Charlie: Dan in Friendswood, has a whole different kind of building. He says his son, who’s in his early 30s, teaches middle school, is looking for a change. He got a degree in sports management over at Rice, and it’s just not panning out for him. And he says he’s looking for some entry-level positions with construction companies. He’s interested in construction management, and he’s just having a hard time getting the wheel rolling, here. And he suggested he pursue a license as a home inspector, as a way to get started. What do you think, Tom? What would be your advice to getting into the business?
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Tom: Well, I don’t think being a home inspector is the way to get into a management position, by any means. And management positions are usually not in small companies, they’re going to be in bigger companies. The individual owner’s usually the management in their own companies. So if he wants to go and get a two-year degree in construction management, since he already has a degree, he could probably do it in less than a semester and a half because all the other credits will qualify him to get a two-year degree.
And I say this, it sounds weird, but my son got a four-year degree in anthropology, went back to Lone Star, got a two-year degree in one semester in welding, and now he’s a pipeline engineer, because he just transferred everything. So it went from a four-year to a two-year, I know it’s backwards, but it actually does help in a lot of cases. And if he gets a construction management degree, a two-year degree, he can either continue on to a four-year, if he wants, or at least he can start to apply to bigger companies, like CenterPoints and industrial companies, and the oil business, or Exxons or Corp Pro. There’s a lot of big, major companies out there that need middle-management people, right now.
Charlie: Okay, so there is a demand, too. Is that something-
Tom: Oh yes, oh gosh yes. But not in just construction for houses. You’ve got to get into the commercial side.
Charlie: Is that something you’d get at like HCC?
Tom: HCC would have it.
Charlie: Okay.
Tom: At Lone Star, you’ve got all the community colleges to start.
Charlie: Okay.
Tom: You know, whatever’s close for people. I don’t want him driving all over town because they’re all offered at most of the colleges. San Jac has a good one.
Charlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Tom: They’re all good.