Q&A: Professor explains why students flock to UTSA for construction management careers

Q: There's a broad perception that construction jobs are blue-collar jobs that don't require a college degree. What career advantages come from pursuing a bachelor's degree in construction science and management?

A: My experience was the same. When I was thinking about college, the prominent disciplines were engineering, accounting, law and anything in the medical field. I didn't really hear a lot about construction. There definitely is a misconception that you don't need a college degree to go into construction, but you know what? There's a lot that goes into construction. It's a unique field because we're not just responsible for constructing the buildings, infrastructure and other facilities that support human existence, but we're also responsible for maintaining them over their life cycle. That's important because we are always growing and evolving. San Antonio, in particular, is growing every day faster than any other city in the United States.

We do so many things as construction managers. Let's think about a typical building. The architects will design the building - the rooms, spaces, etc. Then, the civil engineers will do the structural design to make sure the building is stable, strong and sound. But who does the actual construction? Construction scientists and managers. We take all of those designs, and we estimate the cost of all the resources, including materials needed to bring the building to life. We have to make sure those materials are properly sourced, which can be a challenge when there are supply chain issues. We schedule when items will be purchased and avoid cost overrun. We schedule the labor and supervise them to make sure they perform each task safely and to the required quality standard, so that the building can stand the test of time.

When you're a construction manager, you can pitch your tent in many different aspects of construction. If you work for 10 years in any construction specialty and then you decide you want to work in another, your construction management knowledge will continue to be relevant.

Q: When you look through the CSM course catalog here at UTSA, some of the classes would be obvious to a casual observer, like Construction Materials or Structures or Surveying. But you'll also find listings for classes like Construction Law and Sustainable Building Practices. How important is it to develop graduates that are well-versed in both the practical, hands-on side of construction as well as the more professional and strategic side?

A: When I talk to my students, I let them know that building those communication and interpersonal skills is crucial. If you're just starting, you're going to be interacting with field workers as well as other stakeholders, like architects and designers. An architect can design a house shaped like an airplane if that's what the owner wants, but construction managers are always thinking about buildability, and they need to interface with those architects and designers to align their respective goals and make sure that whatever is being constructed is deliverable. There are so many things that go into that, including contract law.

You also want to make sure you understand how to transact a construction business, which is why we have business law in our curriculum. Something unique about our program is that it's designed so that our students can minor in business. Many people who succeed in construction management go on to own their own company, but you need the business acumen to be able to do that. That's why we expose our students to finance and accounting. That mix makes our students well-rounded as they get ready to work with different types of professionals in their careers. They can speak their language.

Construction companies want to hire our Construction Science and Management students. They've looked at our curriculum and feel that it's very holistic. Of course, we also ask employers about how our students are performing, and they're always very impressed.