College Experiences That Helped a Senior Estimator at McCarthy Building Companies Succeed
To prepare for a career in construction estimating, Trey recommends joining a construction club; this provided opportunities to learn practical skills like scheduling and estimating from industry professionals, allowing Trey to "dip their toes in the water" and confirm their career path while developing foundational knowledge. The club's hands-on experience and guest lectures, covering topics like "how does the steel building go up?", gave McCarthy Building Companies' Senior Estimator a significant advantage in interviews and early career stages.
Construction Management, Networking, Teamwork, Practical Skills, Career Exploration
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Trey Novara
Senior Estimator
McCarthy Building Companies
Santa Clara University
Engineering - Civil
Architecture, Construction & Design
Operations and Project Management
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Join a construction club or similar organization to gain practical experience and network with industry professionals.
2. Participate in competitions to apply your knowledge and build your skills.
3. Seek out mentorship opportunities from professionals in the field to gain insights and guidance.
Transcript
What did you do in undergrad to set you up for success in your career?
One of the things I did was join a construction club, called a GC. Every year, we participated in a competition in Reno against other schools. It was a construction-focused event.
I think it helped me learn a lot. We had industry professionals come in once a week to teach us. They would discuss what they knew, and we would have a specific topic for them.
They talked about how to schedule a project, how to estimate, and how to write an RFI. They also explained the steps for erecting a steel building and applying the building's skin. They discussed when to build out interiors versus closing out the project.
We didn't know everything when we started, but we learned the basics. This allowed us to speak more intelligently during interviews and in the first few weeks. It was like dipping our toes in the water to understand the field. It also helped me realize that this is what I wanted to do.