Career Watch - Construction Manager

CAREER WATCH, May 2007, by Jennifer Brown


If she can do it...
so can YOU!


Teresa, Construction ManagerWhen Teresa Jordan-Rozwadowski was just a kid, she had dreams. She was going to be an actor, a singer, an architect. Or so she thought. Turns out that what she really wanted to do was get her hands dirty, and wear a tool belt. Doing what the guys did. Laying bricks, caulking, tiling, hammering nails in, taking nails out. Yup, Teresa wanted to be a carpenter. O.K., not just any carpenter. She wanted to be a Construction Manager, working with architects, designers and, yes, carpenters; building, restoring and renovating houses.

She’s succeeded. 
She is a Construction Manager. She is 'Da Boss'. The right hand woman to the guy who owns the company. She coordinates and schedules the carpenters, apprentices and helpers. She reads architectural blueprints and drafts, meets with suppliers, and figures out ways to dovetail all phases of the project. Sure, she still wears her combat uniform: jeans, t-shirt and safety boots. She’s often on-site, but now as supervisor. The guys she oversees respect her. They know she worked her way up – often the hard way. In fact, when she started, many of them were making bets on just how long she’d last! But last she did; which makes her unique. She knows of only one other female construction manager in her field. And she’s aware of “only a handful of women around the city in work boots and hard hats.”

It wasn’t always easy.
Along the way, the tiny dynamo, who weighed in at an impressive 110-lbs. when she started, learned to handle an Estwing hammer, mastered power tools and wielded a mean sledgehammer as she “smashed out really thick concrete.” This, proved to not be her thing! “The guys would laugh every time the hammer hit the ground and my feet would lift off!” She also “hauled drywall up stairs, unloaded 2x4s and boxes of tiles; drilled screws into plywood sub-floors and installed baseboards and casing”. She actually fell in love with wood, becoming an expert in building "old-fashioned radiator covers.” But, before she even got that far, she dug-up and re-laid her kitchen floor, installed a small patio in her back yard and built a gate from the shared driveway to that same back yard. All for fun!

Getting there.
That wasn’t all fun. It took “patience, dedication, passion and a lot of hard work.” Education, too. Some of it “on the job”, a lot of it actually in school. She started out fixing things around her parents’ home when she was still in high school, then went to college where she took Pre-Technology and Architectural Drafting courses. At college, she was one of very few women in the courses which, as she admits herself, she “really didn’t mind too much!” Much later, after a few side-trips, she returned to her first love, signing up for a government program where she received training in “Building Maintenance and Repair Techniques”. She learned about  safety, basic drywall, plastering and carpentry, even plumbing. Yes, she installed a toilet! Then it was on to basic HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning). Her instructors commended her on her “dedication, enthusiasm and willingness to do anything.” As she says herself
“I tried everything. I was determined to succeed, especially since this was something I was not supposed to be able to do, because I was a girl.” 

Several weeks of the 16-week course involved “on the job training”. Teresa started out with a successful General Contractor and, 7 years later is still there. And still happy. She’s grateful to her boss for giving her a start, but realizes that without her own passion, her grit, her willingness to sacrifice, she wouldn’t be where she is today.

What next?
For now, Teresa is content. As Construction Manager, she could earn up to and beyond $75,000 a year. Not bad for someone who started off earning $12 hour as a “grunt labourer, or whatever you call the poor guy who does everything no-one else ever seems to want to do.” But Teresa has her eye on the prize: becoming a partner and earning the title of Project Manager.

Happily ever after?
Who knows. But she’s certainly happy now. As she says: “I sometimes miss the sawdust; the smell of burning wood when you rip it on a table saw; cutting a 2x4 with a Skilsaw across your steel boot (don’t do this at home!), eating your lunch with dirty hands (don’t do this either!) while sitting on the floor with your fellow trades, looking at the job you created and feeling proud of it. But I’m proud of what I do. I love what I do.”

What would she say to encourage a teen to get into this industry? 

“Well, my job is not one that’s handed to a woman on a silver platter. If it is something you are interested in, get the right schooling or training and do it for yourself. You need a good education, passion, drive, dedication, physical and mental strength and self respect.”

That tool belt?
Teresa still has it, and realizes that her skills are, indeed, portable. They could take her anywhere in the world. But she’s currently grounded, by her young daughter, fiancé and the new house they all share. Which, of course, she’s still working on!

Add Comment

(Please use a nickname or your first name only. To help other girls relate, let us know your age and what province/state or country you live in. Other identifying information like email address, address, web sites or phone numbers will NOT be accepted. Thanks for your comments (: COMMENTS WILL BE POSTED WITHIN 24HRS.)

*Name:
*Name:
*Email (your email will not be displayed):
*Comment:

*By clicking "submit", you acknowledge that you are 13 or older, or have received parental permission to send your information, according to our privacy policy.

Reproduction of any article or content herein, in whole or in part, without written permission is strictly prohibited.
© Girls Can Do Anything Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved.