General Contractor Career

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General Contractor
One of the most important decisions made during a lifetime is choosing the right career path. Careers take up a huge chunk of one’s life and therefore beyond choosing to make a living, the career choice must ensure satisfaction. While some people are lucky enough to know exactly what they want and ultimately have satisfying career lives, others have problems placing a finger on what they like and may end up choosing a career for the wrong reasons. Self-awareness, personal skills, and likes, as well as exploring the options available can help one choose the right career. A general contractor is tasked with overseeing and managing a construction site on a daily basis. This paper seeks to look at the career of a general contractor in depth. The knowledge acquired will help me determine whether to make general contractor my career objective or not.
General Contractor Career
Seeing a project from the beginning to the end is one of the things that I find most satisfying. While most careers offer this, few give a visible and tangible final output. Construction is one of them. I also like being a team leader and guiding the other members towards the accomplishment of the set goal. These are some of the reasons why I consider pursuing a career as a general contractor. Traditionally, general contractors were referred to as main contractors, especially in the Commonwealth countries.
There exist around 400,000 people in the industry, according to 2016 statistics. Fueled by an expanding population and increased need for additional offices, homes, schools and other public facilities, the employment of general contractors is estimated to grow by 11% by the year 2026. This will lead to the addition of over 40,000 jobs in the industry (Bureau of Labor Statistics). However, despite this good forecast, the industry is highly vulnerable to economic fluctuations. In case of economic downturns, construction activities generally slow down leading to reduced demand for general contractors.
Duties and Responsibilities
The general contractor is charged with the general coordination of a project. They first required to assess the contract documents, visit the site, and then submit a price proposal. The price takes into consideration the overhead costs, materials, and equipment, general conditions, cost of labor, among others. It is the responsibility of the general contractor to provide all the materials and equipment, labor, as well as the other services required. The general contractors are not involved in much of the construction work. They may therefore hire sub-contractors to handle some or all the construction work. The quality of work done by the sub-contractors is also the responsibility of the general contractor. Other responsibilities include an application for building permits, surveying and securing the property, provision of temporary utilities, disposal or recycling of construction waste, cash flows, monitoring schedules, as well as maintenance of accurate records.
While some general contractors coordinate all types of construction, others specialize in certain areas such as retrofitting, residential renovation, among others. Some general contractors also coordinate several projects at the same time. This, therefore, means that the hours spent working are unpredictable and could be long. Most general contractors work for at least 40 hours a week (State University).
Qualifications
In most jurisdictions, no educational qualifications are required for one to become a general contractor. However, most contractors hold a bachelor’s degree in building science, construction science, construction safety, surveying, or other related disciplines. They start out as construction workers and then gain experience in different aspects of construction and management in the course of their work. In some jurisdictions, general contractors must provide evidence of financing in order to get authorization to set up their own firms. Licensing is also a legal requirement for general contractors. Licensing requirements vary according to the jurisdictions. A surety bond is generally in the licensing process. However, some states such as Vermont and New Hampshire do not require a general contractor to hold a license. Though not a legal requirement, certification demonstrates the professional skills and knowledge of the contractor.
General contractors must also possess good communication and decision-making skills. Due to the timelines and schedules associated with the construction industry, they must have good time management skills also. Comp...