Work Experience

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Requirements

General Requirements

The Department of Construction Management requires all construction management students to complete a minimum of 500 documented hours of construction work with a state licensed general contractor, subcontractor, construction management company, or other approved employment.

At least 250 hours must come from management-related experience.

The work experience must be completed, submitted and approved prior to the final semester of study.

Types of Work Experience

Management

A minimum of 250 hours must be management related. There is no maximum on management experience; all 500 hours required to graduate can be management experience.

Trades or Labor

Trades or labor hours are not required but hours completed (up to a maximum of 250 hours) will count toward the 500 hours required, as long as the management minimum is met.

Charitable or Volunteer

Charitable or volunteer hours are not required, but hours completed (up to a maximum of 100 hours) will count toward the 500 hours required, as long as the management minimum is met.

Work Experience Submission Process

In 2021, the work experience submission process began its transition from post-employment submissions to pre-employment submissions. As of February 15, 2023, the post-employment submission form has been deactivated and is no longer accepting new submissions. Students are required to follow the pre-employment process detailed below unless instructed otherwise by the CMGT Work Experience Task Force.

Handshake Experience Request Steps
Flow Chart Pre-Approval
Step by Step Process Video (click below to open)

Pre-Employment Process

Part 1: Student Submission

Before beginning work, students submit information detailing the tasks performed along with their employer’s contact information via the Experiences tab in Handshake.
Handshake is accessed via PiratePort or by visiting https://ecu.joinhandshake.com/login.
Work experiences are submitted each semester (Spring, Summer, and Fall). Each term requires a new experience submission. This applies to all work experiences — even those that span multiple semesters with the same employer.
The experience is preapproved by the CMGT Department, and the employer is contacted at the end of the term to verify the work that has been completed.

Part 2: Employer Verification

Upon completion of the semester, the employer is contacted via email and completes the verification process. The employer only verifies the work completed for the selected semester. Each semester of work requires a new preapproval and a new employer verification.
Accurate company information is needed to ensure prompt processing of the preapproval and employer verification. Verification emails are sent from Handshake.
Students should complete the pre-employment submission as soon as they are offered a position to ensure the approval process is completed prior to commencement of work.
Students are expected to notify their employers that an email will be sent to them from Handshake requesting verification.
Verification typically takes about four weeks to complete. After verification of work experience hours is received from the employer, the student is informed of their status toward completing the 500 hours.
After the full requirements are complete, Degree Works is updated.

Questions? View responses to Frequently Asked Questions using the tab above.

If you have additional questions about the Work Experience submission process, contact cmgtworkexp@ecu.edu.

Reports and Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the CMGT department place me with an employer for my work experience?

No. Although the CMGT department provides resources to help you find opportunities, securing a position to satisfy the required hours is the student’s responsibility. Construction employers actively recruit for interns during the university career fairs held each semester. Students are advised to contact the ECU Career Center early in their first semester on campus. During the fall career fair, employers typically seek to fill intern positions for the next year. Often at the spring fair, employers have already filled their allocated intern positions based on the company’s projected workload and personnel budget.

Employers from previous intern experiences are listed in a summary report found under the REPORTS tab.

How will my work experience be classified?

The types of tasks assigned to students during their work experiences will vary greatly. Based on the detailed descriptions submitted by each student and assessment from their employer, their experiences will be classified into one of three categories:

MANAGEMENT experience. A minimum of 250 hours must be obtained in management experience. There is no maximum on management experience; all 500 hours required to graduate can be completed in management experience.
TRADES or LABOR experience. Trades or labor hours are not required but hours completed (up to a maximum of 250 hours) will count toward the 500 hours required, as long as the management minimum is met.
CHARITABLE/VOLUNTEER experience. Charitable/volunteer hours are not required, but hours completed (up to a maximum of 100 hours) will count toward the 500 hours required, as long as the management minimum is met.

If I am unsure how my future work experience will be classified or whether it will be accepted, what should I do?

