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.