Hi. I am a teacher and have a student interested in construction science. I wanted to see if I could get some feedback for him from those in the industry. Pros/Cons to this degree opposed to others in a similar vein. Also if he does do this, what the industry is like, lifestyle, pay, pros/cons, etc.

I know their is a huge range from small home builder to working for a massive company...but wanted to get some feedback for my student as I didn't personally know anyone in this field to connect him with.

Appreciate any help you might have!

Good degree. Do NOT let him start in residential construction, as it does not translate well to other types and is hard to get out of. Main emphasis of COSC is/was working for a general contractor in commercial construction. Not sure how many stay in that career path, but after 5+ years it was not for me. Long hours in the field, working weekends, moving/driving from project to project. I've bounced around to construction advisory at a "Big-4" firm and am now a construction risk manager for a bank, working from home a few days a week, making as much, if not more than a Project Manager. The COSC department could do a better job explaining all of the different opportunities available with the degree.....

I like the money/finance side better. Pretty much all of the large banks have people like me to oversee their construction loans, we hire third party consultants to inspect/monitor projects for us that must have construction degrees/backgrounds, a few of the large GC's have internal audit departments with construction people, there is a property tax service called cost segregation that needs people with construction backgrounds, KPMG/Ernst & Young/etc. all have some form of construction advisory practice. Lots of options other than sitting in a job trailer arguing with subcontractors, but we obviously need people that want to do that too.

Sorry, keep editing to add more info.

Thanks! That information is very helpful.

I am about to graduate here in a week and am very satisfied with the opportunities available to me with the degree. I suggest to your student to do as much research as possible on his own time concerning career prospects, however. There's a lot more out there than being a commercial field engineer contrary to what the program may advertise.

JBLHAG03, I have some questions about your career path as I am trying to map out future possibilities 5-10+ years from now. Is there a way I can contact you? I don't have PM capabilities on here.

I graduated CoSci. I love it. I think its one of the best "bang for your buck" as far as degrees go at A&M. By that, I mean difficulty of degree vs. job placement and earning potential.

It isnt an easy major, but the classes are cool and mostly enjoyable. and when you finish, you are going to start out making good to great money depending on what you find.

Also gives you a really good chance to travel which IMO is really ideal for new grads who want to make a little extra cash before they start a family.

I rec CoSci to anyone. Feel free to DM me with any questions.

Also graduated COSC, switched from Engineering sophomore year. I work for a general contractor out of the DFW area. The job definitely has it's ups and downs, but I enjoy the day to day. I am currently on-site full time as I am a project engineer. The biggest advice I can give is try it out, have him contact some of the big GC's in your area and I'm sure there is at least one COSC Aggie working for them who would probably be happy to sit down with your student and talk more about the program & life afterwards.

As others have mentioned, the money can be good to great just out of school. Definitely above the household income average for the country. I encourage people to travel if given the opportunity, but it is not for me. I am choosing to stay in the DFW area for now.

As far as I can tell, the industry will be strong for the next couple of years. Another great thing is that the degree covers more than just construction topics. You touch on law concepts, accounting, finance, scheduling, topics that are applicable to almost any industry. A lot of the people I graduated with got jobs with companies like Shell, Exxon, etc. because of those types of classes and background. It's a very specific yet broad degree, which I believe you cannot go wrong with if you have the ethic & drive to put in the work that is required it can take you as far as you want to go. Oh, and never pass up an opportunity to meet more people in this industry.

excellent point. Once you are in construction, you are in business. Not only business, but tough business. You become hirable to so many different people with a CoSci degree and some construction management experience.

I graduate in a week and signed on with a commercial real estate developer. I have had several veterans tell me that's the way to go. Anyone out there have any experience experience with the development side?

My husband is a PE for a GC in DFW. He works hard but he enjoys it. Financially it does good for our family. He builds schools so that is a pretty stable field since school districts are always passing bonds. I can see him never leaving his company...they throw great Christmas parties too.

Aries, how long has he been with them?

Since 2008 when he graduated COSC.

I'm probably one of the few who will say this but, I happen to really enjoy being in residential.

I entered into the COSC program wanting to go into residential but graduated in 2008 when there was a really poor market for residential builders. I worked for a large mechanical contractor right out of school but In the last few years I've had the opportunity to work for both custom and production builders. They each have their ups and downs.

If you get in with a good builder I think residential can be really rewarding. I love working with so many families and the builder I work for treats their folks exceptionally well. I rarely work weekends (less than 3 last year) and I'm home by 5:00 everyday to be with my family.

I understand that residential isn't for everyone but I'm not in it for the money either. I genuinely enjoy what I'm doing. It's construction. It's a tough industry but I couldn't see myself doing anything else.

I really enjoyed going through the COSC program. It had some challenges but it lends itself to being a really well-rounded degree and gives a lot of different career avenues out of school.

How comparable is a cosc degree vs a meen degree?

COSC here, ended up going the subcontractor route and it has worked out extremely well for me.

I take it he's not interested in making a change any time soon?

He hasn't said anything but he would like something that is more based in FW. Where are you located?

We are out of DFW as well. So Fort Worth, Dallas, and surrounding cities. Also have an office in San Antonio. Very rare that anyone gets moved from one or the other unless they request it.

We do mostly commercial, some high-end residential (Omni condos, etc.)

