re: Construction Management....

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What is the post bac? I don't even know what that is

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Sorry I should've explained it.

LINK

There will be six online courses (18 credit hours) contained within the CM Certificate program:

The following courses are to be taken in sequence:

CM 2100 Construction Materials, Methods, and Equipment (3) Principal materials and methods used in building construction, emphasizing common construction systems such as light wood frames, masonry bearing walls, steel frames, and reinforced concrete. Project planning, work methods, materials, equipment and sustainability are also explored.

CM 3110 Construction Estimating (3) Fundamentals of estimating including document review, quantity survey, material, equipment & labor pricing and bid package preparation for construction projects.

CM 4100 Construction Scheduling and Cost Control (3) Fundamentals of planning and scheduling including network-based schedules, resource scheduling, probabilistic scheduling and computer applications. Project control emphasis on goals, flow of information, time and cost control, and change management.

The following can be taken when they are offered and in any order:

CM 2500 Structural Principles & Practices (3). Statics and strengths of materials; design of ordinary timber, steel, and reinforced concrete for construction applications.

CM 3200 Mechanical and Electrical Systems (3) Systems in residential and commercial buildings; design and construction of building MEP systems with an emphasis on basic terminology, equipment and installation procedures. Management of the complete MEP process, code compliance and quality control.

CM 4210 Construction Contracting (3) Principles and theory of construction company ownership and organization, the estimate and bid process, construction contracts, bonds, and insurance, business methods and plans, management, and administration, labor law and relations, safety, and avoidance of claims.

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I figured it would be tough but I've worked hard enough as it is as a paralegal/legal assistant for major firms.

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Oh, my sweet summer child

Nothing in your life has prepared you for 6/12s on a construction site. It's the only thing worse than 7/12s because the one day off completely f&%ks you up.

7/12s is a way of life. You get in a rhythm and you live to work. It is hell, but a shared one.

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In fact, since it was a 2 part exam at the Safety Council by Twin Peaks, we all went over there during our lunch break and got shite-housed en-masse.

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when did you graduate? we did the same. I think its tradition now

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As of now, I'm finishing teh pbc and I'm done. My career path will be outside of CM with the governmental position.

If I get out and decided to pursue CM , I personally would want direct work experience before going into a master's program .

I was in week 6 of 7 of materials before I realized that gypsum board was freaking drywall. I had near zero exposure, and I still feel I'm too basic in my understanding of the industry to be respected.

And I have a 4.0

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Wow, well then I would def consider an apprenticeship here with the local union in my town. That's if I don't just continue on with the masters.

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Ok, that's what I thought it was. Those are compressed versions of undergrad classes.
2100 combines 2 classes into one (one about piping and the other about wood, concrete, steel, and paint)
3100 takes a little bit of residential, heavy civil, and industrial estimating and puts it in one class as an overview)
4100 is pretty similar to the undergrad class
2500 is a combo of 2 classes which are basically a hybrid Statics and Strength of Materials class
3200 is a class one takes in undergrad and is basically about electrical, plumbing, and AC systems
4210 is a combination of construction enterprise (forms of corporation, forming a business plan), the capstone (actually managing a mock project from bid through completion), and construction law (relevant snippets of LA contract law and bid law)

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Cool, so given all that, would you say it's about equivalent with the Bachelors? Are the courses based on what you've read sufficient to go out and seek the entry level work needed to cut my teeth? I mean in the similar vein as to how you saw people get recruited and got jobs out of graduation?

Or should I just go for the masters?

You are wasting your time. People get into construction management without a CM degree. Start off as an estimator somewhere and work your way into project controls and then project management. There is high demand for bodies in electrical utility work in the northeast if you don't have connections in Louisiana.

People get into construction management without a CM degree. [/quote]

True, but it takes much much longer and requires learning a trade. It takes about 10 years of learning a trade at an ABC school and working in the field to get to the same place as a 4 year college degree. Definitely was not a waste of time for me.

You don't need to learn a trade if you have a degree and a connection

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You don't need to learn a trade if you have a degree and a connection

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That's true of literally any career outside law and medicine

I wouldn't trust a Project engineer who hadn't either learned it as a trade, gotten a CM degree, or had taken the associates program and then worked for a while