Build Your Future With A Rewarding Career In Mechanical Contracting
When a high school student thinks about the future, the career possibilities
are virtually limitless; after college these options are narrowed greatly. Confronted
with the numerous opportunities facing young men and women today, it is understandable
that so many are confused and uncertain about their future.
It's not uncommon for young people today to be seduced by the glamorous professions
depicted in movies and on television. In a recent survey, a significant number
of high school seniors said that they planned to be a "star" in
one media realm or another. When hearing of the astronomical salaries being
paid to professional athletes or luxurious lifestyles of the stars, it's
easy to see the attraction of such a career.
For the majority of young people the dream world of movies and television is
seperate from the decisions needed to be made about a career in the real world.
Most young people are looking for careers that provide a sense of personal satisfaction
while at the same time making an obvious and significant difference to the world
around them and providing sufficient income to live comfortably and be able
to raise a family.
What most young people are looking for is something that is not simply a job,
particularly not a job that seems like a dead end, where there is no chance
of being creative or constructive; merely the same repetitive tasks over and
over for years on end.
One field that affects all of us every day, but is often overlooked when thinking
of careers is that of building and construction. And one of its most important
segments, the mechanical contracting industry, is actively seeking capable young
men and women to fill current and future positions in this dynamic growth field.
But what is mechanical contracting? Does it offer the kind of work and future
that I want? Will it really provide creative challenges? Is the work really
worthwhile? Does it have value for society? What are the satisfactions beyond
merely holding down a job and earning a paycheck? What about advancement and
personal growth?
These are not only fair and sensible questions, they are questions that every
young person investigating various career possibilities should ask themselves.
Answers to some of those questions about mechanical contracting are answered below.
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Creativity in the Industry
There are a wide variety of jobs available. Estimators, draftsmen, foremen, designers,
pipe welders, managers, salesmen, plumbers, pipefitters, engineers and accountants
are but a few of the possible careers in this field.
Some may not typically think of these as creative jobs, but they are. Consider that every individual on the contractor's team plays
an important and significant role in the creation of the final living structure
that is being built, and has a hand in the creation of something that didn't
exist before. When the job is completed, the finished building stands as a monument
to all the men and women who were part of its creation.
One of the great personal rewards experienced by people in this industry is that
throughout their careers, they can pass a huge hotel or hospital, a well-designed
shopping mall, a vital power station or lifesaving pharmaceutical plant and say, "I
helped to build that." In today's society, not many people get to experience
such tangible evidence of their efforts. But those in the mechanical contracting
field have the opportunity to experience the greatest form of satisfaction, pride
in a worthwhile accomplishment, almost every day.
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What Is Mechanical Contracting?
The term mechanical contracting covers the mechanical skills, crafts and management
techniques that are among the fundamental requirements for every type of large
building, whether it be a school or a factory, a hospital or a gigantic power
plant. The mechanical contracting industry is responsible for installing the
heating and air conditioning, piping and plumbing systems without which these
buildings and other facilities would be merely empty shells. They would be without
interior climate control, ventilation, pollution and emissions control, water
supply and waste removal systems that are essential for modern human usefulness.
However advanced, or beautifully designed a building may be, without the heart,
veins and arteries supplied by the men and women of the mechanical contracting
industry, it would be as lifeless as a marble statue.
The mechanical contracting industry functions through a group of individual,
independent contracting firms. These firms competitively make offers to builders
or governmental authorities to install the mechanical systems in a given building
at a specified price and within a specified time frame. Usually, the lowest bidder
gets the job. In order to compete and be able to complete the job for the agreed
upon price, each firm that enters a bid must have a rather sizable team of highly
skilled and productive individuals.
Does it really provide any benefit to other people?
Apart from the obvious benefits, of providing dependable heating systems necessary
to sustain life in cold weather, consider the relative importance to the good
life of something as easily taken for granted as efficient waste removal. Even
the most ardent back to nature advocates rarely suggest a return to the outhouse.
Good plumbing bears as directly on the public health as is possible. The horrible
plagues that swept across Europe in the past, bringing death to millions, could
have been greatly reduced or contained with good plumbing and water treatment.
Or think about the healthy indoor climates found in offices, hospitals, hotels,
apartment houses, factories and schools. Most people in New Jersey live in metropolitan
areas where air pollution is a serious problem. The only real escape is inside
the buildings where we work, play, sleep and live most of our lives, surrounded
by four walls and a roof. Without the skills and dedication of the people in
the mechanical contracting industry, these buildings would be uninhabitable.
