CoSci students seek internships, jobs at department’s Career Fair

Texas A&M construction science students encountered a lively job and internship market with 68 companies assembled to vie for the best and brightest among them during the Department of Construction Science Career Fair, held Feb. 9 at the Brazos County Expo Complex in Bryan.

The first of two spring career fairs, the event featured companies affiliated with the department’s [Construction Industry Advisory Council] (http://cosc.arch.tamu.edu/industry/) . Another fair for non-member companies will be held Feb. 21 at the Langford Architecture Center on the Texas A&M campus. Both fairs provide students with a virtual construction industry smorgasbord, with potential employers filling the gamut between single-office firms and multinational companies, general contractors and specialty subcontractors.

The fairs provide both students and potential employers valuable face-time to peddle talents and opportunities.

“It’s nice to have access to companies,” said job hunter Ruben Watson, a member of the Class of 2011, adding that the fair, so far, was going “super great” for him.

The stellar reputation of Texas A&M construction science graduates, “the quality of the program and the quality of the students,” is a big draw for job recruiters, said Michael Blakemore, a client executive with [Linbeck] (http://www.linbeck.com/) and member of the Aggie Class of 1993, who was in College Station looking for students he considered “the best of the best.”

Another benefit to job-hunting Texas A&M students, Aggies hire Aggies, noted Scott Willingham, project manager with [Anslow Bryant] (http://www.abc-ltd.com/) and a member of the Texas A&M Class of 1997. “A&M is the leader in construction management,” he said, “about fifty percent of our general contractors and subcontractors are Aggies.”

Gracie Jimenez, a junior construction science student reported just one hour into the daylong fair that she’d already lined up two interviews for summer internship positions.

Because internships are vital to the success of construction students readying for the job market, the [Department of Construction Science] (http://cosc.arch.tamu.edu/) requires all undergraduate students to spend at least one semester engaged in a professional internship. In addition to gaining valuable hands-on job experience, internships often provide students a foray to a full time job.

“We have been coming here for a number of years,” said recruiter Wes Hilderbrand ’06, project manager for [W. S. Bellows] (http://www.wsbellows.com/) . “Most full-time hires” result, he said, “from the internship.”