I know of a young man who is 20 years old and looking for advice on getting started in commercial construction. He plans to have his own business someday but is unsure of where to start. Would some of you in the biz be willing to speak with him and provide some advice?

Thanks

Explain commercial

Is he in school at Auburn pursuing a Building Science or Civil Engineering degree? It's hard to get your foot in the door of a commercial GC without a degree like that. Not impossible, but he would need help from someone inside to get an opportunity.

Going to school and getting an intern position is the best way. As an intern, he has a great opportunity to make a good impression and get a job as soon as he graduates. We have hired 3 or 4 of our interns in the past couple of years and they're good young people with a bright future.

Good advice here on one good route, most people I graduated BS with had multiple job offers. However, if he is looking to one day own his own business I would suggest finding a small commercial GC. With a large company like a B&G, Robins and Mortin, BL Harbert etc their is such a hierarchy he wont see far up the ladder. With a small GC he will have better opportunity to see all aspects of the business. Also probably easier to get on with a smaller GC without a degree if thats the case. I dont personally see a route into management at a bigger GC without years of experience and even alot of the field supts now have a degree vs just working there way up from the very bottom.

A couple of our friends have degrees in Construction Management from UF. They both do very well. One is mainly commercial and the other has progressed to very high-end custom homes.

He needs to get some experience with a GC before going out on his own. Unless he's born wealthy, he will need a large amount of financial backing to get started. Insurance, bonding, licensing all require good financial status just to get started.

He can't get hired even as an assistant superintendent without experience. If he knows how to use surveying equipment he might start as a field engineer and work his way up to a superintendent, but that will take many years. Unless he already has some experience, it will be near impossible to start the route through project management without a degree. Nobody is going to give him an opportunity. We review resumes constantly and someone without a degree will not even get an interview for a starting position in project management, unless they are connected.

Very good advice

This is the problem with people saying "college is worthless". The only thing worse than having a college degree, is not having one...

Universities are printing a lot of useless degrees these days, but construction, engineering and architecture degrees are worth it.

A BS in Marketing will get you a job as a bank teller or at Enterprise Rent a car.

Anyone who ever wants to run a successfully construction company someday should start as young as possible with a hammer in their hand. You can't easily run a successful company unless you know the aspect of the job from top to bottom.

It could be done, but it would be best to have that experience at the bottom.

I did it all before I retired to a city job. It's all about what you know and who you know that makes big jobs run smoothly

I don't disagree because too many kids coming out of college have zero practical construction knowledge and think buildings are built sitting behind a computer.

But I doubt Miller Gorrie or Billy Harbert swung a lot of hammers in their youth....

I have been in construction most of my life. I am a licensed gc in two states and a licensed plumbing and utility contractor in three. I work with many gc,s very few have college degrees. Experience is everything and its not hard to get a job with out a degree . Ive help.many people get their license and would be more that happy to talk to him

Now almost everyone has a degree. The ones that don't are getting close to retirement age.

It's all about who you know and who you blow while you're getting your experience.

Pipe fitter and welder here

Degree or no degree shaking the right hands and experience know your job. Knowledge is money.

The summers I worked framing and forming and doing layout were just as valuable as what I learned getting a BSC degree.

I came up in the 60s as a son to a old school General Contractor and then a tour in Vietnam with a Navy Construction Battalion. A tough life but rewarding.

True honesty in commercial construction. Easy answer if survive in it learn spanish

The commercial industry has gone full blown Hispanic. Hvac, footers, electric, everything. The only white guys on the job site these days are the heavy equipment operators that do site prep. We get it ready for the construction workers. I see it everyday 50hrs a week. There are zero white or blacks left.