As it is, the industry provides mechanical systems that not only automatically
maintain comfortable temperatures by alternately heating and cooling these living
spaces, but filter and clean air for breathing, and humidify or dehumidify it
according to need. In short, it may be said without exaggeration that the main
reason for this industry's existence is to serve people by creating an ever better
environment for them to live in.
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Does this industry offer a stable base for a personal
career, and the growth potential to create even greater opportunity in
the future?
Continually arising new frontiers will require increasingly skilled craftsmen
trained in mechanical contracting. Here are a few: air pollution control; desalinization
of sea water to augment the diminishing fresh water supplies in our state;
development and installation of control systems to banish pollution of precious
existing fresh water sources; and cryogenics, the science of handling and utilizing
extreme cold by means of specially designed systems to serve society in new
ways, from fresher frozen foods to biochemical research.
These are among the major opportunities for growth. To meet them successfully
the industry must offer growth to its people in their jobs, and even more importantly
in their training and development. Gone are the days when an apprentice plumber
or steamfitter learned his trade simply by working alongside an experienced
journeyman. Today he must have a substantial grasp of mathematics and physics.
New techniques of construction management and control call for computers and
many other tools of modern technology. And leadership ability is more than
ever in demand.
That's why, in addition to stability and exciting growth prospects, this industry
offers still another advantage: personal growth through continuing education
and training. Looking to the future, the industry through its organization,
the Mechanical Contracting Industry Council of New Jersey (MCIC), is already
conducting training courses in advanced leadership and management skills as
well as in technical education. MCIC has been a leading pioneer in this field,
being the first industry organization in the state to offer free courses in
supervisory training for example. MCIC has also been sponsoring a Mechanical
Contracting Degree program at Kean College since 1972.
These educational opportunities have been so welcomed by the industry that
the number and type of courses available has been continually expanding.
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Many Kinds Of Jobs
A few of the specific jobs available in the mechanical contracting industry
have already been mentioned, such as plumber and pipefitter, two skilled crafts
which are basic to the industry's functioning. Some of the job opportunities
are "inside" jobs, such as office, headquarters or shop occupations;
others are "outside," in the field, done on the jobsite where the
actual construction is taking place. And some, of course, at the management
level, are both inside and outside.
Most of the occupations in the industry have "mobility," meaning
that the employee is not stuck in one place doing the same thing all the time,
as in a retailing or manufacturing career. As soon as a building project is
completed, the mechanical contracting team moves to another location where
the next project is underway. Obviously this makes for much greater job creativity
and challenge than mere routine work. Even the inside jobs have variety, since
new projects are constantly replacing old ones. Every construction project,
even two for the same type of facility, has its own unique features.
To be specific, here are some of the more important job classifications in
mechanical contracting, with a description of what these specialists do.
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Pipefitter and Plumber
The pipefitter and the plumber have very similar skills and both work "outside" on
the jobsite. The main difference is that the pipefitter works on heating systems,
air conditioning systems and other specialized piping. The plumber applies
his skills to plumbing systems, water supply, waste disposal, drainage and
similar piping systems. To qualify for either of these occupations, the applicant
must pass an aptitude test and serve a five year apprenticeship period of combined
on the-job and classroom training before he becomes a fully qualified journeyman.
The basic job function of both the plumber and pipefitter is as follows:
Guided by building plans or blueprints and written directions (specifications)
the journeyman lays out the parts, fits and assembles them and then installs
the completed assembly. Some jobs may also require maintenance and servicing
of the system after installation.
More specifically the plumber or pipefitter does all the following when required:
- Selects type of pipe and materials according to job specifications;
- Coordinates work with other construction trades;
- Cuts pipe using hammer, chisel, pipe cutters, hacksaw or cutting torch;
- Threads pipe using threading machine;
- Bends pipe by hand or with a pipebending machine;
- Assembles variety of metal and nonmetal pipe and pipefittings;
- Uses various methods to join one piece of pipe to another, including welding & Secures
pipe to structure with clamps, brackets and hangers using hand tools;
- Installs and maintains air conditioning and refrigeration systems;
- Tests piping systems after installation.
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Field Manager and Foreman
As these titles suggest, both of these job categories are outside, onsite occupations.
The field manager usually directs the work of one or more teams of pipefitters
and plumbers. Each team works under a foreman. The foreman is the "team
captain" and coordinates the work of each craftsman so as to keep each
section of the overall job progressing at the right speed. Qualifications for
these two positions include ample knowledge and experience in pipefitting and
plumbing plus managerial and leadership abilities. Ordinarily these jobs are
filled through promotion from the ranks of journeymen pipefitters and plumbers.
