Construction is a truly diverse career path with a multitude of different areas and job positions. There are many benefits of choosing this path as a lifelong career. Therefore, this article will discuss just some of the reasons that you should consider construction as a career for you long term.
It Is an In Demand Industry
Construction and infrastructure are essential parts of the economy and society in general. Everyone needs a house and there is immense profit from the housing industry. Furthermore, businesses benefit from offices, shops and other infrastructure. With the demand to build houses for the rising population and keep roads maintained, a construction career such as a structural engineer is safe choice. Those in the industry are less likely to run into too much competition or lose their place in the industry.
This job safety is something that is on many individual’s checklist for the ideal career long term.
The Industry is Appropriately Regulated
Those working in the construction industry can be assured that their safety is maintained. There are numerous legislative aids that ensure that accidents and illnesses are minimised as a result of working on a construction site. One of those is RIDDOR stand for Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. This ensures that any incidences that occur on site are reported so that they can be acted on and the chance of it happening again, minimised.
For some, they are put off the idea of being involved in the construction industry due to the danger that comes with working on a construction site. However, accidents are rare if proper precautions are taken. Those within a construction career state that they feel looked after and safe in the hands of the industry.
There Are Plenty of Development Opportunities
Another great thing about construction careers is that there are plenty of opportunities to develop. For example, you could start off in a labouring job, and your options for pathways are vast. You could study to become an engineer, a site supervisor, or site manager. Furthermore, you could take a quantity surveyor course and get into surveying. There are also lots of construction professionals who work for many years on a construction site, before easing into a claims consulting position. These jobs are for those who have a wealth of experience in construction and understand the process of construction claims.
Furthermore, the industry makes having a career change fairly simple. If you decided that working on site was too physically demanding, you would be able to progress to work in an office based construction role fairly easily, for example, becoming a planning engineer.
High Pay
Another advantage of a construction career is that many of the roles in construction are very highly paid. For those in positions that require a wealth of skills such as Site Managers and Quantity surveyors, individuals can expect to earn around £60K a year. This can rise with experience too. Senior Construction Managers have also been known to earn £110K a year.
Flexibility of Working
Construction careers also have the benefit of allowing you to work flexibly in some cases. There are many self-employed construction professionals. This means they can choose which construction project to work on and when they plan to have breaks and holidays. Furthermore, there are jobs outside, inside, from home and in different countries that involve lots of travel. This means there are many options for you. This is different to choosing a career in Administration for example, as they will only ever get the option of working at a desk.
We all know how important flexible working is, it can encourage good mental health and helps us to improve our work/life balance.
Day-To-Day Job Variety
Another benefit of working in the construction industry is that there is plenty of variety when it comes to day to day tasks. For those who dislike the mundane jobs that involve the same routine tasks, day in, day out, construction may be for you. Especially when we think about lifelong careers, we want to make sure that we choose a career that will offer us rewards and challenges on a daily basis. In a construction role, one day you could be on site, another day you could be in the office looking at plans.
Final Thoughts
This article has outlined just some of a very long list of reasons that you should work in a construction job. I hope this article has allowed you to make a decision about your future career path or validated your plans for your future in some way.