Contact the CMGT Work Experience Task Force at cmgtworkexp@ecu.edu with details about your planned work experience (company name, job title and job responsibilities/tasks) for clarification. You can find examples of management-related tasks here.

Examples of Management Experiences (PDF)

I submitted a pre-employment form or a post-employment form for my work experience, but I have not heard anything about my hours.

There are 2 steps to the work experience verification process for pre-employment submissions:

Students will receive an email indicating whether their pre-employment form has been approved or denied. If information is missing, the experience request will be denied, and the student will be able to review the needed information in Handshake. If the email indicates that the pre-employment form is approved, the student does not need to do anything else.
At the end of the term, the student’s employer will be contacted directly by email to verify the student’s employment. The verification email will come from Handshake and students are responsible for ensuring their employer receives and responds to the department’s verification request. When verification is received, the work will be marked as complete in Handshake. If the employer states that the request has not been received, students should verify their employer’s email, ask their employer to check their SPAM folder, and if necessary, contact cmgtworkexp@ecu.edu to have the verification request resent.

There are 2 steps to the work experience verification process for post-employment submissions:

Students will receive an email confirming that the post-employment form has been received. If this email has not been received, students should check their SPAM folder and add cmgtworkexp@ecu.edu to their email contacts.
The student’s employer will be contacted directly via email to verify the student’s employment. Students are responsible for ensuring their employer receives and responds to the department’s verification request. Students will receive an additional email when the employer verifies the hours. If the employer states that the request has not been received, students should verify their employer’s email, ask their employer to check their SPAM folder, and if necessary, contact cmgtworkexp@ecu.edu to have the verification request resent.

Students should save all email correspondence as a part of their academic record.

My work experience hours are not showing up in Degree Works.

Degree Works is updated once the full 500 hour and management requirement is complete and verified, typically at the beginning of the student’s final semester. Partial hours are not recorded in Degree Works.

Will I be paid for the work experience?

Typically yes. Most construction employers provide paid internship opportunities. Some government agencies offer nonpaid internships that may count toward the work experience hours. Pay rates vary from employer to employer and depend on several things such as the skill set of the student, whether the placement is a second or third position with the same company, the number of hours worked, and where the job is geographically located.

Pay rates from previous intern experiences are listed in a summary report found under Reports and Resources.

What about living arrangements during my internship?

Many employers understand the complications of short-term housing and help their interns make housing arrangements. Students should ask employers about such assistance when discussing internship opportunities.

I plan to work for the same company during different periods such as winter break, spring break, and summers. Do I need to submit a new pre-employment form for each time period?

Yes. A separate pre-employment form is required for each term (spring, summer, or fall) even if the employer and supervisor remains the same.

I worked in my family business or under the supervisor of a family member. Do I need additional information for this type of work?

Yes. Employment in a family business or under supervision of a relative requires additional materials to be submitted showing legal employment such as a W-2 form or payroll records.

Will the hours worked in construction while I was in high school count?

Typically no. Your experiences should build upon the CMGT curriculum content you have completed to date. If an entering freshman worked in construction immediately before enrolling in the Construction Management program, this experience may be submitted. Generally, such experience tends to be categorized as TRADES or LABOR. Other prior work experiences are reviewed on case by case basis.

Contact Information

cmgtworkexp@ecu.edu

Due to a high volume of emails received from students and employers regarding work experiences, we respectfully ask for your patience as we work to respond to your messages. Our goal is to respond as soon as possible; however, during busy time periods it may take up to 10 business days to receive a response (excluding holidays and weekends).

To ensure you receive a timely response, we ask that you keep the following in mind:

The WE Task Force is composed of faculty and staff within the department. Please keep your messages respectful and courteous.
For questions related to the status of work experience hours, please ensure your message contains a subject and the body of the email includes your full name and Banner ID.
If you have multiple questions, please ask them in one email.
Please wait to re-send messages until the 10-business day period has passed.
Sending multiple messages in a short period of time will slow down our response time.
All work experience-related business is conducted via email. This helps to ensure that all interactions are documented for both the student and the Task Force.

Department:
CET Construction Management