAA offers professional designations through its Certified Construction Manager (CCM) program for individuals who complete its self-study course, pass the certification exam, and meet other requirements set forth by the organization. To learn more about the CMAA, go to its website at http://cmaanet.org.