A Day in the Life of a Project Manager at Related Companies
Nick's career journey began with managing college events, transitioned through a finance internship deemed "not enjoyable," and then unexpectedly into construction after "walking around the city" and securing a role at Webco, where the professional progressed from intern to a multi-faceted role encompassing "self-perform concrete work, estimating, and pre-con efforts," even field carpentry. After a brief stint in residential construction, a move to Related Companies followed, leveraging existing connections to land a project management position involving close collaboration with development teams and a focus on "owner-builder" projects.
Project Management, Construction Management, Career Development, Networking, Overcoming Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Nick Prince
Project Manager
Related Companies
University of Colorado, Boulder
n/a
Political Science, American Studies
Architecture, Construction & Design
Operations and Project Management
Scholarship Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. He started his career by working in college managing events at the athletic center, which provided valuable experience in event management and logistics.
2. He gained finance experience through an internship at Franklin Templeton, which helped him realize his interests were not aligned with finance.
3. His proactive approach of walking into a construction company and asking for a job led to a successful career in construction, demonstrating initiative and a willingness to seek opportunities
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Please include any internships or jobs you've had before your current role as project manager.
I started in college, working mainly for the athletic director. I helped manage the course event center, setting up for basketball and volleyball games. I also managed all the different activities that took place in the arena.
After college, I had a finance internship at Franklin Templeton. I was a poli-sci and econ major, so I explored the finance world for a bit. It was interesting, but I spent most of my time working on spreadsheets, which wasn't enjoyable.
As soon as I graduated, I looked for something else. I walked around the city, and seeing the construction boom, I walked into the Webco office and asked for a job. They needed help, and after a few interviews, I met many good people there.
They hired me as a full-time intern on the Samsung project in San Jose for six months. A colleague named Jess mentored me and taught me a lot. After six months, I was promoted and worked my way through various roles at Webco.
Webco is a large general contractor that also self-performs concrete work, estimating, and pre-construction efforts. I even worked in the field as a carpenter, gaining experience in many aspects of the construction industry.
About two years ago, I left Webco to try something new. Construction, particularly commercial construction, was experiencing a lull. I wanted to experience residential building while I still could.
We were building prefab ADUs, which was a good experience but difficult. The residential world involves dealing more with homeowners, who are emotionally invested in their houses. In my experience, contractors didn't always perform to a high enough standard.
Through my connections, I got a job at Related. They are primarily a developer with hundreds of projects across the United States and abroad. They have a California group that also develops projects and has a construction division.
About five or six years ago, they started self-performing more construction projects. Now, they run construction projects themselves as the owner-builder. I work closely with the development team, managing projects, ensuring design concepts are followed, and developing conceptual budgets for future projects. That's where I am now.
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