Is going into construction worth it? It depends on what you value. If you value good pay with decent job prospects, and a rewarding experience then construction is for you. However, you will be working long hours working in a high-stress environment rife with deadlines, cut-throat competition, and tight budgets. I highly recommend doing extensive research before jumping into construction. I hope this post helps you in that.
There are many avenues to enter the construction industry. This includes trade school if you want to work more with your hands. The other route is to go to a college or university to get a degree in construction related studies. This can range from architecture, to safety, to engineering, to surveying. In this post I will discuss the latter route, the degree route, because this is the route I took.
To work in construction you can have a wide array of background knowledge and still make it in construction. This is because you tend to learn a lot from on-the-job training. I, for example, have a degree in Chemical Engineering and knew little about building. However, I learned everything there is to building a structure from start to finish while working.
Is going into construction worth it? The Pay and Growth
Some of the recommended background degrees I suggest for an easier time entering the construction industry are the following:
- Architecture: Typical entry-level education is a Bachelor’s degree. The 2019 median pay for an architect was $80,750 per year, with a job outlook of 1% from 2019 to 2029. This means that the market for architects is rather small with little need. However, don’t let this discourage you from becoming an architect. All that this means is you will have a slightly tougher time finding a job upon graduation.
- Civil Engineering: Typical entry-level education is a Bachelor’s degree. The median pay for a civil engineer was $87,060 per year, with a job outlook of 2% from 2019 to 2029.
- Construction Management/Technology/Engineering: Typical entry-level education is a Bachelor’s degree. The 2019 median pay for a construction manager was $95,260 per year, with a job outlook of 8% from 2019 to 2029. This means that you will always have a growing need for construction managers.
- Drafting: Typical entry-level education is an Associate’s degree. The 2019 median pay for a drafter was $56,830 per year, with a job outlook of -4% from 2019 to 2029. However, I believe this will turn around as most heavy-hitter construction companies are investing more into modeling and BIM software.
- Health and Safety Engineering: Typical entry-level education is a Bachelor’s degree. The 2019 median pay for a Health and Safety Engineer was $91,410 per year with a job outlook of 4% from 2019 to 2029.
- Mechanical Engineering: Typical entry-level education is a Bachelor’s degree. The 2019 median pay for a mechanical engineer was $88,430 per year with a job outlook of 4% from 2019 to 2029.
- Surveying: Typical entry-level education is a Bachelor’s degree. The 2019 median pay for a Surveyor was $63,420 per year with a job outlook of 2% from 2019 to 2029.
- All of the above figures can be found here: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
If you want high pay with a lot of job prospects, look into getting a degree in Construction Management.
From what I have seen regarding average pay for engineers and managers in the industry is that residential contractors tend to pay on the lower side of the scale due to smaller contract values. Commercial contractors tend to pay in the middle of the pay scale while any general who does heavy civil/infrastructure tends to pay on the higher side of the pay scale.
Even during the 2019 COVID pandemic, construction in certain sectors not only survived, but thrived. These sectors were anything deemed essential such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, and government. Any general contractor who was heavily involved in any of these sectors was and still is looking fervently to hiring engineers and managers due to the work volume not having been affected by COVID. Large contractors such as Turner, Bechtel, PCL, and Kiewit, to name a few, have been able to survive mostly unscathed while also adding large backlog to their books. To back up my claims, here is an article describing Dodge Data & Analytics’ finding regarding the impact of COVID on the industry. To summarize, although the pandemic affected construction, due to its ‘essential’ nature, it remained somewhat resilient and rebounded towards the end of Q3 and start of Q4.
The Culture
Culture in the industry differs from company to company but across the board you will work long hours. I average 10 hour days Monday to Friday, sometimes even Saturday work is required. All of this adds up to around 50-60 hour work weeks. To some this is normal and welcomed, but to others this is unacceptable. Construction is the second oldest profession in the world, so cultural changes and acceptance of anything new is slow going. A lot of generals are behind the curve when it comes to adopting new technology or work-culture changes. As companies shift to 4-day work weeks, 8/90 schedules, or more remote working, construction remains behind in adapting to this.
As to the people, you will meet some of the smartest and most capable builders out there, but you will also meet your fair share of hard-asses who will make it their mission to ruin your day. You will get to work with great colleagues dedicated to their craft, but also colleagues who couldn’t care less if the building never gets done.
Like any industry, construction has its pros and cons. The pay is good, job prospects are good, and opportunity to learn is plenty. However, be ready to work long stressful hours alongside people who will try to hinder you the whole way.
Is going into construction worth it? For me, the answer is yes. I hope this helps you in your search for your answer.
Check out our previous post about how I save and invest my money.
Thank you for reading,
– E J
