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What do you want to be when you grow up?
This is a common question we all hear as kids. Our answers may change over the years – President! Princess! Astronaut! – but eventually there comes a time where that question asked of us as a kid becomes much more real.
In high school, we start to think about what careers we might be interested in much more seriously. By junior and senior year, having an outline or plan for what our next steps after graduation will be becomes important.
But with so many different fields, industries and professions to choose from, narrowing down our options can be overwhelming.
That’s why Build Your Future provides a number of tools and resources to help students learn about and explore careers in construction. There are skilled craft professions that fit every skill and interest, and a bit of research can help you find a perfect match.
Check out these seven career exploration tools from Build Your Future.
Working in construction means more than just being a “construction worker.” It means being a trained and talented tradesman or tradeswoman in the craft specialty of your choice, from carpentry to welding to masonry to equipment operation.
BYF’s Construction Career pages highlight more than 35 unique jobs in the construction industry, providing descriptions, salary information and additional resources. Filter searches by relevant interests and skills or by preferred hourly wage.
Click here to browse Construction Careers
Not sure where to start on our career pages? Take our craft professional quiz!
This is like your favorite personality quizzes on Buzzfeed or other websites, but this time we use your answers to point you to one of the skilled trades that we think is the best match for what you like and what you don’t like.
You may have been told that going to a university for a four-year degree is your only route to a successful career, but you have many more options than that. There are many pathways to success in the construction industry, and those are outlined in our interactive Career Path tool.
Start from the bottom of the ladder and explore the different directions your career can take, from your education and training to your first job and how you can continue to work your way to the top.
Click here to journey on the Career Path
An important consideration when choosing a career is how many jobs for that career actually exist and how many people there are qualified to fill them. The more demand there is for a specific profession, the easier it will be to find work.
BYF’s Demand Map is an interactive map of the United States that shows how many professionals for each craft are needed and in which states. Find out what some of the best options might be in your current state or in a place you might like to move to.
Click here to view the Demand Map
The Discover More Blog features a large library of articles and stories about various topics related to careers and construction.
Our blog answers commonly asked questions about working in construction, busts some myths about the industry, and offers some new ways to think about important issues.
Build Your Future’s YouTube Channel features videos about careers in construction, including interviews and success stories from real craft professionals.
Check out our different playlists and subscribe to the channel to stay updated on new videos!
Click here to watch our videos
Once you have an idea of a craft you’d like to pursue or skills you would like to learn, it’s time to start thinking about how to do it.
Our Plan the Future guide provides steps you can start taking today to get prepared your dream career. The guide also provides links to other helpful resources to help your planning process.
