Entry-Level Construction Jobs: Where do I Start?

“All things are difficult before they are easy.” Starting fresh is always the hardest, and construction is no exception to this.

For those who are looking to walk a career path in the construction industry, it gets scary, right? Having to memorize so many names, knowing when to use what tool, while simultaneously trying to keep yourself safe and produce high quality work in the process? Keeping track of so many aspects can get overwhelming.

In this blog, we’re going to look at how one can step into and start a career in the construction industry, even without prior work experience or job training!

Which Jobs to Keep an Eye Out For?

In the construction sector, there are certain jobs and roles that are friendly towards people with little to no prior experiences, yet creates numerous opportunities for learning and familiarizing for the person on the position.

Option 1: Site Maintenance

A site maintenance position is one of the best positions for people who are just beginning in the construction industry. Here’s why:

While site maintenance doesn’t involve conducting actual construction work, it is an amazing position for starters.

The job content of a site maintenance worker involves maintaining the safety, cleanliness, and accessibility of the construction site. In a few cases, site maintenance workers would need to assist other construction workers with on-site tasks as well.

This means people who aren’t familiar with the basics of construction have plenty of chances to understand how different parts of a project works.

For example, maintaining the cleanliness and safety of a jobsite allows one to grow more acquainted with standards of construction and building codes (authorities such as the OSHA contains regulations restricting the both safety and cleanliness of jobsites).

Performing maintenance on construction tools, both hand tools and power tools, give one a basic understanding of how different tools work, and which tools under which scenarios are the most efficient and effective.

Site maintenance jobs help first-timers familiarize themselves in the unique work environment that are job sites without exposing themselves to excessive risks and dangers.

Option 2: Painting Laborer

Another job position that serves as an amazing introduction to more difficult construction jobs is painting laborer.

One thing about painting laborers that makes it extremely beginner-friendly is the position, in the majority of cases, doesn’t require professional education.

However, despite not requiring prior education, the skills that are acquired from this job, such as attention to detail and dexterity, are often transferable when switching to other construction jobs.

One other characteristic of working as a painting laborer is the power tools. The power tools most commonly used by a painting laborer are all power tools that are commonly used in construction: sprayers, drills, sanders, etc.

This is an optimal way of trying out different tools and techniques of using them before putting them to use in more advanced construction jobs.

Option 3: Plumbing

Plumbers, while a fairly popular skilled trade in the construction industry, is actually one of the beginner-friendly trades for its simple tasks.

While professional plumbing can be complex, entry-level plumbing is the complete opposite. Entry-level plumbing requires only basic mechanical knowledge and understanding of the most common tools.

This allows beginners to learn about the most fundamental part of construction without having to perform relatively advanced and complex tasks.

On top of this, contrary to complete construction projects, plumbing jobs often have apprentice positions where people with no prior experience can partake in this trade. In contrast, some high-level training programs are extremely time-consuming and offer less hands-on experience.

Apprentice positions provides amazing resources to transition if one is looking for professional plumbing jobs in the future, or even to other construction jobs.

Where Do I Find These Jobs?

Knowing this, where can one find one of these entry-level construction jobs? Fortunately, there are various platforms and resources available for people to find jobs, and for employers to find manpower.

To provide insight, we’ve looked into some of these tools and analyzed them according to their features:

Option 1: JobStack by PeopleReady

JobStack by PeopleReady is a robust job board for anyone to look for a job that suits them most.

JobStack also offers tremendous flexibility to its users. One can find jobs of varying natures on JobStack. From day labor paid by the hour, to working on local events, to full-time jobs, long-term, short-term, there is never a lack of choices on JobStack.

Moreover, JobStack focuses on a location-based search system so unrelated job openings are not displayed to its users. Combine that with a personalized calendar and you get a system that ensures people can optimize their schedules if they are working part time or looking for side hustles.

*JobStack is dedicated to those who are looking for jobs in the US

Option 2: SEEK

SEEK is another option for those who are looking for job opportunities. With filters like work types, remote options, pay, and list time, SEEK is a extremely accessible tool for job hunting.

One of SEEK’s strongest features is its “Explore Careers” tool, which provides the number of job opportunities, salary, job growth, and degrees of job satisfaction of different positions. Moreover, it provides insight to the responsibilities, challenges, and ratings of a position based on the surveys given to SEEK’s other users.

SEEK uses this data alongside an user’s “skills” in their data profile to determine whether a job is suitable for the user, and triangulates both data to create an algorithm of suitable jobs based on the user’s skills.

This is especially helpful for those who are looking for their first jobs or those who are looking to work in a different industry.

*SEEK is dedicated to those who are looking for jobs in Australia, New Zealand, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Option 3: Indeed Jobseeker

Out of our list, Indeed Jobseeker is the only one that operates worldwide, operating in over 60 countries and offering service in 28 languages.

Indeed offers a more detailed filtering system, going as far as giving different categories to jobs in different industries. For example:

Filter construction jobs by construction type (commercial, residential, or industrial).
Filter accounting jobs by standards (GAAP, SOX, IFRS, or GAAS) and license (CPA or Enrolled Agent).
Filter marketing jobs by skills (Social media, product demo, SEO, performance, email, etc.)
By offering unique, industry-specific filters, Indeed helps people outside the industry gain insight on how jobs in the industry differ, and experienced job hunters find jobs that suit their professional interests.

Conclusion

To enter the industry, the key is to find a position that will allow you to learn and transition into the industry. Targeting entry-level positions such as site maintenance, painting labor, and plumbing gives a smoother learning curve for those who are looking to start.

For those who are feeling lost, tools such as JobStack, SEEK, and Indeed Jobseeker can be of tremendous help.

Every expert with years of experience started their journey somewhere, so will you.