What do you Love About the Construction Industry?
I’ve discovered over the years that the construction industry is about people and good communication. This is coming from someone who started her career in construction learning about the latest technology in construction. What I love about working in this industry is that the technology we are developing will touch so many lives, from the construction workers who benefit to the people who will eventually inhabit the structures those workers create.
Construction is one of the most crucial industries, it affects so many lives directly or indirectly and yet, it is on of the most conservative fields, where the methodologies have stayed the same for the past 100 years.
It is also a very unattractive field for many young employees: it is heavy, it is difficult and it is simply ‘unsexy’.
Every year it gets more and more difficult to find new employees for the construction sites.
1. You get to build the stuff people depend on construction
How many professionals in other industries can point at the brand-new hospital in town and say, “I helped build that”?
Whether it’s a road, a home, a sewage system or a school, the things you build matter to the people in your community.
2. A strong construction industry equals a strong economy
The U.S. economy’s strength is tightly linked to the construction industry. Construction projects provide jobs, inject both funds and new life into a community, and create the infrastructure critical to keeping the country moving forward.
3. It’s all up to you – your skills make it happen
As you work your way up through the ranks, you’ll find new ways to use both your mind and your hands to get the job done. For those who are relatively new to the field, pay attention to the guys who have been in construction for decades.
They know their stuff because they’ve been working hard, observing and learning all along the way.
4. You get to see immediate results from your work
At the end of every day at work, you’ll be able to see the progress you and your team have made. Watching that progress turn into a completed project, day by day, is one of the most rewarding parts of a construction job.
5. Every day is something new
Forget the boring 9 to 5 cubicle jobs — every construction site brings new, interesting challenges. You’ll also get to change things up with each new project, and avoid job stagnation that leads to burnout.
6. You get to collaborate with a team
Collaborating with your team to overcome obstacles and fix problems on the job site is another way you’ll put your skills to use. Strong networks are formed on construction projects because everyone on the team depends on everyone else to get the job done.
If working with other people appeals to you, construction is all about collaboration and the relationship and bonds that go along with it.
Construction projects involve many people working together toward a common goal, and their ability to do so makes or breaks the final result.
7. All these benefits and you get paid too. There is big potential for travel.
I love this industry. I love the people. I love the buildings. I love the teamwork. I love the mentoring—the young and inexperienced being taught by the veterans. I love that every project is a microcosm for life and an opportunity to constantly learn. I love that now I get to help many of you build your projects more efficiently.
All over the world at any given moment, a new structure is going up — but not without skilled workers. So if you want to travel, you can work anywhere!
Traveling also amplifies your potential impact beyond a single market and to a variety of cities and communities
8. We live at work, socialise at work, and holiday at work!
We all live or work in buildings, go to the pub or a restaurant, visit a football stadium, or stay at hotels.
The common theme between them all is that our industry has been involved in their construction, fit-out, or refurbishment in one form or another. It also gives us an immense sense of pride if we see permanent examples of our efforts on our travels.