Career support services in construction-related programs in the US

Luciana Debs; Deniz Besiktepe; Fernando Romero Galvao

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: Construction Engineering Division: Evolving Workforce and Practices in Modern Construction
Tagged Division: Construction Engineering Division (CONST)
Page Count: 11
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/56060
Download Count: 1

Paper Authors

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Luciana Debs Texas State University orcid.org/0000-0002-9713-0957

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Luciana Debs, is an Assistant Professor of Construction Management in the Engineering Technology Department at Texas State University. She received her PhD from Purdue University, her MS from the Technical Research Institute of Sao Paulo and her BArch from the University of Sao Paulo. Her current research interests includes technology for design and construction integration and the impact of Construction and Education 4.0 in construction education.

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Deniz Besiktepe Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI)

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Dr. Deniz Besiktepe is an assistant professor in the School of Construction Management Technology at Purdue University Polytechnic Institute. After graduating from architecture school in 2003 and thirteen years of construction and facilities management experience, she received her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, focusing on Construction Engineering and Management at Colorado State University. Her research interests include facilities management, building maintenance, condition assessment, implementing technology and data-driven techniques in the FM field, CM & FM education, social sustainability, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in CM & FM industries.

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Fernando Romero Galvao University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Abstract

Careers in the construction industry are in high demand. More specifically, the demand for construction managers is expected faster than the average in the next decade. To meet this demand, many construction programs have increased in size since 2008. Furthermore, most programs require some sort of practicum by students, often in the form of an internship of cooperative education (co-op). To support the connection between supply and demand of construction professionals, several higher-education institutions provide students with career services. These services may include career fairs, resume reviews, meet and greet with companies, jobsite visits and guest speaking opportunities for industry professionals. Through the use of these services and as a consequence of the heated market, many construction-related programs achieve a placement rate well above 90%, to the benefit of students, higher education institutions and companies. Yet, there is a lack of understanding of what career services are available in the different construction programs. This is important because career services today have evolved to provide more than a connection for an entry level position, but rather help students with career education and coaching, seeking to strengthen the ties with graduates and foster a connected community of alumni. To achieve this goal, the present research used a survey approach to review resources available at US-based construction undergraduate construction programs. Results are presented using descriptive statistics and identify the breadth of career services offered by construction programs and their institutions. Findings show that most programs host two dedicated career fairs per year, faculty and instructors usually support students by providing career counseling. Moreover, services such as dedicated job boards, resume review and career counseling are present in about half of the programs. Furthermore, many construction programs rely on career services provide by their institution. Our findings provide a baseline to construction programs in the United States in terms of what career services can be offered to their students and how these services are balanced between institution and programs.

Citation
Format

Debs, L., & Besiktepe, D., & Galvao, F. R. (2025, June), Career support services in construction-related programs in the US Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/56060

TY - CPAPER
AB - Careers in the construction industry are in high demand. More specifically, the demand for construction managers is expected faster than the average in the next decade. To meet this demand, many construction programs have increased in size since 2008. Furthermore, most programs require some sort of practicum by students, often in the form of an internship of cooperative education (co-op). To support the connection between supply and demand of construction professionals, several higher-education institutions provide students with career services. These services may include career fairs, resume reviews, meet and greet with companies, jobsite visits and guest speaking opportunities for industry professionals. Through the use of these services and as a consequence of the heated market, many construction-related programs achieve a placement rate well above 90%, to the benefit of students, higher education institutions and companies. Yet, there is a lack of understanding of what career services are available in the different construction programs. This is important because career services today have evolved to provide more than a connection for an entry level position, but rather help students with career education and coaching, seeking to strengthen the ties with graduates and foster a connected community of alumni. To achieve this goal, the present research used a survey approach to review resources available at US-based construction undergraduate construction programs. Results are presented using descriptive statistics and identify the breadth of career services offered by construction programs and their institutions. Findings show that most programs host two dedicated career fairs per year, faculty and instructors usually support students by providing career counseling. Moreover, services such as dedicated job boards, resume review and career counseling are present in about half of the programs. Furthermore, many construction programs rely on career services provide by their institution. Our findings provide a baseline to construction programs in the United States in terms of what career services can be offered to their students and how these services are balanced between institution and programs.
AU - Luciana Debs
AU - Deniz Besiktepe
AU - Fernando Romero Galvao
CY - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DA - 2025/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Career support services in construction-related programs in the US
UR - https://peer.asee.org/56060
ER -