Construction Management as a College Major (Part 1 – Job Market)

There are about 60 Construction Management majors accredited by the American Council for Construction Education around the United States. Some programs are called Construction Science, Construction Technology, Building Construction Management, Building Construction Technology or something similar. Don’t let that fool you. As long as the program is Accredited by the American Council for Construction Education, it must meet a set of strict standards developed both the construction industry and by faculty of these programs.While the oldest program was started in 1935 at the University of Florida, most have proliferated across the nation since the 1970’s. Until the earlier 1990’s, most programs saw slow growth but most all graduates were employed either before graduation or shortly thereafter. During the 1990’s, the construction industry was impacted not only with a tremendous shortage in the craft’s performing the work but in the management end as well. Construction Management majors under go four-years of training in courses such as legal contracts, finance, estimating, scheduling, employee management, basic structural engineering, materials, and methods of construction. Thus preparing students to graduate and be productive for their employer the day they start work. With this background and the shortage in the industry, the demand for these graduates starting ten years ago has been tremendous. With the current U.S. Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics labor projections there is no end in sight for these graduates. Through the year 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that Construction is the only goods-producing sector in which employment is projected to grow and their will be an additional 197,000 construction management positions open.A recent article by CNN/Money called “Most Lucrative College Degrees” list the average starting salary for Construction Science gradates at $41,232 per year. This is higher then majors such as Civil Engineering, Business Management, Nursing, and Marketing to name a few.The word is getting out. Construction Management programs across the United States have seen enrollment growth doubling or tripling the size of their programs in the last five years. Some universities have limited growth of these programs, but a few who have not are pushing 700-800 majors.In order to attract these majors, the construction industry has responded with many efforts. Many companies offer students internships during any semester paying an average of $12.00 per hour with some moving expense. Companies come to campuses to recruit at job fairs just for the construction management majors. Many companies have included specific links on their websites for students to apply directly for internships and new graduate positions.Next time in part two, a description of the typical positions and job duties of new Construction Management graduates.