News & Awards

If you’ve read our earlier blogs you know how passionate we are about this industry. Our mission is to not only better the lives of the people in our community, but to encourage people to join us in living out this mission. While it’s true anyone can pursue a career in construction at any stage of life, right now we want to focus on the young folks.
Students are in an interesting, and perpetually stressful, position. While balancing schoolwork, sports, hobbies, family, and friends they are also required to make one of the biggest decisions of their life. The majority of the time this then forces them to take the path that is most accepted in society: college. Now we want to be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing a college degree considering it is needed for many professions. 

But what if there was another course? What if burying yourself in mountains of debt while chasing a degree you may or may not be passionate about isn’t the only option? Would you explore another alternative? Let us tell you why you should.

There Are Openings

According to an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released March 23, 2021 by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), there is need for over 430,000 workers in the construction industry. This field is rapidly growing, and the demand for labor is constantly increasing. It is estimated that nearly 300,000 workers will be retiring in the next 10 years. Basically, if you work hard and take pride in your job, you’ll always have work in this field.

The Money Ain’t Bad

We’re going to quickly debunk the myth that construction workers aren’t paid well, then move on to the next topic. Construction has been a multi-billion-dollar industry for decades; but currently, congress is looking at trillion-dollar infrastructure packages. From building residential homes to paving highways, there’s an opportunity for any construction worker to earn a very decent living. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average range for most positions in construction begins around $30/hour with weekly earnings of over $1,200/week. Compared to the average hourly earnings of all employees in the U.S. as of May 2021, construction wages are pretty outstanding. (For reference, those average earnings are less than $12/hour).

You Can Build a Life-Long Career

This may sound like a given for most careers out there, but it’s a little different in construction. Like we’ve mentioned in the past, construction offers a chance to have a career without the need of a four-year college or any type of degree. All that’s needed from you is a willingness to learn and continuously improve, some safety equipment, and good work ethic. If you have that, all that’s left is for us to teach you. But if you need a little more convincing, here’s some proof: 1) MW’s VP of operations started as a laborer,  2) our Equipment Manager is an operator by trade, 3) the Personnel Manager started sweeping the floors in the truck shop as did our Scheduling Manager. We could go on, but you get the point.

A Meaningful Life

This facet of the industry seems to be overlooked by people who may not understand us. But that’s okay. We’ll explain.
Look around you. What do you see? The walls of the building you’re in. The roads forming the path to wherever you are. The bridge built over water that connects you to the other side. The water coming out of your faucet or the steady flow of electricity into the lights around your home. We did that. Everything that makes up the conveniences in people’s lives were built by this industry. We don’t usually get the recognition we might deserve, but that’s okay. We’re pretty humble people so applause has never been a goal for us. The quality of our work is what matters, not the recognition. Despite the lack of acknowledgment, 64% of people working in construction felt accomplished by their work and saw their job as an essential part of the world that made a difference. According to a report by Job Talks, that’s almost 20% more than the rest of the population. Sounds like a pretty meaningful life to us.

Traveling is Common

Currently, MW has jobs in several states around the country. You could be at St. Louis Lambert Airport one day, then be traveling to North Carolina the next. The cool thing is, this isn’t just a perk of MW. The construction industry is constantly moving, and oftentimes that means there’s opportunity for jobs at different locations. So if being paid to travel is your thing, consider a career in construction.

Never Boring

Construction is complex and can be challenging. While most days are enjoyable, we wouldn’t necessarily call it easy. But that’s a good thing. In this field, doing the same thing every day is a rarity so getting bored is pretty uncommon. This type of work also allows you to continuously learn and evolve. Innovation is one of MW core values, so the ever-changing nature of construction means we are constantly put in a position to think differently and come up with new ideas. 

The People

This is probably the most important reason to join the construction industry: the people. This world is filled with some of the most hard-working, passionate, kind, and truly incredible people you’ll ever meet. It may sound like a cliché at this point, but it doesn’t make it any less true. We are a family. Not just the people in our company, but the people in the entire industry. Sure we may bid on the same jobs and compete with one another to win some award but, at the end of the day, our goals to better our communities are the same. And we respect the hell out of each other for it.

As always, we’re here if you want to chat. You know where to find us.