Construction Industry Management Advice.
Discussion
Looking for some career advice here.
18months ago I left a job to move into architecture from co-ordinating shop fit outs on behalf of a large concession client. I enjoyed parts of the job and enjoyed the management side of it and found I was quite quick to pick it all up. The issue, as with most jobs was the pay, or lack of it & I was expected to drive 25k+ miles in my own car on the 45p per mile and then 35p after 10k miles. I was also not sure if it was going to get me into design management with any construction based companies in the long term.
For these reasons I got an interview as an Architectural Technician working as per my degree and working towards CIAT accreditation. My plan was to learn construction and then look into moving up into management again after a few years of gaining experience as a technician. The reason I’m questioning my options is I’m not exactly enjoying my job and the office I am in is extremely blame centric rather than getting it sorted and moving on. I also enjoyed not been sat still in an office all day long.
That said I don’t want to burn my bridges as I have just convinced my boss to switch to AutoCAD and I am the only employee competent on it and I believe it would be taken extremely badly me leaving at this time.
My long term aim is some form of project management within architecture/construction. Would working in a fit out management get me to where I currently am aiming? Or would staying as an architectural technician and getting CIAT accredited be a better route? Would both get me there and it’s a case of just working at it and keeping going in either?
18months ago I left a job to move into architecture from co-ordinating shop fit outs on behalf of a large concession client. I enjoyed parts of the job and enjoyed the management side of it and found I was quite quick to pick it all up. The issue, as with most jobs was the pay, or lack of it & I was expected to drive 25k+ miles in my own car on the 45p per mile and then 35p after 10k miles. I was also not sure if it was going to get me into design management with any construction based companies in the long term.
For these reasons I got an interview as an Architectural Technician working as per my degree and working towards CIAT accreditation. My plan was to learn construction and then look into moving up into management again after a few years of gaining experience as a technician. The reason I’m questioning my options is I’m not exactly enjoying my job and the office I am in is extremely blame centric rather than getting it sorted and moving on. I also enjoyed not been sat still in an office all day long.
That said I don’t want to burn my bridges as I have just convinced my boss to switch to AutoCAD and I am the only employee competent on it and I believe it would be taken extremely badly me leaving at this time.
My long term aim is some form of project management within architecture/construction. Would working in a fit out management get me to where I currently am aiming? Or would staying as an architectural technician and getting CIAT accredited be a better route? Would both get me there and it’s a case of just working at it and keeping going in either?
If you want to stay in that sector, albeit in a management role (this means leading a team to me), and you do not have any formal management qualifications or demonstrable experience, then a little more time 'doing' might just help. If however leading a team is your ultimate goal and you're less concerned about sector, then some formal study and qualification in management alongside leading small teams anywhere may be a good option too. Good luck!
I've spent most of my time in Oil and Gas, but I was once offered a job in a shop fit out company, which I turned down, they approached me because the owner wanted PM skills added to a small private company, but I would imagine that moving from shop fit out to major construction would be difficult, stay where you are get experience and look for an opening.
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