An Interview With…A Contracts Manager

This is part three of my ‘Interview With…’ career mini series – I hope you’ve enjoyed the other two interviews with Olivia Tilley, a Quantity Surveyor and Sophie Richardson, a Small Business Owner. In today’s post we meet Stephen McClean, a Contracts Manager working in the Construction Industry. Our first Interviewee Olivia also works in Construction so for those not familiar with the industry, it’s great to gain a bit of an insight into roles like Stephen’s and Olivia’s.

Thanks for sharing your journey Stephen!

1.What’s your name, age and what do you do?

Stephen McClean, I’m 48 years old and I’m Contracts Manager for Esh Civils, a regional civil engineering company based in County Durham. I oversee and manage numerous construction sites within the Civil sector – Civils is basically roads, bridges, drainage and sewerage systems.

2. How long have you done this job?

I have worked at Esh for 10 years as a Construction Manager but I’ve been in construction 25 years in both engineering and management. Before this role, I was an Engineer for 6 years then a Site Manager for 9 years before I applied to be a Contracts Manager.

3. How did you get your job?

A pretty standard route – I was interviewed for the role whilst I was a site manager for a smaller civil engineering company based in Gateshead.

4. Is this a career that you planned?

I always had civil engineering in my career plans and I focused on maths and physics in school. I then did an HND in civil engineering at University of Ulster and then my degree in civil engineering in Edinburgh.

5. If someone wanted to do what you do, what would you advise?

For me, experience is key, better than more and more education. Start off in a more general role on a construction site such as a trainee engineer or labourer and you can work your way up.

6. Where do you see yourself in 2 years?

Probably exactly where I am now career wise however, every day and each location is different in this job so I look forward to that.

Finally – any words of wisdom for anyone considering a career change or wondering which path to take?

Always follow your heart, do a job you can enjoy and feel proud of. Good luck!

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