Construction Management – A Growing Field

Sunday, December 13th, 2009 at 6:10 am

If you want to jump start your career in construction project management, one of the most popular ways to do so has been to go to a construction management school and earn either an associate’s, bachelor’s, or graduate degree. The rate of the introduction of construction management degrees into our schools has experienced significant growth over the last ten years. It’s hard to single out one reason why this is occurring but the explosion of the new home market and the growing need for managers has caused colleges to respond with more and more career programs related to construction (aka, it’s a hot market).

Regardless of the reason, you now have some excellent choices as to where to go to college. Currently, there are more than 250 construction related degrees that we have been able to locate with more coming online every month. At first that doesn’t seem like a lot, but imagine trying to review 250 courses and programs do identify the best one for you… no fun for sure. So as you work from the list of colleges that we have identified for you, these are some important questions to have ready for the guidance counselors at the schools:

How many students are currently enrolled in the construction management program?
What is the annual retention rate for students in the program (how many come back year-after-year)?
What is the graduation rate for students in the program?
How many students go on to pass their certification tests (CMAA and/or AIC)?
What is the job placement rate for students graduating from the program?
What financial aid options are available to construction management students (scholarships, etc.)?
What types of technology are used in the program (computers, CAD tools, etc.)?
How many internship positions are they able to secure for students and are they paid positions?

This is just a good list to use as a starting point. There are several other basic questions that should be asked like general requirements for being accepted into the college and other similar questions.

As the field of construction management grows, you will see more and more colleges and universities offering relevant degree programs. While it’s always great to have choices, at some point it starts to get a bit over-whelming. We recommend just using these basic concepts as a basis for your decision on which school to choose:

Is the degree accredited?
Can you get the degree on your own schedule (does the program fit your current lifestyle)?
How much does the program cost and how much can you expect to make after getting your degree?

It’s always good to be entering a field as hot as construction management, but it’s also important to be realistic. It’s very rare for a particular industry to stay this hot in perpetuity so strike while the iron is hot!

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