Earn While You Learn

Do others seek your guidance to complete group assignments or project-based tasks? Transfer these leadership skills to the construction industry through project management. Project managers are essential to completing projects on time and on budget. Their duties can include planning, coordinating, budgeting and supervising construction projects from development to completion. Project managers usually spend most of their time on site where they monitor projects and make daily decisions about construction activities.

Enjoy leadership? On large construction projects, the superintendent’s job is to run the day-to-day operations on the construction site and control the short-term schedule. The role of the superintendent also includes important quality control and subcontractor coordination responsibilities. A foreman has years of experience in a particular trade who is charged with organizing the overall construction of a particular project for a particular contractor.

Do you enjoy looking at sports statistics about a player or a team and figuring out how those stats will impact the game?  Estimators figure out how much time, money, materials, and labor is needed to build a high-rise, a house, or any type of construction project. Estimators typically Identify factors affecting costs, such as production time, materials, and labor by reading blueprints or technical documents and meeting with engineers, architects and contractors to prepare estimates. Estimators recommend ways to reduce costs and work with sales teams to prepare estimates and bids for clients.

If you’re into sound systems, robotics or tinkering with wires, you should think about a career as an electrician.  Electricians install and maintain all of the electrical and power systems for our homes, businesses and factories. In large factories, electricians usually do maintenance work that is more complex. These kinds of electricians may repair motors, transformers, generators and electronic controllers on machine tools and industrial robots. They also advise management as to whether the continued operation of certain equipment could be hazardous.

Do you wish your career involved using a joystick? No, we are not talking about becoming a professional video gamer. Mobile crane operators use state-of-the-art heavy machinery to move construction materials, earth and even petroleum products over short distances. A series of joysticks, levers and pedals allows the operator to use his or her knowledge of load calculations to place materials around a construction site. Looking for a career where you will be given the best seat in the house? Then check out the view as a tower crane operator! These craft professionals use their knowledge of load calculations and crane operations to hoist heavy materials off the ground and to significant heights. They must have endurance, agility and physical coordination, as well as great hand/eye coordination.

If you are looking for a high-powered career, you’ve found it!  Power line workers install and repair the various cables and lines of the power grids that coverthe world. Whether lowered in a trench, hoisted in a bucket truck or suspended from a helicopter, power line workers make sure the electricity keeps flowing to every home, business and factory. Safety is top priority in high-voltage conditions, so the proper protective equipment must be worn at all times.

Are you interested in model building or have coined yourself Mr. Fix It? HVAC Technicians are always piecing things together as they install, maintain and repair heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Can’t decide between a career in mechanical systems or electronics? HVAC covers it all! Motors, compressors, pumps, fans, thermostats and computerized switches control systems in residential, commercial and industrial structures. Technicians can also specialize in specific equipment, such as hydronics (water-based heating systems), solar panels or commercial refrigeration.

Are you always tinkering with objects? Do people ask for your help with fixing mechanical things? Look into becoming a plumber! Plumbers do much more than fix sinks and toilets in residential homes. They design and install piping systems that distribute water and remove waste from buildings, and connect heating and cooling systems. Plumbers have to be knowledgeable in water distribution, blueprint reading, local ordinances and regulations, mathematics, mechanical drawing, physics, welding and soldering.