 Construction
 Related
Profiles of
Professionals
Industry
Overview
Houses, apartments, factories, offices, schools, roads, and bridges are
only some of the products of the construction industry. This industry's
activities include the building of new structures as well as additions
and modifications to existing ones. The industry also includes
maintenance, repair, and improvements on these structures.
The construction
industry is divided into three major segments:
1. Construction of
buildings contractors, or general contractors, build residential,
industrial, commercial, and other buildings,
2. Heavy and civil engineering construction contractors build sewers,
roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, and other projects, and
3. Specialty trade contractors perform specialized activities related to
construction such as carpentry, painting, plumbing, and electrical work.
Employment
 Construction,
with 7.0 million wage and salary jobs and 1.9 million self-employed and
unpaid family workers in 2004, was one of the Nation's largest
industries. Almost 2 out of 3 wage and salary jobs in construction were
with specialty trade contractors; primarily plumbing, heating, and air
conditioning; electrical; and masonry contractors. Around 1 out of 4
jobs were with building contractors, mostly in residential and
nonresidential construction. The rest were with heavy and civil
engineering construction contractors. Employment in this industry is
distributed geographically in much the same way as the Nation's
population.
 There
were about 818,000 construction establishments in the United States in
2004: 247,000 were building construction contractors; 57,000 were heavy
and civil engineering construction or highway contractors; and 514,000
were specialty trade contractors. Most of these establishments tend to
be small, the majority employing fewer than 5 workers. About 1 out of 9
workers are employed by small contractors.
Working
Environment
Most employees in this industry work full time, and many work over 40
hours a week. The working environment for civil engineers working in the
field of construction may vary between a typical office setting, and
spending time on building sites planning or overseeing aspects of
construction.
Degree
Paths into this Industry
Construction offers a great variety of career opportunities. This
website focuses primarily on career paths for those with degrees in
science, engineering, mathematics, computing, technology, and medicine,
which represent a small portion of the many people involved in
construction.
Industry
Forecast
 The
number of wage and salary jobs in the construction industry is expected
to grow about 11 percent through the year 2014, compared with the 14
percent projected for all industries combined. Employment is expected to
grow faster in nonresidential construction over the decade. Replacement
of many industrial plants has been delayed for years, and a large number
of structures will have to be replaced or remodeled. Construction of
nursing homes and other residential homes for the elderly, as well as
all types of healthcare facilities, will be needed to meet the need for
more medical treatment facilities, especially by the growing elderly
population. Construction of schools will continue to be needed,
especially in the South and West where the population is growing the
fastest. In other areas, however, replacing and renovating older schools
will create jobs.
Employment in heavy
and civil engineering construction is projected to increase due to
growth in new highway, bridge, and street construction, as well as in
maintenance and repairs to prevent further deterioration of the Nation's
existing highways and bridges. Voters and legislators in most States and
localities continue to approve spending on road construction, which will
create jobs over the next decade.
Related
Degree Fields
Professional
Associations/Other Resources
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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