<p>A shot in the dark here... Does anyone out there know much about this major? It is not widely offered, but my son is interested. From what I gather the math is not as heavy as in engineering program and the opportunities for employment are good. My fear is I will send my son to school four years and he will not progress beyond an entry level construction job. That is fine if thats what he wants, but he could presumably do that without a four year degree. I've read on a couple of school's web sites that these graduates go on to be project managers and make very good money, but as of two weeks ago I'd never heard of the major. My son likes to multi-task, has an interest in building, and wants to avoid a singularly focused occupation. This seems ideal, because it deals with the "big picture" aspect of construction. I would love it if one of you folks could shed some light on this major for me.</p>
<p>No personal experience but a good friend's son did that type of degree at Texas Tech and has done very well for himself. Got a scholarship through AGC (Associated General Contractors? Affiliated German Contractors? Amalgamated Genuine Contractors? Appaloosa Grape Cartoons? Pretty dang sure it's one of those. ;)) that helped a lot and did some hot-shot internships. It all sounded good to me.</p>
<p>Nightingale-- I'll try to respond, coming from a consulting background & someone who hires construction managers.</p>
<p>We definitely hire folks with "construction management" majors....those majors are typically from state institutions, and imbedded in or closely associated with engineering departments, often civil engineering (or at least the one's I am familiar with.)</p>
<p>Off the top of my head, I can think of Georgia Tech, the University of Washington & the University of Maryland with focused construction management programs. U Md's program has a graduate degree spin. Georgia Tech has a "building construction" major. I am sure there are many more. I would start by looking at state school’s engineering schools, and drilling down into civil departments to check out their concentration/major possibilities.</p>
<p>While the math may not be quite as intensive for some programs as a straight engineering degree, it will certainly still be full of math. Construction Managers need to be able to implement and judge engineering designs, hence a strong math background is essential. Also, construction managers can be heavily involved in sophisticated scheduling and resource management, requiring a math brain....while that kind of stuff does not typically tap the differential equations side of an engineer's math education, its still very numbers oriented.</p>
<p>I would not fear that your son will get trapped in a menial construction job....there is plenty of opportunity in working one's way up the food chain for construction managers, and good ones are hard to come by, and make decent money relative to our other engineers, scientist and managers. Construction managers do work in a very hands-on world, and my biggest worry if I were a parent would be if my child would enjoy the hard-knocks world of CM. Good CM's can bridge the gaps between demanding project owners, design engineers, and sometimes rough-and-tumble contractors....that world is not for everyone. Can be lots of confrontation with contractors sometimes as CM's on the owner's side are responsible for keeping the schedule going & keeping the contractors to their bid costs. Entry CM's, like any profession, start out doing grunt work....if they gain skills, particularly people skills, they progress into leadership positions, coordinating projects and staff in managing those projects.</p>
<p>Regarding singular focus, or the lack thereof....one word of caution....CM's over their careers can touch many many types of development, as CM skills are generally transferable between these types of projects. However, the practical reality is that CMs are often dedicated to one project over the life of the project, so variety of types of developments occurs over the long haul usually, rather than juggling many projects at one time....at least relative to a typical design engineer working on several designs at one time. A juggling-proficient CM uses their juggling skills to work between the varying demands of the one project....ranging from sophisticated resource planning and integration with designers to getting dirty in the field hands-on with the contractors. So, while engineers are stereotyped as more detailed oriented, the reality is that CM's need to be as detailed, hence a thrist for the "big picture" may not be as satisfied as you might think, relative to engineering. I will say that "big picture" thinking is a good attribute for CM's as they routinely need to deal with multiple constituencies on a single project who have multiple perspectives.....its just that a variety of projects is typically less than a singularly-focused designer.</p>
<p>OK, last thought. CM, IMHO, is a great field to get into because as long as there is construction, there will be the need for local CM expertise. CM cannot be off-shored like some other engineering tasks.</p>
<p>Good luck, & feel free to ask other questions. Suggest you peruse the CC engineering majors forum, as I believe this subject has been covered in the past.</p>
<p>D's boyfriend is in a very well-thought of construction management program at Purdue.</p>
<p>Second Washington-seattle</p>
<p>Nightingale-- one other suggestion....if he hasn't already done so, see if he can get a construction job for the summer. This will expose him to the construction world hands-on, and give him a feel of how constrcution really works. Good CMs know what its like to be in a contractor's shoes.</p>
<p>A quick google or two says Texas A+M is highly thought of and has a graduate program also.</p>
<p>just throwing in another school for consideration. Check out SUNY-ESF</a>, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry</p>
<p>It's SUNY tuition- housed at Syracuse U and school has a BS in Construction Management with an emphasis in environmental and engineering issues.
OOS Suny tuition is around $12,000.</p>
<p>I think my nephew received a construction management degree from a state college in Colorado (can't remember which one). He's employed in ... construction management. I know it didn't take him long to find a good job upon graduation. This is not a low end construction job and he doesn't actually do the construction itself.</p>
<p>I know a person with a construction management degree that owns/runs a large residential construction company, a construction management degree person who works for a global developer, a construction management degree person who works in an architectural firm an undergrad construction management person who went on to architecture degrees and a construction management degree person who works for local government approving design and construction.... all in my tiny little town. Agree with getting a summer construction job! Clearly it's supplemental and aligns with the degree although typically folks with a construction management degree don't do much actual construction but can be "in the field" as Papa mentions... although most do construction especially in the early years. It adds "credibility". This is the direction my S3 is heading in and he has the full and total support of his dad (who is in this field tangentially) and I. It's a "smart degree" covering yes math, but business classes, and a broad spectrum of curriculum and that ultimately works in many fields and industries as an entry point. A builders license is a plus for some jobs, too.</p>
<p>I work in construction management and have degrees in civil engineering. A construction management major is usually very similar but some of the design courses are usually replaced with business/management courses instead. Depending on the program, it may or may not be significantly less math-intensive.</p>
<p>Employment opportunities, particularly in the buildings side, is not that good right now. My company has laid off quite a few people in the past few months. Four years down the road, I'm sure the economy will be significantly better though.</p>
<p>University of Denver offers an excellent construction management program, with excellent career placement as well. My son is a sophomore at DU and considered it as a major, but changed his mind because he wanted a program with a little more room for electives.</p>
<p>Southern Polytechnic State University (a school no one has ever heard of) which is located in the Atlanta suburbs offers it. It's really well regarded, at least down here, and SPSU is very inexpensive. They also offer/require lots of practical experience.</p>
<p>I recruit for a large general contractor, and most of our recruits are CM's. Check out ACCE (American Council for Construction Education, ACCE</a>) for a list of accredited schools. Up until the last few months, CM grads had 100% placement for jobs starting in the low $60k's (in CA). It's a well-regarded degree for those who have a passion for construction. Some of the schools I'm most familiar with include Cal Poly SLO, UWashington, Colorado State, Purdue, Clemson, UFlorida, Washington State among others.</p>
<p>If your S is interested in running construction projects, I think he should definitely pursue the major. Our firm would prefer a CM degree over most engineering degrees, as CM provides the construction business background and technical education required for our business.</p>
<p>Best of luck to him! Despite the current economy, having been in the industry for over 20 years, I can attest to the fact that it's a very practical degree that generally withstands economic blips.</p>
<p>Wow- What great responses. Thank you. I'll check out salaries for CM's.. the math worries me. S has been a "B" student in math and will finish with Trig. in his senior year next year. Thanks papa chicken. Would this job include a lot of travel and living away from home for extended periods?</p>
<p>Texas A&M has a degree that I think is called Construction Science. I only know this because my favorite American Idol contestant was in that program before getting onto American Idol and finishing 4th last season.</p>
<p>Also check U Michigan, as I know someone in that field who went there but I don't know what degree program she was in.</p>