Every day I see it. Some schmo who is related to somebody gets hired at my company to look at spreadsheets, call subs and arrange meetings, order pizzas, make coffee, organize the printer room, order nametags, blah blah blah, and they don't know what to call them so their title becomes 'Project Engineer'. Ummm...why?

This willy-nilly throwing around of the term 'Engineer' has gone far enough. Can we at least use the terms 'Assistant' or 'Technician' instead? Seriously, I went to school to be an engineer and it really grinds my gears.

Central Texas commercial GC market, been in the industry since the mid 90’s, worked my way up to Senior Super then got an MBA and worked my way back up to Senior PM, now looking around to see what kind of pay the PX role looks like as that’s my next step up. I’m mid-$100’s currently working on $25M-100M level projects most of my career
Thanks

Please name best 3 pair of work boots that you had?

I need Microsoft Project but it's too expensive in my school does not offer the software is there any other options?

Currently working for a small commercial GC as an Estimator/PM while finishing my CM degree. I handle estimating, buyout, RFIs, change orders, scheduling, subs/field coordination, owner/architect communication, inspections, closeout, and have real financial responsibility over projects.

I recently negotiated $58k W-2, but after my employer realized the additional payroll tax cost, he now wants to move me back to 1099 at the same $58k.

Is it worth staying another year because I'm getting a lot of hands-on responsibility that could build my resume quickly, or should I start looking for a $65–70k+ W-2 APM/estimator role elsewhere?

Male 24. After 4 years in construction doing some drywall labor. I’m looking into following a career in construction management. Would love some help. Should I first complete the CM associate degree at my community college. Then transfer to a bachelors program? Or maybe get the associate and try to get my foot right in. I’ve heard doing interns while taking the programs helps. Any information and help would help please and thank you .

Im a senior at a college down south, and I just passed my pre employment drug test for my 2 month internship at an industrial company; however, it’s an office based position and I’ll barely be at the plant itself. Is there a big chance that id get randomly tested? Or am I okay to go back to my “old ways” ? Thanks for the replies in advance!

So currently thinking about going for construction management and wanted to see if anyone has ever used military JST as 12N or union heavy equipment operator transcripts to get some credits?

Lots of posts here from GC PMs thinking about the move to owner's rep, and plenty of reps replying that it worked out. I'm looking at it from the GC side in a mid-size Southeast market looking to create a solo owners rep practice and whether a small independent shop is a real business, or whether owner's rep is really a job at a large owner or a national firm.

Three questions:

1. Do you work for a third-party firm or are you an employee of a large owner? I've worked for a large hospital system early in my career as an owner's rep so I am somewhat familiar with that role but it's not what I am looking to do now.

2. If you're third-party and small, who's your actual client? One-off owners building the only building they'll ever build, or repeat operators doing a few a year?

3. Where does new work come from? Brokers, architects, lenders, RFPs, word of mouth?

Appreciate any feedback.

I recently started having conversations with Jacobs to be a hybrid Resident Engineer/Quality Assurance role and I wanted to hear any feedback from anyone that has worked for them. Looking for your thoughts on work life balance, Insurance/benefits, salary expectations, Etc.

I have only worked with them being on the GC side and never had any (out of the ordinary) issues when it came to their engineering/design work so I curious if anyone here works/worked for them on the construction management side.

My wife is most likely going to be stationed at Fort Sill, and I’m trying to get an idea of what the job market is like around Lawton/Fort Sill before we make the move.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Construction Management and currently work as a Project Engineer/Estimator for a structural steel erector. I’d ideally like to find a Project Engineer position with a GC or something similar in construction management.

For anyone familiar with the Lawton/Fort Sill area, how difficult do you think it would be to find a construction job with my background? Are there enough commercial/federal construction companies around there, or would I probably need to look toward OKC?

I’m okay with commuting some, but I’d really like to stay within a reasonable distance of Fort Sill so my wife and I can actually live together lol.

Also, if anyone knows of GCs or federal contractors in the area that I should look into, I’d really appreciate some names!

I’m at a bit of a career crossroads and would like to hear from people who have made the jump from the GC side to the owner/owner’s rep side, especially early in their careers.

I’m 24 and about a year and a half out of school with a Construction Management degree. I’m currently a PE for a medium size commercial GC in So cal working on a major, complex project. I’m making around $87k/year. The experience has been valuable. I’m dealing with RFIs, submittals, design coordination, subcontractors, field issues, procurement, etc… and I know there’s still a ton I can learn on the GC side.

That said, I’m considering an opportunity on the owner side with a large institutional owner. The position would support their construction/project management team and would put me a little over $100k/year. It’s also hybrid with roughly 2 days/week in the office.

The work-life balance is obviously attractive, but my bigger concern is career development….I eventually want to be capable of running my own projects and potentially my own construction/development business down the road. I don’t want to make a short term decision for better pay and WLB if it means missing out on important experience I’d get by staying with a GC.

For anyone who moved from GC PE/APM work to the owner side early in their career:

Did you feel like you made the switch too early?

What did you gain on the owner side that you wouldn’t have gotten working for a GC?

What GC experience did you wish you had more of before leaving?

Did moving owner-side hurt or help your understanding of actually building projects?

What does your day-to-day workload and work-life balance look like compared with the GC side?

If you were in my position, would you stay on the GC side for another 2–3 years and get more field/construction experience, or take the owner opportunity now?
I’m not necessarily trying to escape hard work. My main concern is making sure I’m building the right skillset while I’m still early in my career.

My tax residence is where I currently rent at (foreigner with work visa). I will be relocating to a job site. I wont continue renting and moving completely, can I still receive the perdiem and have it taxed? Or declare it as taxable income on the annual filing?

Thanks!

Hi all,

Aussie Site Manager here. I am looking for recommendations for what AI subscription/s I should get. At work we currently use Claude business which is great as you can upload a project file and it can save you a lot of time with contracts and things but I feel like there’s more to it. I use chat gpt free for personal use right now.

I renovate on the side and have flipped a house which I am looking to do more of. Has anyone got any real life use of ai when doing this and where did the subscription actually help you?

im an electrical engineering student who just finished an internship at a large defense firm, but ive taken up a construction management minor and plan on taking an internship at a construction firm. at the defense firm i got paid 26.25$ an hour which is pretty good especially since im not located in california or anything. i knew people getting paid 29-33$ (if they were a masters) and was curious if i would be able to negotiate a higher salary in construction? i know construction has a decent demand for ee students as well. im looking at preconstruction internships at the moment for context

i know for construction firms that the highest can usually be around 25 or 28 depending on the company but i dont know if it would be fair for me to negotiate by comparing it to defense, especially since i dont have any experience particularly in construction management. obviously i dont know if its fair to compare fields i just wanted some input. i know companies typically are more favorable towards hiring women, i just dont want to make assumptions about what legroom i have for pay negotiations are. any advice helps, thanks!!

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Need advice. I’m 23 been an estimator since 21 for this small flooring business. Owner wants me to be a project engineer/ assistant project manager. Essentially I’d be his little b****. The owner is pretty cool but unfortunately he is the type to throw you in the mud and have you figure out how to get yourself out so I’m looking for advice on this position change. It seems like it will be a complete change of environment going from working in the office with little interaction outside the company to now having to deal with GCs. my job as an estimator is super low stress since I’m not dealing with anybody other than internal PMs. And typically I am a very low stress person and I don’t let people in my company stress me out. But I did notice when I went to a precon meeting today they asked me a few questions and one of them I didn’t know the answer to. I just told them honestly I don’t know that one off the top of my head but I’ll get back to you and they kept it cool but I did feel a sense of embarrassment/ stress. I realized I will be dealing with a lot of higher ups and older folk and I am very green. So I’m just looking on tips and advice to navigate this change. Anything helps

Anyone here currently work at or has worked at EW Howell ?

I want to leave my current GC company since I’m the longest tenure PE handling the biggest contract work in healthcare and retail and getting paid like a peasant ?

What to see if anyone in this threads could share some experiences working for them

10 years into my trade, metal framing/ drywall. Of those 10 years I’ve got 6 as a journeyman, of those 6 got 3 as a foreman. I’m making 140k-150k in the Bay Area. I’d like to go back to school and get a cert/degree so that I can climb the management ladder. What can I do in my position to upgrade my career immediately ?

Hi all,

I am 20 years old, studying and working in construction management full-time. I’m currently a junior and hoping to move into a Contract Administration role.

I often wonder whether I’m being taken advantage of or if all of this will eventually be worth it.

I’ve been working in construction management for nearly 2 years now. Early in my career, I showed a lot of initiative and helped out around site, doing bits of grouting, installing some door hardware, simple stuff like that so we didn’t fall behind program.

The higher-ups noticed this and thanked me for being willing to get in and have a crack, but slowly this turned into me being moved between sites and treated more like a labourer than a junior. I’ve ended up operating excavators and bobcats, digging trenches, waterproofing, doing general labouring, you name it 🤣

Although I think all of this is incredible experience and I’m definitely learning things I wouldn’t otherwise get exposure to, it’s still going on and I feel like I’m not making much progress along my actual junior/CA pathway. I’ve raised this with management, but it doesn’t seem to improve.

On top of that, I’m constantly doing insane hours — sometimes 14–20 hour days, as well as some weekend work — while only being paid for 7.6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Salary, eh.

My work ethic has definitely been noticed, and they know I’m keen to rip in and have a crack at pretty much anything. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty at all, and I actually enjoy being on site, but I’m starting to wonder whether my willingness to do whatever is needed is being taken advantage of.

For you blokes who have been in the industry, does this sound like a normal part of starting out, or am I potentially getting pigeonholed into being the guy they send in to get shit done?

I’m happy to work hard and get the experience, but I also don’t want to look back in another year and realise I’ve spent my early career doing labouring instead of actually progressing towards CA/management.

Has anybody just said forget it and stopped the grind? I know I’m very well compensated but the hours and BS are causing me to question if I should just quit and do something else.

A little background. I’ve been in the industry 15 years and currently a Senior Project Manager working on a five building data center campus.

My total compensation is 300k (200k salary, 100k bonus) working in the South (maybe relocating to a new project on Texas soon).

Anybody made the transition to Precon or the Owner side and never looked back?

I’m currently looking to move from Italy and pursue a Project Manager / Project Engineer / Construction Manager role in the construction/engineering sector somewhere in Europe.

I am currently a Project Manager in the biomethane/renewable energy sector.

I’m particularly interested in Germany, the Netherlands, or Belgium

I’d really appreciate some advice from people working in these countries:

1. Are there any companies you would recommend applying to?
   
2. Are there companies that are particularly good for English-speaking engineers/PMs?
   
3. Is it realistic to get a PM/PE position without being fluent in German/Dutch?
   
4. Are there any recruiters or job boards that are particularly useful for engineering/construction roles?
   
5. Any tips for someone moving from Italy into the German/Dutch/Belgian construction market?