Construction Industry Professionals
 

Hello everybody.


After watching the forums for a while I decided to sign up and (hopefully) become an active participant in discussions.


I'll be graduating from university soon with a BSc (Hons) in Construction Management and I hope to obtain my Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) membership in the UK within the next two years.


I was wondering if anybody working within the construction industry in the USA could advise on the current demand for construction project managers (or similar) and if so, in what cities/states. Are there any particular areas of boom or opportunity?


Although the CIOB has an American branch, I've never seen any advertised jobs mentioning MCIOB as a requirement for the role. I suspect that this means there's an American equivalent and/or MCIOB status is near worthless in the US.


Any clarification or input on the above would be very welcome. :)


PS. I am interested in one or two other countries too, so you may see a similar post elsewhere. Many thanks.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

I suppose you may have a chance to transfer to the USA if you get a job with a company that has presence in the USA. You have to work for the UK branch for 1 year minimum before being eligible to transfer.

Otherwise, I don't think there is a shortage of CMs in the USA.

Rene

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

Almost all professions and licensed occupations in the US have a US qualification that does not recognize any foreign "equivalent" qualifications. Worse, most of the qualifications and licenses are handled at the state level. In short, your observation that your MCIOB would be worthless is likely a fair conclusion. :(

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

After a little research I discovered that the "CIOB Americas Chapter" (covering USA, Canada, Caribbean and Central & South America) has 400 members. Sounds more like an expat social club rather than a professional institution. I wonder, though, how on earth people manage to retain their chartership, as there are no CPD events/training in the USA.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

"CPD" isn't something that has to be acquired at formal events. You should be logging ANY extra work, lectures, conferences, papers you've read in a record to present to your institution.

I was awarded Fellow of the IET last year, with no "formal" CPD, but a lifetime of working at the bleeding edge of my technology.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

Not construction, but the institute for my profession (for which I'm a full member) more or less only encourages CPD; the only requirement I've ever been presented with for an annual renewal is payment of their ever increasing fees.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

I did not bother with my Chartered status, nobody over here has a clue what it is anyway.

My recollection was that they were more interested in the fees.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

Qualifications will be pretty meaningless on there own.

Best bet is a company transfer, but that's not likely without a few years experience.

Either that, or niche experience, think airport, damns, power plants, that kind of field and the chances will improve with experience and some contacts.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

Take a look at one of the big construction firms with international operations (Lend Lease, Turner, Skanska) where global mobility is important. I work for one of those and work with several Brits that moved with the company from the UK and Australia.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

Sadly, I failed my interview for the graduate programme with one of these companies, as I "asked too many questions about overseas opportunities"; I guess I was a little too enthusiastic at the prospect of emigrating in the future... A lesson learnt!

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

Ah ! You aren't going anywhere though without a lot of experience under your belt.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

Indeed. I suppose the only other option would be to study at postgraduate level in the US and then apply for an entry-level position depending on visa regulations, etc.



I'm very reluctant to embark upon a construction related MSc without first gaining some industrial experience. I'm of the opinion that there's a world of difference between academic theory and practical application and to gain the most out of an MSc (or MS in the US - I think!) requires a solid foundation in both.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

My advice is to get working as soon as you can.(You have competition out there.)
Get some meaningful years under your belt that you can lean on when looking for opportunities.
Also, as indicated, niche stuff. For example water resource management is increasingly important.

My neighbour is a construction project manager, builds projects in Los Angeles, came up the long way.

They require people with extensive real world experience. Real projects that have been managed start to finish.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

So at the moment there is no visa for you to use to live in the US unless you come over to study? That's really your main issue.

My husband is a construction project manager. The degree you have is valuable, but there isn't much point doing an MSc in the UK as you will continue to learn UK building methods and language which are different to US building methods and language.

You don't need a Masters to be a construction project manager in the US but it sounds like studying for one might be your only way into the country.

There is a huge building boom at the moment so there is plenty of work, but it's very cyclical. You could find that at the end of your Masters there is much less work available.

Re: Construction Industry Professionals
 

The Masters in Construction Admin at Columbia is very popular in my office, and to a lesser extent the NYU masters. However, US private universities are expensive (about $75k) but you may find some scholarships.