Where did you go to school, and what was your major?

I attended Penn State University for Civil Engineering.

How long have you worked in the construction industry?

38 ½ years

What was your first position in the industry, and what do you do today?

I was a Civil Engineer Trainee at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and now I am a Chief Engineer with The Lindy Group.

Why do you think construction is a great industry for women to consider when looking at career paths?

I’m not sure that women understand all of the opportunities available in the construction industry and that these opportunities can lead to long-lasting careers, not just jobs.

The construction industry careers are very diverse, ranging from more hands skilled labor work in the heavy and highway and vertical construction industries to more technical field and office positions.

Another plus is that there is work in the construction industry that requires no advanced education beyond high school to positions that benefit from having a college degree. Many technical schools and community colleges also offer training and degrees for a whole range of construction classes, including skilled work training and construction management. In addition, trade unions have training programs for their members, which provide education in various skills while paying them as they learn.

Once in the construction industry, there are so many opportunities to grow your career if that is what you choose, or you can stay at whatever level that suits you and your family. If you start in the trades, you can work your way up to become supervisors and project managers. If you choose to be an engineer, you can start as an inspector and work your way up to regional construction manager, where you manage multiple projects. Some of these projects range in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

What do you enjoy most about the industry?

There are three specific reasons why I enjoyed my career in construction-

1. The people that you work with in the construction industry really care about the work they are performing, especially on the roads and bridge projects, because they are very proud of the work they are doing, but they are also working on projects that their families may be utilizing in the future. The industry is a family of people who truly care about one another and are working towards a common goal.
2. No two days are ever the same or are ever as anticipated. The industry is very dynamic, and every day brings a new problem to solve or a new interesting task to conquer. With my career path, I was able to take on as much responsibility as I wanted to just by asking. There is so much opportunity for women to grow professionally and personally in this industry, as it is so large and so diverse that you can truly make it your own.
3. Your work is seen, and oftentimes used, by all of your friends and family. You are truly providing a public service by working on some facets of these projects that are creating safer facilities for folks to transfer rivers, connect communities, or build hospitals in areas that didn’t have medical care prior.

How do you think women will continue to impact the industry?

When I started, you did not see women in the construction industry. Over the last 38 years, it has grown slightly but not to the level that it needs to be for multiple reasons. Having a diverse workforce, no matter what industry, provides an intellectual and social balance that doesn’t exist in an all-male worksite. Studies have shown that women think and react differently than men, and although a man might think their way of thinking is the only way, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Women have been shown to multitask better than men, whereas men compartmentalize things better. So, a man may focus on a problem for hours to make sure it is correct, but a woman may be able to handle multiple assignments during that time, which makes them excellent project managers, while the man may become more of a subject expert.

Women also bring more of the soft skills to projects where men may also consider that a weakness but in reality, as the world gravitates towards a place where folks are unable to look up from a phone- the art of being able to communicate, ask questions, negotiate and understand personnel are becoming critical skills.

And just with basic math alone, there is a huge exit of men retiring from the workforce, and the number of younger men that are joining is way less, leaving a huge void in the industry and so many openings for women. Much of the infrastructure, both vertical and horizontal (roads and bridges), has reached either the end of its useful life or needs significant rehabilitation, therefore, the construction industry is blossoming and in need of the next generation of employees. Therefore, the industry is opening its arms beyond the traditional employees to women and minorities to complete these critical projects.

Another positive attribute for the construction industry for women’s employment is that most of the projects you work on are local to where you and your family reside. You can’t outsource the repairs to a bridge, road, or building, and these needs are in every community in the country. Although there are some instances of night and weekend work as needed, much of the construction work is pretty much daylight employment that corresponds to children’s school days. It is a great industry to join if you do have to care for a family. Lastly, most professions in the construction industry pay wages that can support families, and the bottom line is always important.

What would you do if you DIDN’T work in construction?

That is hard to answer after being in the construction and transportation industry for so long. I was always a student who was good in math, science, and problem-solving skills, but had zero desire to go into any type of medical field. I absolutely hate managing money, so accounting or business is pretty much out, and I like having job security, so risky sales wouldn’t work out well for my psyche.

I thought about being an architect growing up but that is still an extension of the construction industry, so if I was going to go in a different direction, I would probably say that I would be doing something that involved driving fast cars, cooking for friends, wearing expensive shoes, or working in a quaint little bookstore with an outside patio near a beach that only carried escape books with happy endings.

Not quite sure what careers those passions would have led me to, but I’m fortunate that my career in construction has allowed me to partake in many of those passions, at least to some degree.