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How old should you be to start a construction career?
I'm 16 years old
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Kandice’s Answer
Hi! For most jobs in the construction industry, you need to be 18, especially in California. However, you can prepare for a job in construction as soon as you want. The first step is to figure out if you want to work in the office of a construction company, or out in the field. Depending on your answer, you'll need a different set of skills. Also, focus on your high school education, if you're still in high school. Obtaining a diploma is a great foundation for your future journey in Construction, because there are many entry-level positions that do not require a college degree.
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Brook’s Answer
You will definitely need to be 18, the reasons being is for company insurance. Not a lot of places are willing to have a chance of a minor hurt on site. There are a lot of opportunities to be able to get your foot in the door. Now would be a time to get into the vocational programs at your high school or looking into courses at a community college. They’re are different types of construction, I would highly recommend getting into structural welding. Work is abundant, 3 shops on the same street will have more work they can handle and they aren’t even competing for the same jobs, shops always need welders. Welding pays very well and you don’t need a degree, you will need a diploma at the minimum.
Talk to your high school counselor, ask about welding. Or better, ask for one at your community college.
Look into getting enrolled into a community college and enrolling in welding courses, yes you can take a class or two, it does not need to be all at once
Find out if you want to work in a union, if you get into a union at 18, you can retire after 25 years with a pension. (I’m 35 just started building a retirement)
Brook recommends the following next steps: