#7 College Degree Not Required

I don’t think any other industry spreads more money to people without college degrees than the construction industry (excluding dope dealers, hookers and all things illegal). So many excellent Construction Supervisors, Estimators, Project Managers and Construction Company Owners worked into their positions from Tradesmen. In fact, the experience of working with tools on a construction site shouldn’t be bypassed by anyone going into leadership roles.

By stating that a college degree isn’t required, I’m not implying it isn’t valuable. An engineering degree provides an excellent background for understanding how the physical world of a construction site works, as well as great problem solving training. A business degree gives background for the many facets of running a firm. In fact, any college degree shows that the recipient has stick-to-it-ness and the ability to complete tasks. Hopefully, the graduates have learned a few useful things along the way as well.

Yet competence trumps education in most construction firms. If you can deliver, you earn the right to do it again, often with higher stakes the next time.