Construction management?

[Jude84]

In the LA job market you certainly can land an entry CAD job somewhere, but I don't know enough about today's construction scene in LA. I was LA aerospace some years ago and in that industry CAD would always get you started. Try an online search for target industry jobs in your area and what their application pre-reqs are. The largest firms will put up with your learning curve for speed and/or different CAD software package. Then you could move to the mid-size firm which would throw a wide variety of experiences at you by necessity. One thing I failed to mention earlier: As you try to gain a foothold in the trade heavy construction business I think your fastest route from CAD to management is through becoming an expert in specifications and code requirements. Trades people are notoriously weak in this area, even the one who have advanced to management, and the man who can interpret the requirements for the supervisors on the job will quickly become very valuable. With your fine educational background you should just devour this kind of stuff if you put your mind to it. Good luck.

You're right about the code requirements. One of my professors encouraged me to try fire sprinkler design and earn the certification that goes with it. It's basically mostly building codes and such more than anything and with that he said you could write your own ticket.

I didn't want to get stuck in a niche so I didn't pursue it. But I found these Occupational Centers near me here that give extremely cheap classes. They're vocational classes and you can take them in AutoCad and Construction. I was floored at how cheap they are. Would it be worth it to switch over? I am paying 900 bucks a semester because it's coming from California State University vs a Vocational Occupational Center but both offer the same basic degree. Which would look better to employers? Does it matter in this business? I just want the best advantages I could find.

Codes and regulations should be easy to interpret. I am surprised this is an even an issue at all? I did pre-law in college along with Econ and read all the legalese and understand all the bureaucratic red tape that comes with bills, regulations, codes and whatnot. I am part of the land use committee at my local neighborhood council and we discuss specifics for certain land use permits all the time.

[JohnnyHeck]

Personally, I would pay the money for the Architectural/Engineering AutoCad certificate from Cal State. You already have a real degree and I think you should document your professional career shift by completing this quality but not quantity degree. However, if you need further training, by all means use the Vocational Center to get quantity not quality. The big difference between the two sources of training is in the quality of the teachers and their student body. I did something very similar to your circumstances quite a few years ago, In my case, the experiences were Long Beach State vs. El Camino College. At state I had the pleasure of working with college educated professionals who pushed me as far as I wanted to go. At El Camino, I usually ended up teaching the class at term's end because the teachers had nothing more to give me other than I was able to get out of any training materials available. Use Voc. Center for short sequences where you can accumulate a large list of specific applications quick and cheap. These along with your college level educational bonafides will put you in the best position in the larger firms where you will find entry level positions because these firms are usually owned and managed by fellow college educated people. Have no fear!

[Jude84]

Personally, I would pay the money for the Architectural/Engineering AutoCad certificate from Cal State. You already have a real degree and I think you should document your professional career shift by completing this quality but not quantity degree. However, if you need further training, by all means use the Vocational Center to get quantity not quality. The big difference between the two sources of training is in the quality of the teachers and their student body. I did something very similar to your circumstances quite a few years ago, In my case, the experiences were Long Beach State vs. El Camino College. At state I had the pleasure of working with college educated professionals who pushed me as far as I wanted to go. At El Camino, I usually ended up teaching the class at term's end because the teachers had nothing more to give me other than I was able to get out of any training materials available. Use Voc. Center for short sequences where you can accumulate a large list of specific applications quick and cheap. These along with your college level educational bonafides will put you in the best position in the larger firms where you will find entry level positions because these firms are usually owned and managed by fellow college educated people. Have no fear!

Wow. Thanks for the great advice! I think I'll take a course to get the basics down at the Vocational School so I won't spend any large sums of money for the degree which I cannot afford to get left behind or burn out. I would like to hit the ground running with any degree from a good school like Cal State.

[fromthisdesk]

CAD experience/training should get you a job but not at a site - you will be in an office environment, completing drawings off of the designs worked up by the engineers. I'm a construction professional - a site manager for heavy construction utility projects - and would recommend a focused approach to entering the industry if you don't want to earn the degree or if the type of work that CAD offers doesn't suit you. Certifications in scheduling (Primavera or Microsoft Projects) is a good start and only take a few weeks to complete the initial study. Of course, those programs are complex but even the best schedulers learn more about the software each and every project. But, the pay is outstanding for schedulers so there is competition. Additionally, there are other fields such as safety, project controls and quality control that would not require a college degree and offer opportunities to those new the industry. Six Sigma, OHST, or other can be entryways into the field. If engineering or similar is your goal you can check with AIC and try to sit for the AC (Associate Constructor) exam. It's entry level and is used by some colleges as a means to self check their construction management grads level of learning. You can also use your military experience and schooling to satisfy the requirements to sit for it. Good luck.

[JohnnyHeck]

Hey Jude. I think we've got some real present experience here, thanks to FromThisDesk.

[Jude84]

CAD experience/training should get you a job but not at a site - you will be in an office environment, completing drawings off of the designs worked up by the engineers. I'm a construction professional - a site manager for heavy construction utility projects - and would recommend a focused approach to entering the industry if you don't want to earn the degree or if the type of work that CAD offers doesn't suit you. Certifications in scheduling (Primavera or Microsoft Projects) is a good start and only take a few weeks to complete the initial study. Of course, those programs are complex but even the best schedulers learn more about the software each and every project. But, the pay is outstanding for schedulers so there is competition. Additionally, there are other fields such as safety, project controls and quality control that would not require a college degree and offer opportunities to those new the industry. Six Sigma, OHST, or other can be entryways into the field. If engineering or similar is your goal you can check with AIC and try to sit for the AC (Associate Constructor) exam. It's entry level and is used by some colleges as a means to self check their construction management grads level of learning. You can also use your military experience and schooling to satisfy the requirements to sit for it. Good luck.

Great post! Thanks. I still would like to pursue the Auto Cad and wouldn't mind the office environment working with the engineers. Where can you earn the scheduling certificates too?

How would you go about getting gigs in safety, project controls or quality?

[fromthisdesk]

Experience trumps all but the certifications certainly help. You say that your in-law has a construction company and that a job is available for you. Depending upon the type of construction that his company performs, I would expect that all of the key components of project management and support are available at his sites - maybe on a smaller scale but, nonetheless, available. It is obvious that you are willing to learn and with the two certificates that you've begun you are well on your way to an entry level support job - autoCAD and project controls.

The scheduling gig falls neatly into the project controls field. In a huge market like LA, I imagine there are dozens of training classes in the two biggest tools - Primavera and Microsoft Projects. A simple Internet search will locate them. If your in-law doesn't use schedules - Take a five day class (the software is typically given to you for the class) and offer to schedule for him. Believe me, once he sees the benefit of a schedule he won't work without one.

As far as safety and QC, it is the same process - search for a local training provider and evaluate if the fields support your goals. If so, get the respective cert and shop yourself to your in-law or even to some of the larger construction companies in your area.

Nothing beats experience and if your in-law will support your efforts by giving you a job then you could get a nice head start on project support - six months experience isn't a huge amount but it may get you into a larger company with more opportunities. The path to project management starts with an understanding of all the parts of a project - engineering, project controls, safety, quality, labor, etc... Diversity in education and training go a long way.

[Jude84]

FromthisDesk, these are the courses I would be taking with the certificate....

Required Units Typical Availability
CEE X 407.1 Construction Management 4.00
CEE X 407.2 Construction Technology 4.00
ENGNR X 407.3 Construction Planning and Management Systems using Primavera 4.00
ENGNR X 412.1 Fundamentals of Construction Costs and Estimating 4.00

Those are the required courses. After I complete those, I choose four electives.

ENGNR X 408.75 Legal Aspects of Construction Projects and Contracts 4.00
ENGNR X 409.1 Construction Documentation 4.00
ENGNR X 412.16 Principles of Structural Analysis 4.00
ENGNR X 412.2 Advanced Estimating and Management of Project Costs in the Preconstruction and Construction Phases 4.00
ENGNR X 412.8 Construction Project Management Using MS Project 4.00
ENGNR X 489.14 Electrical Design and Construction 4.00
ENGNR X 489.16 Introduction to Building Information Modeling 4.00
ENGNR X 490.1 Introduction to Civil Engineering for Horizontal Infrastructure 4.00
MECHAE X 400.8 Plumbing Systems I: Code and Engineering Fundamentals 4.00
CEE X 412.5 Construction Job Site Management 4.00
CEE X 412.9 Reading Construction Blueprints 4.00
CEE X 425.10 The Solar Energy Solution: Harnessing Solar Power in the Home and Office 4.00
CEE X 438.8 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 4.00
CEE X 478.1 Land Development Procedures 4.00
CEE X 489.19 Construction Estimating and Design Analysis Using BIM

If you had to choose four, which ones would you choose?

Last, so this certificate coupled with the Auto Cad one, and plus any experience I gain through employment/training or even internships, would this help me get my foot through the door?

[JohnnyHeck]

You're on a roll of great advice now! Have no fear! And thanks fromthisdesk for chiming in.

[Jude84]

Where did FromthisDesk go to? We were on a roll!