Building a Career in the Construction Industry One Project at a Time

Oct 28, 2019

A career in construction was a natural fit for Mark Hamm. He was exposed to the industry at a young age because his dad was a supervisor at Branch Civil. He always wanted to spend time with him as a kid, and when Mark graduated high school in 1986, he immediately went to work for the company.

Mark’s path has been pretty straight forward. He worked as a laborer for about a year, an operator for 10 years, and held various supervisor roles for the last 23 years. Currently, he’s a Project Superintendent and recognizes that a lot of the people coming into the industry today didn’t grow up around construction like he did. That’s one of the reasons why he’s a hands-on supervisor like his dad.

“I’ve always been one to let people do things their way as long as they get it done, but it’s important to show that I’m not out there just running up and down the road,” Mark said. “I’ll get on the equipment and show them how to do something if they need help. You have to know what you’re building before you can build it.”

Mark has been at Branch Civil for 33 years and is proud that he’s made it this far in his career with a high school diploma. From stricter Department of Environmental Quality regulations to a decreased interest in the skilled trades, he’s had to adapt over the years. He remembers a time when you could put an ad in the paper for an operator and hear from 25 qualified applicants. That’s not the case anymore, and as the industry tries to attract younger generations, Mark thinks getting them around the equipment may help spark interest. That’s what he found intriguing growing up and has always been amazed by the amount of dirt and materials you could move in a day.

“That’s my favorite part. You start with a wooded area and make something out of it,” Mark explained. “I enjoy seeing mountainous land transformed into something that you and your men built together.”

If you’re in the industry or thinking about exploring a career, Mark’s advice is to be a team leader, whether you’re a laborer or superintendent.

“If you want to jump ahead in this business, you have to take the initiative. Someone will train you and teach you the rest. Positions are here for the taking,” Mark said. “If you show that you’re trying, not a lot of people are going to say anything to you for doing something wrong.”
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Branch Civil roots itself in a longstanding tradition of serving the transportation and infrastructural needs throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States. The company’s history of planting, cultivating, and growing transparent, professional relationships with its clients has established Branch Civil as a respected name within the civil construction industry of our regions.

Branch Civil offers a dynamic range of services, including heavy civil construction, design-build, and site development. If you’d like to learn more about a career in construction with Branch Civil, please visit branchcivil.com/careers.

For more information about The Branch Group, please visit branchgroup.com.

Branch Civil offers a dynamic range of services, including heavy civil construction, design-build, and site development. Our history of planting, cultivating, and growing transparent, professional relationships with our clients has established us as a respected name within the civil construction industry. As a 100 percent employee-owned company, our employees have a vested interest in the successful completion of every project and absolute satisfaction for every client.

Functioning as a business unit of the Branch Group, we serve clients in Virginia, West Virginia, and the Carolinas. Learn more at www.branchcivil.com.

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