Architecture & Construction

New York’s One World Trade Center took 10 years to build. Who designed and constructed it? You’re probably not surprised to learn that architects, civil engineers, construction laborers, cement masons and concrete finishers, and structural iron and steel workers participated in its development. You’ve also likely thought about the elevator installers and repairers who installed 73 elevators, or about the heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers, plumbers, and electricians who created a healthy environment inside the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

Think a bit more deeply and you’ll realize that cost estimators used their mathematic and analytic skills to help make decisions about the nearly $4 billion spent to construct the building. Construction managers coordinated the work of specialty trade contractors to ensure they provided quality work in a timely manner.

While North Carolina may not build a skyscraper as tall as One World Trade Center any time soon, the state’s construction industry is expected to grow and show increases in the occupations mentioned above. These occupations require educational backgrounds that range from high school diplomas to graduate degrees. Workers may find employment with plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors; landscaping businesses; electrical contractors; federal, state, and local government; and commercial building companies.

Core Skills

The following Core Skills are necessary for success in these occupations.

Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs
Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools
Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment
Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job
Operation & Control - Using equipment or systems
Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work
Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working
Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works
Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions
Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials