Her Story
About Brittany
I've been working in construction for about 7 years as an assistant superintendent. My role involves a lot of managing people on site, managing the schedule and safety of projects from the field, and helping the owners and architects communicate with all the subcontractors to make sure a project gets done on time, safely, and hopefully not over budget. I actually went to college for communication and got my bachelor's from High Point University, so coming into construction was a bit of a different perspective. I had trouble finding work that paid well after college, so I ended up bouncing around through a lot of part-time stuff and ended up in landscaping, which I just loved the environment. I grew up around construction because my dad worked for a general contractor, so I saw a lot of what he did. After my experience landscaping, I felt confident enough that I could kind of hold my own in another male-dominated industry, so I interviewed with a family-owned general contractor and got my start. Since joining construction, I've gotten my OSHA 10, OSHA 30, a lot of safety and first aid trainings, and some leadership courses as well.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Brittany
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to just being determined and having a strong work ethic, and not believing stereotypes about the industry and what women are capable of. I've always believed that I can do anything I want if I work hard for it, and I think that's played out. My dad has definitely been a role model for me - we haven't worked directly with each other on the same project, even though we worked at the same company for a few years, but he's been a huge influence. A lot of the superintendents that I've worked for have become mentors as well, and that support has been invaluable.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received was that I can do anything I want if I work hard for it, and I think that's really played out in my career. It's been a guiding principle that has helped me navigate challenges and push through barriers in a male-dominated industry.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering this field is that you don't have to see somebody that looks like you doing the job to step up and do it well. Don't let the lack of representation hold you back from pursuing what you want to do in construction or any other field.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges and opportunities in my field are really two sides of the same coin. There aren't that many women in leadership, and there aren't that many women in the field, especially. So we're trying to make space for more feminine styles of leadership. There's definitely a need for it, but it's not always seen as the quote-unquote right way to lead, because you get a lot of big, loud personalities that think their way is the only way. But we're definitely creating more space for female leadership. There's a lot of statistics out there that talk about how companies and projects with mixed-gendered teams generally do better on budget, schedule, and safety overall. So there's a huge benefit in having that female perspective, but just making sure that everybody knows there's more than one way to do something in the field and establishing that credibility.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me in my work and personal life are always being committed to doing quality work and being a team player. So much of construction is about working with other people and building relationships, and I believe that's fundamental to success in this industry.
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