We have jobs all over DFW right now so it probably wouldn't be any different than what he does now, we just do more than schools.

I'm doing a hospital right now, project before that was a hospital services building (police department, warehouse/receiving, lab, etc.) and I interned on an airport project.

That almost sounds like where husband works but I don't think they have an office in San Antonio. He is just in their education department but his company does lots of other work. He just wishes he could get a site a little closer to home. With the bonds that recently passed in Parker CO, that might become true in the future.

So can a mechanical engineer do what a construction science engineer do?

Project engineer is a misleading term in what most people think of when they hear engineer. I don't know the ins and outs of mechanical engineering, but a commercial project engineer normally just assists the Project Manager/ Assistant Project Manager. When I was a PE intern I assisted with project bids, subcontractor management, RFIs, writing contracts, updating drawings, site walks, and things like that. I was in a smaller branch with smaller projects so some PEs were running their own small projects from start to finish. It varies place to place but its technically "engineering" the business side of a construction site, if that makes sense.

Gotcha, yea the Westpark Elementary School bond passed in Benbrook, ground-breaking is this Friday. I still haven't found out who got it though.

Pretty spot on with that.

Not sure if any of you are still subscribed to this post, but I have a quick question.

Anyone is welcome to answer. Also hoping that Corps_Ag12 sees this.

Do any commercial construction companies around Dallas hire students prior to their starting their degree plan?

This young man has a solid, multi-faceted background - scholarship, athletics, and he has also worked at Home Depot for nearly a year.

He actually just obtained his Forklift Driver certification.

He has been accepted at A&M this fall, in Construction Science.

I was wondering if your company might be interested in hiring someone like him. He is a very hard worker, focused, and someone you could count on. He is not afraid of hard, physical work.

It would be a solid fit - and an opportunity like that would give him a clear picture as to the type of work he would be doing after graduation.

Appreciate any suggestions as to where he could apply. He'd like to get moving on this ASAP as he graduates high school in less than 2 months. He'd love to have the opportunity to work lots of hours this summer, so that he can help his parents with costs.

He has an impressive resume that is available upon request!

To reach me directly: 4.LinkedIn.Profiles at g mail dot com

Thank you!

@Corps_Ag12

Does your company hire college students during the summer to work on job sites, etc.?

A young man I know has been accepted at A&M; he will major in Construction Science, starting this fall.

He has a solid, multi-faceted background - scholarship, athletics, and he has also worked at Home Depot for nearly a year.

He actually just obtained his Forklift Driver certification.

He has an impressive resume that is available upon request! He also has reliable transportation.

If your company does hire college students to work on job sites during the summer, or even if you are aware of other companies that do the same, could you please post recommendations?

To reach me directly: 4.LinkedIn.Profiles at g mail dot com

Thank you!

I dont know about before starting but he will have to do a several month long internship (i dont know exact requirements now) to graduate. Was just a summer internship when I was there but think it increased to semester long+ for next class.

Thanks for your response!

Hopefully someone will reach out with some employment ideas.

I'm sure he would be willing to work as a Construction Helper or Gopher (probably not the PC term) in order to get his foot in the door. He really is a hard worker who is not afraid of getting his hands dirty.

It would probably pay a little better than what he is currently making and he would love getting in a solid summer of work before heading off to College Station in the fall!

Fingers crossed!

If I could do it all over again I would work for a subcontractor throughout college and earn hours towards a trade license. There is a ton of money out there in plumbing, electrical, HVAC etc.

We do hire interns for the summer, but it's usually after they've had some college class time. I don't know if we e ever hired anyone to be a laborer so to speak for our jobsites.

strohag said:

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If I could do it all over again I would work for a subcontractor throughout college and earn hours towards a trade license. There is a ton of money out there in plumbing, electrical, HVAC etc.

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This is the best advice right here. If he can learn a trade during the summer & then work as able during the school years to get a license. A lot of the big GC's love having staff that has in depth knowledge of the systems they are overseeing.

Or he can go to work for a large electrical subcontractor as a PM & do quite well.

ResumeWriter said:

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Thanks for your response!

Hopefully someone will reach out with some employment ideas.

I'm sure he would be willing to work as a Construction Helper or Gopher (probably not the PC term) in order to get his foot in the door. He really is a hard worker who is not afraid of getting his hands dirty.

It would probably pay a little better than what he is currently making and he would love getting in a solid summer of work before heading off to College Station in the fall!

Fingers crossed!

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It is never too early to start networking and internships. COSC is one of the better programs in the school that pushes and promotes employment - they have an annual spring and fall career fair that is always maxed out with companies attending. When I was there back in the day, we had it at Langford - last time I went as a recruiter, it was being held in the Bryan Convention Center due to the participation.

Most companies looking for interns are going to be looking more for junior level types - but there are always a bunch that will be very interested in somebody that is just getting to school who has enough foresight to begin the internship and interview process right from the start. Even if they hire him as a laborer type during the summer it is a good benefit for everybody.

One other thing to talk to him about - there is a lot of scholarship money available within just the COSC/ARCH department. When I was there, a lot of it went un awarded due to the lack of applications. Back then you had to fill out an individual application for each one and it kept the number of applicants low, and the department didn't do a great job at advertising it either. My last semester there they changed the system and one application would be sent to however many scholarships you requested it to be sent to. That combined with the better education from the department on the scholarships and the participation rate went up.