Want to use your skills in design, planning, and management to work building and maintaining structures such as buildings, homes, bridges, or machinery?
Work opportunities include developing new structures, restorations, additions, alterations, and repairs.
Skills for the Construction Industry
- Ability to lift 20-100 lbs
- Hand and power tools
- Painting
- Time Management
- Team work and communication
Check out some of our region’s top employers in Architecture and Construction
*Some of them are even attending Career Quest Winter 2024!
- Adams Construction
- Avis Construction
- Baker Roofing Company
- Balzer & Associates
- Branch Group*
- Cundiff Heating & Air Conditioning
- Davis H. Elliot Co. Inc.
- F&S Building Innovations
- IBEW JATC 26*
- Lanford Brothers
- New River Electrical Corporation
- Procon Inc.
- Richardson Wayland Electric
- Robins & Morton
- Rockydale Quarries Corporation*
- ServPro of Roanoke*
- SMART Local 100*
- Southern Air
- VFP Inc.
- Waco Inc.
Explore Different Careers in Architecture and Construction
Perform work involving the skills of two or more maintenance or craft occupations to keep machines, mechanical equipment, or the structure of a building in repair. Duties may involve pipe fitting; HVAC maintenance; insulating; welding; machining; carpentry; repairing electrical or mechanical equipment; installing, aligning, and balancing new equipment; and repairing buildings, floors, or stairs. Includes: Building Mechanic, Equipment Engineering Technician, Facilities Technician, Maintenance Engineer, Maintenance Journeyman, Maintenance Man, Maintenance Mechanic, Maintenance Specialist, Maintenance Technician, Maintenance Worker, and more.
Average Income: $45,700 per year
Education: On-The-Job Experience
Plan, direct, or coordinate, usually through subordinate supervisory personnel, activities concerned with the construction and maintenance of structures, facilities, and systems. Participate in the conceptual development of a construction project and oversee its organization, scheduling, budgeting, and implementation. Includes managers in specialized construction fields, such as carpentry or plumbing. Include: Concrete Foreman, Construction Area Manager, Construction Foreman, Construction Manager, Construction Services Manager, Construction Superintendent, Job Superintendent, and more.
Average Income: $99,500 per year
Education: Bachelor’s Degree and/or Vocational School
Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris, and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers. Includes: Bituminous Asphalt Technician, Construction Laborer, Construction Worker, Drop Crew Laborer, Equipment Operator (EO), Form Setter, Post Framer, Scaffolding Operator, Site Work Laborer, Toolman, and more.
Average Income: $37,500 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of construction or extraction workers. Includes: Coal Mine Production Foreman, Construction Foreman, Construction Supervisor, Electrical Supervisor, Field Operations Supervisor, Field Supervisor, Insulation Foreman, Roustabout Field Supervisor, Sheet Metal Foreman, Site Superintendent, and more.
Average Income: $67,300 per year
Education: Vocational School
Construct, erect, install, or repair structures and fixtures made of wood and comparable materials, such as concrete forms; building frameworks, including partitions, joists, studding, and rafters; and wood stairways, window and door frames, and hardwood floors. May also install cabinets, siding, drywall, and batt or roll insulation. Includes brattice builders who build doors or brattices (ventilation walls or partitions) in underground passageways. Includes: Bridge Carpenter, Cabinet Maker, Carpenter, Concrete Carpenter, Construction Carpenter, Form Carpenter, Framer, Maintenance Carpenter, Rough Carpenter, Scaffold Builder, and more.
Average Income: $46,700 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent
Install, maintain, and repair electrical wiring, equipment, and fixtures. Ensure that work is in accordance with relevant codes. May install or service street lights, intercom systems, or electrical control systems. Includes: Control Electrician, Electrical Journey Person, Electrical Troubleshooter, Electrician, Housing Maintenance Electrician, Industrial Electrician, Inside Wireman, Maintenance Electrician, Paper Mill Electrician, Wireman, and more.
Average Income: $55,700 per year
Education: Vocational School
Assemble or modify electromechanical equipment or devices, such as servomechanisms, gyros, dynamometers, magnetic drums, tape drives, brakes, control linkage, actuators, and appliances. Includes: Assembler, Electrical Assembler, Electromechanical Assembler, Electromechanical Equipment Assembler, Electronic Assembler, Electronic Technician, Electronics Assembler, Mechanical Assembler, Production Associate, Wiring Technician, and more.
Average Income: $42,200 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent
Assemble, install, alter, and repair pipelines or pipe systems that carry water, steam, air, or other liquids or gases. May install heating and cooling equipment and mechanical control systems. Includes: Sprinkler Fitters, Drain Technician, Fire Sprinkler Service Technician, Pipe Welder, Pipefitter, Plumber, Plumbing Installer, Residential Plumber, Service Plumber, Steamfitter, and more.
Average Income: $51,400 per year
Education: Vocational School
Install or repair heating, central air conditioning, HVAC, or refrigeration systems, including oil burners, hot-air furnaces, and heating stoves. Includes: A/C Tech (Air Conditioning Technician); HVAC Installer (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Installer); HVAC Mechanic (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Mechanic); HVAC Service Tech (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Service Technician); HVAC Specialist (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Specialist), and more.
Average Income: $51,300 per year
Education: Vocational School
Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erect structures, or pour concrete or other hard surface pavement. May repair and maintain equipment in addition to other duties. Includes: Back Hoe Operator, Engineering Equipment Operator, Equipment Operator (EO), Forklift Operator, Heavy Equipment Operator (HEO), Hot Mix Asphalt Operator, Machine Operator, Motor Grader Operator, Operating Engineer, Track Hoe Operator, and more.
Average Income: $46,600 per year
Education: High School Diploma or equivalent