Influential Woman · Construction

Aishwarya Parmar

Consultant (Intermediate Estimator and Scheduler), WSP

Charlotte, NC

1Award received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering Degree Master's degree in Construction and Facilities Management (2021) Cert Procore certification and license Cert Safety certifications for construction

Her Story

About Aishwarya

I have been working as a consultant in construction for 5 years, focusing on pre-construction, project controls, and costing. My primary focus currently is the Marines and the Navy, particularly port projects, though I have catered to a lot of different markets in construction including healthcare, education, and embassy work. In my role, I look at the budgets, finalize the pricing, gather quotes, and do cost rundowns for the projects, then compare the forecasts and how it would go through all the construction phases. I work with a lot of stakeholders, which is both the biggest challenge and an opportunity because I get to connect with so many people and learn about a lot of things. The key is keeping everybody on the same page and making sure that we're following all the requirements given to us by the client, along with putting in all our knowledge and experiences. In my line of work, integrity, honesty, and credibility are most important because I have to be credible with the numbers and the scope, and I have to make sure all the parties involved in these projects are honest about their numbers and costs. I also need to not be biased to a certain company when awarding projects to subcontractors or contractors.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Aishwarya

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think I attribute my success to the team and the mentors, probably.

02What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I work with a lot of stakeholders - subcontractors, contractors, and clients - so the biggest challenge is keeping everybody on the same page and making sure that we're following all the requirements that are given to us by the client, along with just putting in all our knowledge and our experiences. Everybody comes from a different background, so that's the biggest challenge I believe. But it's also an opportunity, because you get to connect with so many people, so you get to learn about a lot of things.

03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

Integrity, honesty, and credibility are most important to me. In my line of work, I have to be credible with the numbers, with the scope that I'm doing, and it involves a lot of stakeholders. So I have to know that all the parties that are involved in these projects are really honest about their numbers, honest about the costs that they're presenting. On the other hand, I need to not be biased to a certain company when I'm awarding these projects to the subcontractors or the contractors. Credibility is crucial because I have to work with a lot of numbers and a lot of cost, so I have to back-check and do proofreading of each and every sentence that I write and each and every number that I write.

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