Few kids say they want to work in the construction industry when they grow up. It’s perceived as an industry that only employs blue-collar workers who spend hours out in the scorching sun.
While in reality, the construction industry encompasses many jobs and career fields that suit all sorts of people, the stigma still clouds the industry and keeps the younger generation from envisioning a career in it. Honestly, it never crossed my mind that I’d find myself working alongside this industry, but here I am. These are my thoughts on construction.
Separating HCSS from the construction industry, you’ll find a high-tech software company that creates products to help make construction professionals’ lives easier. The company provides great customer support, and our tech support analysts know everything they need to know about our products to provide quality service. In fact, walking through the tech support wing, you’ll see a relaxed team that enjoys what they are doing.
Before I worked at HCSS, I imagined tech support as a call center with phones ringing non-stop and people rushing to get each call over with to move to the next one. But that’s not the way it is at HCSS. Our tech support representatives take their time with every customer to make sure their questions or issues are resolved.
Because I work with the product managers, I get a glimpse of all the different departments of the company. Seeing all the cogs working together and chugging along makes me proud to be working at HCSS.
HCSS is deeply embedded in construction. We introduce newer technology to an industry that is perceived to lack the innovation needed to thrive. The industry may be on an innovative track, but the lack of information about the industry is a reason why there aren’t a lot of kids who dream of working in it.
As an intern at a company whose customers are in construction, I find myself questioning why there is no information given to the younger generations about the opportunities in this industry. They are told about engineering and architecture, but people separate construction from those other career options. I even find myself separating what I do at HCSS, which is programming, from construction. To be fair, software development and construction don’t sound like they go hand-in-hand. And when friends and family ask me where I work, I tell them I work at a software company, but I don’t really elaborate on the industry I serve. I do tell them about the slide and the Segways and the other fun perks of working here, which paint HCSS as the best company to work for. But calling HCSS a construction company unfortunately doesn’t paint an exciting picture.
However, there is a push to get information about construction out to younger generations. HCSS President and CEO Mike Rydin created I Build America [www.ibuildamerica.com], a movement designed to bring awareness and pride to the men and women who work in the construction industry and highlight the opportunities available for the next generation. It is a great way to mobilize young people to start thinking about a career in construction. The perception of construction jobs is that all you need is a high school diploma, but there are many jobs available for those with a higher education. Again, it goes back to the overall public perception that construction is just manual labor in the sun, but a construction company still needs all the office jobs that other types of companies need.
I Build America is a noble movement to bring respect and appreciation to an industry that does not receive enough credit, and it makes me proud to be working for the company driving it. Whenever I’m on the road, instead of seeing construction as a nuisance, I have learned to appreciate all of the work involved in building America, both literally and figuratively.