Building Credibility as an Outsider in Construction

One of the smartest things I ever did on a job was shut up and listen to a D6 operator. He told me the drainage plan wouldn’t work the way it was designed. Too steep, too tight, and the material would slough when he tried to cut the key. I didn’t argue, I just asked him to walk me through it. He was right. We tweaked the alignment, flattened the grade, and made it easier to build. It saved us three days and a lot of finger-pointing. Here’s the thing: The operator knew the ground. He knew the machine. He knew how the proposed design would hold up to conditions. He saw things I didn’t, because he lives it every day. As engineers, we don’t lose credibility by listening, we gain it. The construction team isn’t there to execute blindly. They’re there to collaborate. And if we pretend they don’t have a role in design, we’re setting ourselves up for cost overruns and safety risks. Every time I’ve been wrong in this business, it involved ignoring someone who actually knew better. #ConstructionEngineering #FieldExperience #CivilEngineering #BuildableDesign #Constructability

In 2012, I answered a LinkedIn ad for the VP of Marketing role at HCSS. After 2 months of detailed interviews and a math test, I was offered the job. The biggest challenge was that I didn’t know the heavy civil/infrastructure industry, or what we call the Dirt World. I had experience in farming, the Marines, and healthcare, but the Dirt World was a foreign concept. And here I was in charge of marketing to our customers. So I needed to get smart. And unfortunately, I didn’t have many resources. I spent hours with Mike Rydin, sat through Heavy Job implementations with customers in the CHIC, went to tradeshows and UGM, and listened to sales calls. All of that helped, but learning was slow. I didn’t visit a construction job site until 5 years later as part of filming for I Build America. I don’t think I was alone in my ignorance. My guess is that 1 - 2 million people in the U.S. who support the Dirt World don’t understand it. If you’re in that group, here are a few suggestions that have helped me: 1. (Free) Listen to the Dirt Talk podcast. Aaron does a great job interviewing all types of construction leaders about their challenges and solutions. 2. (Free) Follow Aaron Witt on social and YouTube - he does a great job showing and explaining the Dirt World in layman terms. 3. (Free) Ask your customers to show you a few job sites. When you get there, ask questions. Most people working in the Dirt World are happy to explain what they’re doing. 4. (Paid) Get BuildWitt Training for your company. 3 to 5 minutes a day adds up quickly – 17.5 hours of training for me last year. This week I learned about thrust blocks, asphalt plants, and how to handle tough conversations with Simon Sinek. Are there any other helpful resources for outsiders to learn about our industry?

When I started out, I wasn’t building my CV — I was building context But I wanted in - into rooms that felt exciting, fast-moving, and out of reach. So I tried a few things that, in hindsight, actually worked. Here’s what helped (and might help you too if you’re building from scratch): ➡️ Start with what you can do, not what you wish you had No internship? Offer to help on a side project. Research. Write. Build. Show up with energy. Start with proof of work! ➡️ Borrow credibility Collaborate, contribute, co-create. It compounds. ➡️ Document as you go Make your work visible. If they can’t see you, they can’t back you. LinkedIn posts, notion pages. miro boards, Even a google doc of insights - anything that says: I think, I build, I reflect. ➡️ Talk to people, not companies You’re not convincing an HR bot — you’re reaching out to humans. Be clear. Be curious. And keep it short. ➡️ You don’t need experience — you need exposure Get close to problems. That’s where the learning is. Even if you’re not being paid for it yet, the return is compounding. The world isn’t just hiring for polished résumés. The world is starting to hire for potential, proof of work, and perspective. You don’t need a traditional background to make a career work. You just need undeniable evidence that you know what you’re doing — or you’re obsessed with learning how. That’s what I’m still doing today. Building the plane as I fly it — just with more confidence now. If you’re doing the same, I see you. And if this hit home, drop a comment and share how you’re building credibility from scratch. #earlycareers #growth