In 2021, during his senior year as a civil engineering major at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Austin Uric was a first place competitor with his team, The Nature Boys, in CAWP’s Student Estimating Competition.
His participation in the competition provided Uric with insight into the highway construction industry and laid the groundwork for his current role as a Project Engineer for Fay, S&B USA Construction on the Big Beaver River Project.
Ahead of this year’s seventh annual CAWP Student Estimating Competition, Uric shares his insight and advice for this year’s competitors.
What was the most challenging aspect of the competition for you and how did you work to overcome it?
The most challenging aspect of the competition was the environment that we had to compete in due to COVID. We had to compete from our campus instead of going and interacting with all of the teams and mentors at the actual competition. I think this changed the experience for everyone involved, although it was still a great experience that I am thankful to have.
We also did not get to practice a ton, because our campus had strict COVID rules and didn’t allow our mentor on campus for a good portion of the semester. Shoutout to Josh Fetcko for teaching us everything we needed to know to win in just a few short weeks, we couldn’t have done it without him!
What were the most challenging and rewarding parts of working with your team?
The most challenging part of the competition was coming together and trying to understand what everyone’s strengths and weaknesses were and how they could best be used during bid time. Although, we had a great team that were close friends so we were able to overcome this fairly easily.
Another thing you have to be able to do is take constructive criticism from your peers. We were able to help each other out with each task based on previous knowledge and I feel our team was very open to that instead of getting upset.
The most rewarding part of the competition was when they announced 2nd and 3rd place, but had not said our name yet. Of course, we were tough on ourselves and thought we did horrible, but then they announced us as 1st place, which also happened to be on my birthday, so it was an awesome day!
What did the competition teach you about the highway construction industry?
Going into the competition I had a few months of estimating experience through one of my internships, but it was not an involved experience. I did a lot of quantity take-offs. This competition taught me the true in and outs of putting a bid together from start to finish. Also, it showed me how much stress is involved when its 4:45PM, your bid is due at 5 PM, and the campus printer/scanner is not working properly.
What advice would you give students participating in this year’s competition?
Just stay calm. I know it sounds simple, but the more you start to worry the less work you are able to complete in the small window that you are given to create a bid. Also, work together, that is the only way you will be successful. You can’t break off by yourself and try to do all your work with no help. Ask for your teammates opinions and be sure to consider them in whatever part of the bid you are working on.
What is your current position and how did the competition help you get and/or prepare for this role?
I am currently a Project Engineer for Fay, S&B USA Construction working on the Beaver River Bridge. The competition helped me in a few ways- Josh Fetko taught us the correct way to do a quantity takeoff based on his experience working for a contractor. He was also able to give us pointers on reading plans, coming up with crews, equipment, etc.- all of the things that I do in my current position.
In the future, I hope to become an experienced project manager and run jobs as big as and larger than the one I currently am working on with Fay.
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT JOHNSTOWN
2021: THE NATURE BOYS | 1ST PLACE
