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Waking up early in the morning, the possibility of buying a home at 20 and the satisfaction that comes with a job well done. These are all the hallmarks and perks of a career in construction, according to a Monday webinar to mark Construction Inclusion Week 2026.
The conversation showcased business careers for the next generation of workers as a high-income career “Plan A.”
Moderated by Erin Bibo, executive director of the talent development initiative Hire Local DC, the overall theme aligned with this year’s focus for CIW, which has evolved beyond simple inclusion. to emphasize workforce developmenta critical need for the sector. The panelists highlighted the monetary advantages and career opportunities present in the sector.
For example, Mysoun Patrick, a first-year carpenter apprentice at Turner Construction, said he passed up roughly $500,000 in scholarship offers coming out of high school to earn money sooner while learning practical skills. The path has now led him, at the age of 20, to buy his first house with his girlfriend.
“I’m an apprentice and I’m already making a lot of money,” Patrick said during the panel. “Carpenters, they start out making $36 to $40 an hour, and in four years, you know, it’s going to be $1 to $2 every year.”
The ability to quickly increase revenue was a recurring theme. Toni Casey, a licensed electrician with experience in apprenticeship programs who works in the Future Facilities Youth Apprenticeship Program for the Department of Energy and Environment in Washington, DC, said she had an epiphany early in her career.
As a third-year apprentice, Casey reflected on the common cries he heard at school about the impracticality of certain subjects.
“A lot of the time, you’ll hear people say, ‘When am I going to use the Pythagorean theorem?’ You use it a lot in construction,” he said.
However, in addition to seeing the relevance of geometry to his work, he also earned $70,000 to $80,000 a year.
“And I’m pretty sure that’s more than my high school teacher who was teaching me the Pythagorean theorem was doing,” Casey said. “The reality is that construction workers make a lot of money.”
Wake up call
Money doesn’t come just for showing up, though. The panel highlighted the hard work of construction, the sand and dirt involved in the work and the need to wake up as early as 3am to get to a site.
“This is an in-person job, you’re not sitting at home,” said Anne Finerfrock, vice president of contractor WE Bowers of Beltsville, Md. “Sometimes the barriers to entry are that this is hard work.”
For those who can handle those demands, however, there’s money to be made while building a solid career, Finerfrock said. “It might not be for everyone, and that’s okay,” she said.
At the same time, the panelists emphasized the need to leave the ego at the door while being eager to learn.
“Show up every day with an attitude that you want to learn, but you also have to have some humility,” Finerfrock said. “I think that’s one thing that really drives a person’s career, is knowing, ‘I have a lot to learn here.'”
Casey said she learned a lesson in humility at one point in her career when she was fired. The why? He got into the habit of being two minutes late to work, even though he lived nearby.
“Not because my work wasn’t good, not because it wasn’t needed,” Casey said. “It’s just that if they can’t depend on you, they don’t want you.”
If workers can come to the industry with humility and a willingness to learn, opportunities to learn about news skills and technology are abundant, the panelists said.
“You walk through the fabulous store and the team we have there is incredibly exciting,” Finerfrock said. “There are opportunities within CAD, which is computer-aided design or BIM, building information modeling and virtual design and construction.”
A fast track to career advancement is another aspect that sets construction apart, panelists said.
“Typically in other job sectors, it takes a long time to progress to senior roles,” said Casey, who said he started his own business shortly after completing his electrician apprenticeship. “So you can become whatever you want.”
