Hi,
I’m an IT graduate (Software Developer – 3 years). I have been wanting to get in to the construction industry for the better part of 18 months now and thanks to the recession I am finding my attempts demoralizing given my lack of relevant experience/qualifications and the surplus of construction professionals flooding the market. I am not afraid to admit I need help now.
I won’t go in to the in’s and out’s of why I want to make this career change (I have gone in to them countless times before!), but I can assure you this is something I have thought long and hard about, looked at myself and my skills/attributes, likes/dislikes, and what is going to motivate me on a daily basis to contribute and achieve. Where once I thought financial satisfaction would conquer all, I am now of the opinion that job satisfaction is what I should aim for.
The areas that I have researched and found the most interesting are building engineering (with a view of stadia design), building surveying (historical conservation, listed buildings etc.), and to a lesser extent quantity surveying and I think a career in any of these fields would be extremely rewarding and give me what I am looking for. Out of interest, I have an excellent numeracy, and a passion for drawing/designing (web dev background).
The question is: where do I start? I have bought numerous books on construction and I am working my way through them in my free-time, but it isn’t exactly something you can document on you CV, so while this does help me build a foundation of understanding, it is not helping me take the first step. I also took the foundation module of the graduate development programme with the College of Estate Management to help obtain an appreciation of the context of rural and urban business and how I need to adapt to be able to work towards professional certification with recognised bodies such as RICS.
Any help/guidance would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Deyna