Available commercial construction and homebuilding jobs have become increasingly abundant in the United States because of what many consider a housing bubble and the demand for qualified employees. Top companies, many in the Fortune 500, located throughout the country, are seeking workers ranging in qualifications from those who are experienced and have been trained in their chosen field, to those who are looking for an apprenticeship and plan to have a long-term career in residential or commercial construction. According to topbuildingjobs.com, the long list of available construction and homebuilding jobs fall in categories such as construction management, project management, architecture, land development, land acquisition, finance, marketing, sales, mortgage, skilled trades and human resources.
Construction and homebuilding positions are not only available in the area of new construction; there are many available jobs in remodeling existing structures as well. Gutting homes and updating both the interior, exterior and adding curb appeal to older, outdated homes has become a hot trend and has created many opportunities across the United States. Investors are making an excellent living from purchasing homes to flip or remodel and expand. They purchase the home in order to make a profit from selling it just a few months after the purchase at a much higher price than what they originally paid. With profits ranging from $20,000 to more than $100,000 in periods from as little as 30 days to six months, the possibilities for earning great money has drawn in many investors, which again, creates more jobs in the field of construction and adds to the growing housing bubble.
Topbuildingjobs.com states that these short-term investors, as well as other contributing factors, have turned today’s housing market into a seller’s market in many states across the country. Property that was purchased 10 years ago is now selling for double the price. With new programs in place such as private mortgage insurance, FHA, VA and Fannie Mae, homebuyers can now purchase a home with as little as 5 percent down or, in many cases, with no money down. Some of these programs also allow the homebuyer to put up to 41 percent of their income toward paying their mortgage. This is something that was unheard of in past years.
In addition, there are avenues a homebuyer can pursue in which they may not be required to pay a dime in closing costs. Therefore, with all the new options available, there are more homebuyers now than there were just a few years ago. The homebuyers of today are no longer required to have good credit, and they do not have to save up the traditional 20 percent to use as a down payment in order to purchase a home. This has made home buying something that most anyone can do. Moreover, with all the homes being purchased, the construction field and the job possibilities within have sharply increased.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, job opportunities are expected to be excellent in the construction industry, especially for skilled trade workers, due to the large number of retirements of these workers anticipated over the next decade, as well as fewer people with the right education or experience entering the skilled trades. The number of wage and salary jobs in the construction industry is expected to grow about 11 percent through 2014, compared with the 14 percent projected for all industries combined. Employment in this industry depends primarily on the level of construction and remodeling activity, which is expected to increase over the coming decade.
Leo J. Taylor, chief executive officer of topbuildingjobs.com, the nation’s largest job search engine for the construction industry, stated, “The opportunities in the construction industry are endless. This is evident by the thousands of construction and homebuilding jobs listed on our site by both local and nationwide builders as well as construction companies.”
Job opportunities in the construction industry are not limited to those of a blue-collar worker. New construction and remodeling alike provides jobs for white-collar workers as well as for skilled trades. For each new home that’s built, an architect drafts the plans, a site manager oversees the building, and a loan officer, financer, bank or mortgage company finances the home. We often think that construction provides work for a select few individuals who are highly trained in their field of constructing a home; however, that’s just not the case these days. Home building involves many different aspects from the actual building to layout and design. Therefore, each homebuilder has a team of employees as well as self-employed contract workers who are qualified in very different ways, but ultimately work toward the same goal.
There are vast amounts of construction and homebuilding jobs available and the qualifications for the job vary from someone who knows how to work with his hands to someone with a graduate degree. The U.S. Department of Labor agrees with this fact: “Construction offers a great variety of career opportunities. People with many different talents and educational backgrounds(managers, clerical workers, engineers, truck drivers, trades workers and construction helpers),find job opportunities in the construction industry.”
With the staggering amount of new neighborhoods and high rises being built on a daily basis, as well as the projected growth in the industry, construction is definitely the ideal field to consider for those seeking job security in a world in which the term “security” takes on a different meaning each and every day.
About the Author
Jody Ortiz is an industry analyst for topbuildingjobs.com, which is based in Atlanta.
