Whether you’re looking to build a career or just get a great job, the construction field has a lot to offer. From great compensation to the variety of specializations available, there are many reasons to consider a career in construction.
We’ve compiled a list of what we believe to be the ten most compelling reasons to consider a construction career. Read through these reasons carefully and decide for yourself whether a construction job is in your future!
1. Great pay
A construction job will pay very well, especially when you stick with it!
The starting wage for a new construction worker with no previous experience is right in line with retail, warehouse, and hospitality workers. What’s different about construction — and it’s a major difference — is that you can quickly start earning more as you acquire more skills.
For example, the median pay for US electricians is $56,900 per year, and many electricians make a lot more than that. Similarly, plumbers earn a median $56,330 each year. This is a very good wage that will continue to grow as you become more experienced and take on more responsibilities at work. Supervisors, for instance, are likely to make more than the median wage at many construction companies.
The icing on the cake is that you also get…
2. Great benefits
Here’s something that you may not get in that restaurant or retail job: health, dental, life, and disability insurance. And let’s not forget paid time off, vacation days, and sick time.
Your construction job likely will offer these benefits in addition to your regular wage. Considering the cost of health insurance alone, these benefits probably represent a major pay increase from whatever job you had before (or that you’d otherwise be doing).
3. Advancement potential
The thing about, say, a fast food job is that there isn’t much room to grow, learn more, and earn more. In other words, you’re unlikely to get a great promotion and make more money over time.
In construction, the opposite is true. Construction companies have a strong culture of promoting from within. The longer you’re on the job, the more likely you are to earn a valuable promotion. With every promotion comes more responsibility and, yes, more money.
4. High demand for workers
The construction industry operates with a chronic worker shortage. At any given time, there are lots of construction projects that need workers and too few workers to meet the demand.
For you, that means that you’ll probably get a good construction job right out of the gate and that your skills will continue to be needed. That translates into excellent job security!
5. Variety of roles and specializations
When you enter the construction field, you might have no idea what you want to focus on. That’s fine! Working at what we call an “entry level” construction job will expose you to a variety of different construction site tasks and skills. From there, you’re really free to forge your own path and focus on what you enjoy the most.
On the other hand, maybe you just know you want to be, say… a concrete finisher. When that’s the case, you can dive right into the aspect of construction that interests you and take it from there. The point is that there’s a lot of different job types within construction.
Construction professionals are:
- Carpenters
- Heavy equipment operators
- Drywall installers
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Roofers
- HVAC technicians
- General contractors
- Framers
- Drywall installers
And a whole lot more! What’s even better is that construction offers a lot of…
6. Lateral movement
By “lateral movement,” we mean changing roles within the construction profession. For example, you might do a lot of electrical work and realize you’re also interested in HVAC. What’s great is that you likely have a lot of exposure to HVAC through your work as an electrician. You can draw on those skills to move into an HVAC role, if that’s what moves you.
There aren’t a lot of professions where this is possible, but in construction it is. You can apply the experience gained in one area to another area and explore new horizons.
7. Virtually no pay gap
Women considering construction should know that there’s almost no pay gap at all. In construction jobs, women earn 99.1% of what men earn.
Should that figure be 100%? Of course it should! But when you consider that women in the US earn only 84% of what men earn on average, that 99.1% figure looks a lot more compelling! Women entering the construction field should know that their presence and their work is valued — just as much as their male counterparts.
8. No college debt/fully funded training available
You don’t need a college degree to work in the construction industry.
If you’re thinking, “that means I can earn a good salary with good benefits and not have to take on a bunch of student loan debt,” you’re right! For individuals who have decided not to attend college, construction is a field where you can still earn a good — no, a great — living and enjoy all the perks of being an in-demand professional.
Here’s something that’s even better: There may be a fully funded training program in your area. At Construction Ready, we offer a 20-day construction job training program that prepares you for your first construction job. You’ll learn everything you need to know to get started in the field, earn in-demand credentials, and meet your first employer. 97% of our graduates secure their first construction job before they finish the program.
Construction Ready is fully funded by a variety of grants and scholarships, so there’s no cost to you if you choose to enroll.
If Construction Ready or a similar program isn’t available in your area, there may be a community college or technical college where you can earn a certificate or an associate’s degree in a construction-related discipline. This option isn’t free, but you may qualify for government grants for your training.
9. Anybody can work in construction
No matter your age, background, or personal circumstances, there’s a place for you in the construction field.
At Construction Ready, we work with high school students preparing for a construction career, people switching from another career later in life, and formerly incarcerated people looking for a fresh start. In short, we help everyone. And we’ve had the pleasure of seeing people from all backgrounds thrive in their construction jobs.
10. Personal satisfaction
There’s a great sense of pride that comes from building something real.
When you finish working on a project, there’s a whole building there that you can see, show your family, and watch people use every day. You’ve been a part of something that helped somebody else. Because of your efforts, other people have a place to live or work.
After all, someone had to build those apartment buildings you drive by every day (or that you live in yourself). Somebody built the hospital you visit when you’re ill. Somebody even built the banks, restaurants, bridges, and office complexes you see and use on a regular basis. That somebody can be you. You can be the person who helps bring these important structures into the world.
That’s something you can feel proud of.
Interested in a construction career? We can help!
If any of these reasons to begin a construction career sound appealing, we’d love to talk to you about Construction Ready! Get in touch with us to learn more about our fully-funded 20-day program and explore job opportunities in construction.
