2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Construction management graduates must possess a mixture of technical, soft, and technological skills in order to fulfill their job responsibilities as a project engineer, estimator, field engineer, etc. at the start of their career. There is a lack of information on the exact skills that are required of a recent graduate to occupy these entry-level positions in the construction industry. This study analyzed job listings in order to understand most common qualifications expected of graduates and their most common responsibilities in construction. The researchers qualitatively analyzed a group of 40 companies that rendered 64 listings for data collection. It was found that qualifications in job listings referenced mostly soft skills, whereas responsibilities referenced technical skills the most. The listings were analyzed to find representation of Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) as well. It was observed that job responsibilities represented more SLOs than the qualification sections. The findings from this study could be used by institutions to bring their construction management programs up to current industry expectations. Recent and upcoming graduates can use these findings to understand the skills they need to possess to work in their desired positions in construction.