Career Path Of A Business Owner At Precision Construction Services
Erik's career path was anything but linear, starting with a winding academic journey that ultimately led to a construction management degree and early international experiences building a World Cup stadium in South Africa and a university in Tanzania, where Erik "had to figure out how to make all this come together". This diverse background propelled Erik's rapid ascent through the ranks of a local firm, culminating in the founding of their own successful construction consulting and contracting business with SpaceX as a key client, taking on projects like "the first rocket landing facility for SpaceX on the west coast".
Career Exploration, Project Management, Overcoming Challenges, Entrepreneurship, International Experience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Erik Wright
Principal / Business Owner
Precision Construction Services
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo / Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Design & Construction
Architecture, Construction & Design
Business Strategy
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Transfer Student
Video Highlights
1. Erik's career path highlights a willingness to embrace diverse experiences, starting with various college majors before focusing on construction management. His international experiences, including working on a World Cup stadium and leading development of a university in Tanzania, showcase adaptability and global awareness.
2. Erik's career demonstrates a progression from field engineering to leadership roles. He thrived in a challenging environment during the Great Recession, quickly rising to Vice President at a local firm. This highlights his ability to navigate economic downturns and take initiative.
3. His entrepreneurial journey, starting a consulting firm and transitioning into a full-fledged construction company with SpaceX as a key client, showcases business acumen, risk-taking, and securing significant contracts. This entrepreneurial aspect provides a valuable lesson for students interested in owning their business
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college and any internships or jobs you had before your current role?
I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California and had no idea what I wanted to do when I started. I explored several majors, beginning with city and regional planning, then forestry, and later pre-med and kinesiology. Ultimately, I settled on construction management.
As a construction management major, I worked on various construction crews, primarily in labor and carpentry. Towards the end of college, I landed my first significant job as a field engineer for Spays International, building the World Cup Stadium in South Africa. This experience showed me the scale and excitement of the construction industry.
After that, I continued my career exploration in Africa, moving to Same, Tanzania. The Catholic diocese there sought someone to direct the planning, design, and construction of an all-girl university on land they intended to purchase. This project was set to house 1,000 students and gave me a business perspective on construction.
I had to determine the objectives and purchase over 200 acres of land. I also had to figure out how to integrate traditional design and construction with sustainable building practices in a third-world country, working with Engineers Without Borders.
Upon returning to the U.S., I went back to Cal Poly to finish some coursework and lectured on sustainable development in third-world countries. After graduating, I joined a large local construction company in San Luis Obispo. This was during the Great Recession in 2009, a somewhat opportune time as many senior leaders had left.
It was a sink-or-swim environment with limited mentorship, but I thrived in it. I was able to advance quickly and became the vice president of the company. One of our notable clients was SpaceX, before they were a well-known aerospace company.
I helped them build their first launch complex at Vandenberg Space Force Base on the West Coast around 2010 or 2011. I essentially became an extension of their design and construction team, working on several exciting projects.
Eventually, I left that company on good terms. My coworker and I started our own consulting firm for the construction industry, and our very first client was SpaceX. We continued with our consulting work, believing it would be our sole focus.
Then, we were asked to design and build SpaceX's first rocket landing facility on the West Coast. This marked our transition into becoming a full-fledged construction firm and led to many exciting projects.