Son working in construction rather than internship

[Anonymous]

So my sophomore civil engineering son is coming up empty with summer internships. I thought working in construction would be good for him. Are those jobs hard to get? Anyone’s DC ever done that? Are there safety issues I should be concerned about?

[Anonymous]

If he wants to work for a developer, there are worse ways to get in the door than trying to get a job on one of their crews

[Anonymous]

Whether or not construction work is easy/hard to get often depends upon the economy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he wants to work for a developer, there are worse ways to get in the door than trying to get a job on one of their crews

How does one go about that?

[Anonymous]

Not a good idea to push one toward construction work as the risk of injury is too great.

[Anonymous]

That is a great idea. I don't see why they would be hard to get. I would start by asking around your neighborhood or friend if they have any contacts or ideas.

[Anonymous]

Excellent idea. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Maybe a work crew with Habitat for Humanity for the summer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So my sophomore civil engineering son is coming up empty with summer internships. I thought working in construction would be good for him. Are those jobs hard to get? Anyone’s DC ever done that? Are there safety issues I should be concerned about?

Of course there are safety issues about which you should be concerned. Lots of injuries to eyes, limbs, and hearing ability. This is why workers' compensation insurance rates are much higher for construction work than for office work. Avoid ditch digging as a number of deaths occur each year in this type of construction work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe a work crew with Habitat for Humanity for the summer?

That sounds like a good idea.

[Anonymous]

The habitat for humanity is a good idea
Long time ago DH worked for a company putting up the large wooden residential play/gym structures. I think something like that would be safer than a major construction site.

Also if he is coming up dry and doesn’t tend to make a buck, I’d offer to volunteer/unpaid internship with the various companies, cities planning boards etc. It would be better exposure.

[Anonymous]

construction and waiting tables are two skill developing jobs I think every college kid should do. better than an internship IMO. next summer is the one that matters, not this one. perfect time to work on a construction crew

[Anonymous]

There is absolutely a risk of injury. Ask any construction crew.

[Anonymous]

I’m in the insurance industry. Workers Comp for work related injuries in construction sites is a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Construction is good and so is Habitat for Humanity.

I would also say your son should look for internships in different areas (if he/you can afford a room to rent). If you live in the DMV, your kid needs to look outside DC, NYC, Boston, etc, and look at internships at smaller less popular cities.

My cousin is a sophomore and I told him to do the same thing (he is an econ major) as the finance internships for next year are very competitive.

Amtrak has an internship in Philadelphia https://careers.amtrak.com/AMTRAK/job/Philadelphia-Summer-2024-CivilFieldHeavy-Construction-Engineering-Intern-90353303-Philadelphia-PA-19104/1103023100/?utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&utm_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic

DOT also has internships.

Have him contact career services at his school and ask about engineering internships. Probably better to see if their is a career person in his school rather than the entire university since they should know better where to target for an internship. If not, maybe he can ask upper class people if they have any ideas.

Good luck!