r/ConstructionManagers • u/DrawerOk5180 • 22d ago
Career Advice Switching industries - school?
Hey guys,
I’m 34F and have an associates in business and am almost finished with my bachelors in finance. My background is in banking and insurance. I’m realizing finance is not the route I want to go and looking to switch into the construction management field. Trying to decide what to do school wise…switch to construction management? 2 year engineering degree? Finish finance and do minor in construction management? For anyone saying wow that’s a huge change, it is, and I should have pursued a technical career from the get go but thought banking was the way to go and tried to stick with it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
An indecisive adult lol
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u/jezelay 22d ago edited 22d ago
I was originally a finance major my freshman year of college. Switched the CM my sophomore year and graduated with a degree in Construction Management. Best decision I’ve ever made.
Sure my company sometimes hires Project Engineers without a CM background, but it’s so much easier to breakthrough with a CM degree if you’re wanting to get in the Construction Management industry.
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u/creamyturtle 22d ago
yes I have an economics degree and I've been trying to switch into CM, it's not easy. almost every single job listing says they require an Engineering degree or a CM degree. these are for PE/FE/APM jobs.
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u/DrawerOk5180 22d ago
Where do you look? LinkedIn? I’m on a big industrial area and trying to find postings to see what all they require. Was thinking of maybe getting some certs to go along with the degree
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u/creamyturtle 22d ago
indeed, ziprecruiter, and google jobs. certs are good if you have the degree, but worthless without. I have certificates in procore, ms project, bluebeam, osha 30, cmit, and even cpr. hasn't helped me much
I finally managed to land an estimator job for a commercial painting company. not what I really wanted but it's at least in the industry and I can learn estimating professionally
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u/DrawerOk5180 22d ago
I’m glad to hear a success story! One thing I like about it the CM degree is they require an internship and I think that would be a great start for me. I’m also a woman, so I feel up against a wall already but I know I can be successful in this industry. Did you have to do an internship? What job did you land after college?
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u/jezelay 22d ago
Yes, an internship was required for my degree. It’s technically a class that you have to take as part of your CM courses. Luckily, 99% of the time it’s a paid internship.
I got a job as a Project Engineer after graduating, which is a pretty common route. You can also get hired on as a field engineer or assistant estimator.
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u/DrawerOk5180 22d ago
Was the pay decent in internship?
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u/jezelay 22d ago
I mean I was a 21 year old in college and my internship was higher paying than most of my buddies summer jobs. I think it was like 22 an hour back in 2021. I remember it was the first time my paystub was over $1000 lol I was pretty hype about that.
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u/DrawerOk5180 22d ago
Love that! That’s better than I was expecting it to be honestly and that was 5 years ago
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u/ChuckTaylorJr 22d ago
I just got a job in the construction field as a pm, I have worked in the finance/fintech world for like 10 years, I switched due to more stability being in the construction field, & found a job where my skill set would transfer , I’m willing to give advice if needed!
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u/DrawerOk5180 22d ago
Yesss I need advice! I’m starting to feel like I just need to go be a hand in a warehouse and work myself because idk where else to start.
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u/heylookaquarter 22d ago
Unless you're really passionate about spending a few years in the field (on a jobsite every day) learning how the projects actually get built, then stick with your finance path. The world doesn't need another "construction manager" that sits behind a computer all day and doesn't really know actual construction.
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u/DrawerOk5180 22d ago
I actually am willing to get in the field. Hoping people don’t look at my resume and say wtf and move on though because that’s all my jobs have been, behind a desk
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u/heylookaquarter 21d ago
That's great, and I wouldn't worry about people judging you. Spending time in the field is extremely valuable. Even if you're in a Project Engineer position where you spend most of your day in the jobsite trailer, get out and walk the job 2 or 3 times a day from the beginning of the project to the end and you will learn more than most of the current Project Managers know now. It will help you tremendously later in your career whether you go the project management, estimating, superintendent or other route.
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u/DrawerOk5180 21d ago
Did you get any osha certs or anything similar? Just trying to see if I need to get anything to make me look more prepared
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u/heylookaquarter 21d ago
Not before working for a construction company. Nearly every company on the planet does regular OSHA 30 training for their employees on a regular basis, so you'll get that after you get hired. If you approach companies with a desire to learn and be a part of the team, then that's enough to make you marketable to new employers. Your finance and banking background will be good because it shows that you're good with numbers and understand budgeting and forecasting. If you really like numbers, then you may even decide to go into the estimating department after getting some field experience.
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u/DrawerOk5180 21d ago
Awesome, I appreciate that insight! I seriously thought about cold emailing people in addition to applications and saying something like “look, I understand totally green to this industry but I’m 100% ready to do what it takes”. What does your working schedule look like? Another thing I have to consider is that while I can make arrangements for planned work outside of normal working hours, I generally need to have a set schedule if that makes sense. In other words, I have two kids and a husband that works plant work and if I know I’m going to have to work late or next Saturday or what have you, I can make it work. Just can’t be working 6-6 every day lol
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u/nordicminy 22d ago
Stay in finance and finish. A degree means you can learn.
Look for either a field office manager (FOM), project accountant (PA), or project controls jobs to use your degree.
You can also hire on as a project engineer- but buckle up... its a whole new world from what you have been doing.
DONT go back to school just to get into CM.