This post originally appeared on the ConstructionDataJobs.com Blog.
I’m a data engineer myself, and many of my colleagues are surprised that I work almost exclusively in the construction industry. They think, “Isn’t that industry stuck in the past? I bet you can’t get much done.” And, while it is true that construction is almost the least digitized, that is changing, fast.
When I was first approached by my first customers in the industry to modernize their workflows, I became struck by a number of factors that made me decide to dedicate my time to helping construction companies exclusively.
1. There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit
The biggest draw is simply that since there has been such a delay in modernization, there’s a ton of opportunities that are straightforward, even easy, for someone with a data engineering skillset. I look for any process that still exists on paper, in spreadsheets, or even in dedicated software tools who’ve just seen better days. The terms “data pipeline” and “data warehouse” are not ubiquitous in this industry, but many of the customers I work with are excel masters, and jump at the opportunity to pull up-to-date data from project management and scheduling software into their models.
2. Despite the industry lagging in technology adoption, that is changing rapidly
Yes, there’s low hanging fruit for data engineers, and on top of that, there’s a young workforce that has much higher expectations when it comes to user experience and data capabilities. This is the generation that grew up with social media, now getting into management positions at major companies and thinking, “Why is our technology so terrible, or nonexistent?” Well, now that is about to change because a large group of motivated managers can now allocate a budget to move their company to the next level.
3. There is a big opportunity to design your work environment
So, there’s obviously a lot of pent-up demand, but at the same time there’s a shortage of qualified and motivated data engineers. This means that your skills are highly valued, and you have many options for employment: full-time, part-time, and consulting gigs all exist and you can choose those which fit your lifestyle goals and ambition. It’s never been a better time to jump into this industry, and it’s only going to get better.
4. The industry is going to space
I say this semi-seriously. It is true that space exploration has had a renaissance as of recently. It is also true that as more people go to space, more things will have to be built and sent there, constructed in a zero-G environment, and even built in space and sent home. And if that prediction comes true, there will be high demand for robust, scalable data pipelines that connect systems that are both terrestrial and beyond. I’m looking forward to it!
Get out there and help this industry build the future!
For a list of data engineering jobs in the construction industry, check out ConstructionDataJobs.com
Construction Metrics 