My Career Paths.

Construction Estimation is that field which aims to analyze costs and prepares estimates in civil engineering, architectural, structural, electrical and mechanical construction projects. I chose this field because I have passion in math and calculations since my childhood, so I believe it was the right domain for me.

Choice 1 : Searching for a job

Choice 2 : Being an intern

Choice 3 : Joining the university

Searching for a job.

My first choice after finishing my study at Montmorency College was to find a job as a “Junior Estimator” with the minimum wage. My purpose was to put a foot in the door to learn the ropes. To have my first job, I prepared my C.V. so the interested companies can invite me for the interview. I had more than 25 interviews.

Choice 1 : I found my first job

Choice 2 : I couldn't find a job

Being an intern.

Being an intern (with/without) salary needs to follow the same procedure as I was searching for a job, the only difference is that I might be paid or no.This was the second choice as I had to start paying my student loan, so I must have some income. In addition, the internship may not allow me to gain the invaluable experience or the in-depth knowledge like the regular employment as it takes a limited time and the responsibilities that were given to me were limited.

Choice 1 : My family will support me financially.

Choice 2 : I will work beside the internship.

Joining the university.

This path normally takes four years of full time study in one of the related fields such as Civil Engineering or Architectural Engineering and then I will have the Bachelor of Science degree in this field.

Choice 1 : I succeeded to complete my study.

Choice 2 : I failed to complete my study.

I found my first job.

After having more than 25 interviews, I succeeded to find my first job as Junior Estimator at one of the construction companies that is located in Montreal with good compensation package. Concerning the hiring process, I had 3 interviews(with HR department responsible and with the Estimation manager) to ensure the job requirements fulfillment then they made a background check and sent me the offer letter which I accepted immediately. Regarding my job as a junior estimator, there are many concepts that I have to respect while calculating the construction quantities or estimating the anticipating overall cost. For example, how to measure the clear depth or how to calculate the equipment depreciation value… I learned some of these concepts at the college while being a student but there are some concepts that I learned here at the company. I believe that being a regular estimator for at least 5 years can make me aware of all field principals and concepts. With referring to my responsibilities and the procedure that I should follow, they are to calculate the different construction quantities and to estimate the materials and some equipment cost plus collecting the material supplier’s offers. The senior estimator’s responsibilities are to estimate the cost of the majority of equipment and the labor cost plus evaluating the supplier’s offers and to choosing the best one. Finally, the department manager acknowledges the final estimation so the company can submit its final bid to the client. Concerning the equipment, I deal principally with the construction equipment; the equipment which I evaluated its rental or purchasing cost was as the following: trucks, loader, excavator, small cranes and jack hummers. The equipment’s cost estimation process has many variables and depends on each piece and the nature of work done. In addition, there are some tools I should to have at office such as measuring tape and calculator in addition to some colored pens and pencils sets.As a software, I used a group of computer programs that calculate accurately the different construction quantities and their anticipated cost, they were Microsoft Excel, Plan swift, On Screen and Timberline.While being In the site, I must wear the complete safety wear such as safety white cap, safety shoes, and safety chemise.

Choice 1 : Healthy Work Environment with no conflicts.

Choice 2 : Poisoned Work Environment with a lot of conflicts.

I couldn't find a job.

It was difficult to find a job with lack of experience.I had a lot of interviews and I had to travel outside Montreal more than once. The vacant positions requirements don't match my skills. I am depressed but I believe I have to exert more additional efforts to find my target job.

Choice 1 : Consulting the college Recruitment team.

Choice 2 : Working in any other field.

My family will support me financially.

I got some good news from my family as they decided to support me financially while being an intern.

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I will work beside the internship.

I started a part-time job as a waitress to help me make my living in addition to pay the student loan. This takes the entire day and it's not easy as the restaurant is located outside Montreal.

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I succeeded to complete my study.

After completing my study in "Civil Engineering", I had my B.SC degree in Civil Engineering.

Choice 1 : I found a job as a Civil Engineering Technician

Choice 2 : I will complete the master's degree

I failed to complete my study.

Unfortunately, I failed to complete my study.It was difficult to complete all these courses at the same time. Things are really different at university!

Choice 1 : Searching for a job.

Consulting the college Recruitment team.

I decided to consult the recruitment team and this was very useful indeed as they helped me to prepare my c.v. correctly and to search effectively in the most related job boards.

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Working in any other field.

I found a full time job as an :Office Administrator" at one of the construction companies.I believe I can gain some experience while dealing with colleagues and processing the field relating information.Not Bad Any Way!

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Healthy Work Environment with no conflicts.

The work environment at my workplace is very healthy, everyone concentrates in his work, my colleagues help me and my manager is a real leader. I am so Lucky!

Choice 1 : Achieving a real career progression.

Poisoned Work Environment with a lot of conflicts.

Unfortunately, I was not lucky! Although it is a leading organization, the work environment here is poisoned. The conflicts between me and my manager or even between me and my work colleagues are regularly happening.Sometimes, they happen for non-worthwhile reasons and sometimes they are serious like when my manager insisted on relocating me to Saskatchewan in the winter although he knows that I have some medical condition that let me not able to tolerate the severe coldness. This environment also encouraged for the crimes and scandals in addition to violence and sexual harassment as well.During the last week, one of the company managers was arrested while receiving a bribe from a material supplier; this was shocking! This let me now understand that my post is sensitive to the financial temptations, so I have to be care. In addition, and one month ago, a group of seven thieves stole the whole amount of steel bars and cement that were stored in the site. The damage was more than 250,000 CAD and caused one month of delay to this project.

Choice 1 : I am not a part of this team.

Achieving a real career progression.

All of these factors make me feel that I am part of this wonderful team and let me working hard for my success and so for the organization success.Many chances of career progression are available at this organization.

Choice 1 : Working abroad with an excellent compensation package.

Choice 2 : Getting Promoted.

I am not a part of this team.

After 8 months of joining this organization, I think about resignation.This is the expected result of this bad work environment that hinders my progress. Although I spend this time while working hard, I didn't have any gain in knowledge and I don't believe that I will have any chance for career progression, It's just a dead-end job!

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I found a job as a Civil Engineering Technician.

I found a great job at one of the leading companies in Montreal.I may relocate between the different construction sites and the head office. Sometimes, I was asked to pass the entire month at the head office and then returning to a new location. For this reason, I should be flexible not only concerning relocating but concerning dealing with different work groups. The construction industry has fluctuating characters so it’s normal to pass 2 or 3 months with no salary when recession happened or to have 2 or 3 months paid as a production bonus. I became familiar with these ups and downs and I started to put aside some amount from my salary to face these downs when happen. Regarding accidents, they are expected at any time especially when it is related to a construction site.A number of accidents happened every month, one of these accidents that I couldn’t forget is when the excavator fall from a higher level and destroyed completely my colleagues caravan leaving five seriously injured people. That happened when a non-certified person tried to drive the excavator which I considered a severe beneath to the safety regulations. Accidents couldn’t be prevented at any construction site but following up the health and safety code regulations could control the number and the degree of risk that the worker exposes to. Concerning violence, the construction sites had recorded a higher number of the acts of violence rather than the other regular work environments. It could be verbal or physical, I saw these acts commonly happened due to labor fights which started many times with joking and then things turned to be a remarkable violence. Till this moment, I was not a victim of violence acts at my work, so I believe I am really lucky!

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I will complete the master's degree.

I decided to complete the Master's degree in "Construction Projects Management" as this domain is currently in demand. I started to contact the university professors in addition to prepare the required documents for registration.

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Working abroad with an excellent compensation package.

I had the chance to relocate to France as a "Junior Estimator".They were launching the company's new branch in Europe.The benefits were amazing! I extremely like France and the French life style.This was a real step forward in my early age.

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Getting Promoted.

I had the chance to get promoted as a "Senior Estimator" after 1 year of the hard work. The compensation package was doubled with many other benefits.It's a real achievement!

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