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Draftsman
This inside specialist is like the plumber and the pipefitter in that the job
requires working with tools and special skills and talents. The tools, such
as the T-square and triangle, are as different as are the talents, but the
draftsman's role is equally important to the successful completion of the job.
This particular job function has also felt the impact of computer technology
in the last few years. Increasingly, the draftsman's task will be relying more
and more on computer aided design hardware and software. Following are a few
of the draftsman's job functions:
Prepares clear and accurate working plans and detailed drawings from rough
sketches;
Checks dimensions of parts, materials to be used in relation of one part to
another and to the whole structure;
Inks in all lines and letters on pencil drawings as required;
Lays tracing paper on drawings and traces drawing in ink;
Prepares finished drawings;
Uses knowledge of various machines, engineering practices, mathematics, building
materials and other physical sciences to complete drawings.
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Estimator
Another inside job is that of the estimator. As the title suggests, the estimator
is charged with determining the specific cost of any construction project by
itemizing and adding up the separate costs of materials, equipment and labor
needed to complete the job. Sometimes the estimator is an engineer, particularly
in the larger contracting firms. In many firms, the estimator is an expert
specialist who has acquired skill through study and practice and has been promoted
to this position.
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General Manager and Project Manager
Depending on the size of the mechanical contracting firm, these two top executive
positions may be combined in smaller firms, and in larger ones there may be
more than one project manager. In general however, these positions are held
by individuals with years of successful experience who have applied their best
efforts to learning all aspects of mechanical contracting. These include not
only the craft skills, estimating and scheduling but finance and advanced leadership
and management skills.
Many executives holding these positions today came up through the ranks. More
and more however, college training is necessary, especially in management skills.
Almost all top managers nowadays have college educations.
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Professionals
While most jobs at all levels of mechanical contracting are open to those who
are able to demonstrate greater responsibility, performance and leadership-even
though they lack formal professional training-there are certain positions in
which a college degree is essential. These include the professional engineers,
designers and accountants who are also essential parts of a successful contracting
business.
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Other Executives
Other executive jobs of equal importance which often but not always call for
a college graduate are the comptroller and the purchasing agent. Briefly, the
comptroller is the chief financial executive and in many firms he may also
be one of the owners-who sees to it that the costs of performing the work at
hand do not exceed the amount of money the firm is to be paid for fulfilling
its contract. The purchasing agent-in some of the smaller firms this role may
be filled by the estimator-buys all the supplies, materials and equipment needed
for each project at the most economical price available, thus allowing the
firm to submit the most economical bid possible to a builder or owner, in order
to win the contract.
In common with many other types of firms, mechanical contracting also has need
of bookkeepers, stenographers, typists, file clerks and receptionists.
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Role of the Mechanical Contractor
As was mentioned earlier, the mechanical contractor and his team are vital
to the overall construction process. So important is this complex organization
of skilled specialists that the mechanical contract for most types of buildings
is usually the largest single contract involved in the construction.
On the job, the mechanical contractor works with other specialty contractors
who install the electrical system to provide light and power, erect the steel
framework, lay the flooring and cover the walls, apply the paint and plaster,
install insulation, glass and other necessary equipment and services.
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Growth Potential
Members of the mechanical contractor's team in whatever capacity, rapidly become
familiar through contact with these other specialists and professionals with
the overall construction process-the art, craft and science of modern building.
As they play their parts in installing boilers, controls, pipes of many varieties,
fixtures, air conditioning and other indoor climate control units, their understanding
of this modern equipment increases steadily. As they help protect and enhance
the well being of the people who will live and work or play in these buildings,
they gain true satisfaction. They have secured a rewarding career in the construction
industry and are truly stars in their own fields.
If members of the mechanical contracting team wish to progress further or select
other growing areas open to them, there are industrial piping and processing
systems to be installed in chemical, petroleum, power, desalinization and other
plants where complex, specialized piping is required. Here too, they can acquire
the knowledge and skills needed to attain a worthwhile career.
MCIC hopes that this booklet has given you an interesting and thought-provoking
view of one of the most exciting fields open to young people today. Whether
you like to work with machine or hand tools, or have an engineer's or designer's
talent, or are good at organizing projects, MCIC warmly invites you to think
about-and look into-a career in mechanical contracting. We believe that all
the potential rewards we've talked about are here-creativity, service to others,
worthwhile satisfying work, excellent compensation and stability plus the finest
personal growth possibilities anywhere. In mechanical contracting everybody
can be a star.
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