Construction Management major

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>I've been considering majoring in Construction Management, but I've heard some bad things about the major. Is it true no one would respect a kid straight out of college in a construction site because they lack true construction experience? And do companies usually hire CM majors with no previous experience?</p>

<p>What's the difference between CM and Construction Engineering? Which has better job prospects?</p>

<p>Does anyone have suggestions for good CM programs? I know Purdue (in-state) does, and I've also been looking at FIU and ASU.</p>

2

<p>I have been working as a carpenter for 8 years. I have been in a supervisory position for most of that. we hire construction management diploma people (its a diploma here in Canada, not a degree) for basically the same position that I do, but they do a bit more paper work. they organize the crews, get materials ordered so the work doesn’t stop, or they can be in the office and do estimates on materials and labour costs. but we generally find that they lack the construction background, yes they know some of it, but if something goes wrong on site, they don’t really know how to handle it, so that’s where the forman with years of carpentry experience comes in. construction management is more like scheduling and managing people. It might be hard getting your first job, but after you get some experience you’ll be fine. </p>

<p>if there is a civil engineering diploma, I would suggest that over the construction management. there will be more job opportunities for new grads. somehow I think human resources sees civil engineering as a better degree on a resume, compared to construction management. I’m not sure though. from what I understand the 2 year civil diploma will do some on site supervising, computer drafting, estimates, meet other professionals like geotechs who come on site to analyze stuff. </p>

<p>civil engineers can be managers too. the ones with the 4 year degree will work in the office more being a project manager, same like scheduling, estimates, they also know more about the in depth stuff, like force loads, and capacities on materials. they can also work with architects to make the buildings structurally safe. the classes might be more time consuming, but if you are going to put in 4 years regardless, I suggest civil engineering over construction management. </p>

<p>if i am not mistaken, construction engineering is a lot like civil engineering. civil engineers should get paid more than construction management people for starting wage, I am not sure about wage after 15 yrs of experience. </p>

<p>as for your schools, I live in Canada so I have no idea about the better US school. but they all teach the same stuff, I would just choose one close to home, and try to get one with a paid co-op or internship. this is where the school helps to find you a summer job in the area to gain experience. </p>

<p>good luck</p>

3

<p>The country’s infrastructure needs to be rebuilt. CE is what you want.</p>

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<p>I would also vote for traditional engineering over some contemporary business/management majors. Real skills are real skills.</p>

<p>It’s common that some unis put up management or leadership degrees in order to motivate students that want to be managers or leaders. Sure they can find it interesting and it can have useful content, but one is surely not going to become a manager or a leader by studying a degree, but rather the leadership and management skills are learned through the jobs that one takes, starting from the core of the business (e.g. a civil engineering role). Thus a degree leading to a management or leadership position is a misconception.</p>

<p>Construction Management is the study of managing construction. I.e. if your interest is in construction management, then it would/could offer background knowledge that’s relevant for pursuing that, but it’s not really a job qualification (whereas an engineering degree often is for technical jobs and real work experience obviously also is).</p>

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<p>I’ve been looking at CivilE and ConstructionE programs, but honestly the math and science involved doesn’t look appealing to me.</p>

<p>I’ve been leaning towards the Management programs because I like the idea of organizing and managing people, all while being able to see the outcome of my work (the finished project, building completed). Can someone look at Purdue and FIU’s programs and see which would be a better fit? FIU is actually a little less costly, but both are fairly inexpensive: </p>

<p>Purdue- <a href=“https://www.tech.purdue.edu/Current_Students/Plans-of-Study/pdf/BCM%20-%20BCM%20Fall%202013%20POS.pdf[/url]”>https://www.tech.purdue.edu/Current_Students/Plans-of-Study/pdf/BCM%20-%20BCM%20Fall%202013%20POS.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>FIU- <a href=“https://ugrad.fiu.edu/advising/UCC-plans%20PDFs/19-UCC-Construction%20Management.pdf[/url]”>https://ugrad.fiu.edu/advising/UCC-plans%20PDFs/19-UCC-Construction%20Management.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>It’s a very valid notion to be picking what fits your interests most, that’s what matters after all. What I was saying is just that management and leadership positions almost undoubtedly require “paying your dues” as I would guess very few in the industry are interested in employing people with only theoretical knowledge about a certainly practical thing. And think how it feels to a construction engineer to have a “construction manager”, who’s “never done construction, but studied construction management in uni”. Thus I would suggest gaining some practical work experience in construction and making yourself more knowledgeable of the real operations that you’re intending to learn to manage.</p>

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<p>I understand that completely. Perhaps I could get a summer job as a construction worker or internships to help shorten that gap?</p>

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<p>Construction Management majors at Colorado State University are required to complete a 24 week (or 12 weeks w/500 hours prior work experience) internship before graduating.</p>

<p>[Curriculum</a> - Undergraduate Students - Department of Construction Management - College of Health and Human Sciences - Colorado State University](<a href=“http://www.cm.chhs.colostate.edu/students/undergraduate/curriculum.aspx]Curriculum”>Department of Construction Management)</p>

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<p>I saw that CM majors at Arizona State are required to do two internships- one on a job site learning hands on skills, and one in a managerial position. That seems like it would give you a balanced experience.</p>

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<p>If you don’t like or can’t handle the math/science, then the decision is pretty clear cut. You have to pick something you think you can be successful at. </p>

<p>You’ll be able to get jobs as a construction management directly out of school. However, you will have to earn respect through experience. Any decent CM firm will do a lot of formal and informal on the job training. What you learned in school is great, but you have to know how to handle yourself and what to do in the field.</p>

11

Bringing this one back to life I hope…

I have returned to school and had a 1.2 GPA going back in from classes from 2008… Since December, I have gained 27 hours and a GPA of 3.833 since returning. (B in business Calc) my culmative GPA is 1.9 from all grades 2008-2016.

I am applying to COSC at Texas A&M and hoping to get in…

My question is, with my stats below, would I be treated like a new guy or would I get respect and good pay for the knowledge I have already acheived. I know we learn something new everyday in CX. But basically, would I be looking at a well paying job, doing what I love, or should I go to Economics…

26yr old with 7 years of CX experience, 2 as a superintendent at a Telecom firm, and 2.5 at Jacobs as a construction manager.

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Should also add that I was making around 75k then and felt like going back to school to get my degree would push me past just being a construction manager, and into more of a project/operations manager role.

13

You need to start a new thread for this, not resurrect a long-dead one.

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@cosmicfish is correct. I am closing the tread.