The life of a engineering jobs, particularly in building construction industry, have also disadvantages to identify particularly for the ordinary workers The advantage, to some workers, of opportunities for travel, is a distinct disadvantage to others who wish to settle down. On this point, however, job opportunities in engineering construction are usually sufficient to allow a worker to have a choice. Another disadvantage is that engineering construction is a seasonal industry and workers are subject to periods of unemployment. This, however, is not the disadvantage it was in the past, because technological improvements in winter construction methods have made many kinds of construction work virtually a year-round operation. Finally, an unfortunate disadvantage is that construction work is one of the more hazardous occupations. While this remains a serious problem, there has been marked improvement in construction safety in recent years, and the industry is striving earnestly to make working conditions safer. Thanks to the efforts to both management and labor, construction safety has shown substantial improvement and can confidently be expected to continue improving.
As to engineering employment in construction, most building trades' workers are employed by contractors in the contract construction industry or by home builders and developers in speculative residential building. Many small contractors employ ten or fewer workers. Other are employed by business firms or government agencies that do work with their own construction forces. Many building trades' workers are self-employed, performing maintenance and repair work directly for property owners or operating as contractors on small jobs. The total number of contracts in engineering jobs and construction firms in the United States, according to the Department of Commerce, numbered in the hundreds of thousands. The great majority of these firms are small, employing only a few workers, of often none other than the self-employed proprietor.
Furthermore, a person generally enters his engineering careers in construction at one of three levels: from high school as an apprentice or trainee; from a technical school into a contractor's office as a technician; or from a college of construction or engineering into a contractor's office as a professional engineer or management trainee. A person can usually advance according to his or her level of education. There is no set path of advancement. However, through hard work and years of experience, a high school graduate can advance to the position of job superintendent, while a college graduate studying engineering and finance may rise to the position of partner. Schools of engineering construction that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the general disciplines of construction provide a major avenue to mid-level management positions. These schools may offer a combination of finance, construction marketing, basic engineering and architecture, personnel management labor relations, and other construction-related courses.
There are opportunities for civil engineering construction employees to improve their skills and their knowledge of industry operations through special courses of study in night schools, correspondence courses, and industry-sponsored supervisory training programs, this has been the road taken to success by many ambitious workers. Opportunities for engineering construction workers to advance also include the possibility of becoming independent contractors. Likewise, opportunities for workers with the necessary ability to form their own firms are greater in construction than in most other lines of business because contractors customarily hire workers and rent equipment only as needed for specific project. These factors make entry into the construction industry relatively easy. It is, however, a business involving much risk, and the failure rate is high in comparison to most other industries. Engineering construction workers customarily enter the industry soon after completing high school. Beginning as apprentices or trainees in one or another of the numerous building trades. Mathematics, English and the sciences are especially important subjects to apply in jobs in engineering, especially, for the prospective engineering construction workers to study in high school. Manual training courses, like mechanical drawing and woodworking, can also be helpful.
