re: Construction Managers

I can tell you that 99% of people won't hire in to a contract company and walk in the door as a Construction Manager unless they have 20+ years of experience in that specific trade and the project experience to prove it. If you've just graduated in CM as far as Industrial goes and hire in as a contractor, they will likely make you work in the field on your tools for a period of time to learn what goes on in the field. Anyone can punch keys on a keyboard, but actually knowing the ins and outs of the business and applying/managing it is completely different. You have to know it from top to bottom from contracts, estimating/take-offs, materials, putting together budgets, breaking out estimates into schedule activities, schedule building, resource loading, logic/coding/sequencing, change orders, RFI's, productivity, cost engineering, forecasting, etc. As a CM you will have individuals under you doing most of the mentioned above and if you have a solid team under you it will manage itself for the most part, but when the shite hits the fan (always does) you have to know how to fix it and deal with the client.. Aside from the above, meetings.. meetings.. and more meetings. Even meetings about the meetings.