Project Manager Shortage in Seattle Construction Market

In January 2020, the greater Seattle construction market continues to boom.  Tower cranes continue to dominate the skylines of Seattle, Bellevue and, increasingly, Tacoma.  Houses are being built throughout the Puget Sound Region everywhere you look.  We are living in the golden age of construction.  So much so our region is experiencing massive shortages in skilled labor and project management.

There are many articles addressing the skilled labor shortage so we’re focusing on the project management shortage here.  PM shortages exist within companies large and small.  Fortunately, there are many potential solutions to the PM shortage, each with their own pros and cons, including the following:

1)      Work longer hours and do your own project management
2)      Hire an experienced full time Project Manager
3)      Hire an inexperience full time Project Engineer
4)      Hire a Project Management Consultant

Option 1 – Do it yourself
DIY is not really an option for a large construction company but can be viable if you are a smaller contractor.  For smaller contractors, DIY means there is no added overhead and, as a business owner, you are intimately involved in your company’s projects.  The downside is that for every hour you are project managing, there is one less hour for business development, estimating, managing your employees and growing the business.  The DIY approach should only be used in a worst-case scenario if all other options are not available.

Option 2 – Hire an experienced full time Project Manager
Hiring an experienced, full time Project Manager may seem like the most logical and easiest solution.  An experienced PM can jump right in a start managing project immediately without hand holding and extensive training.  However, finding an available PM in this market is extremely challenging.

Hiring a full time Project Manager may be cost prohibitive to your company as well.  Salary.com has the annual median compensation package for a Construction Project Manager in the Seattle area at $162,359. In today’s competitive environment, you may be forced to pay over market scale just to get someone to “jump ship” and join your team.

Option 3 – Hire an entry level Project Engineer
Hiring an entry level Project Engineer can be more cost-effective than hiring an experienced PM.  Salary.com has the annual median compensation package for a Construction Project Engineer 1 in the Seattle Area at $105,586.

While cheaper than a PM, this option carries a hefty price tag for an employee who knows little about construction and will require intensive training and management.  However, within a large organization with PMs to management them, entry level PEs are often a good investment.

Option 4 – Hire a Project Management Consultant who specialized in Construction
Project Management Consultants can offer the best of all worlds.  You can have an experienced Project Manager without the annual overhead commitment of having a full-time employee.  This makes even more sense if you are a contractor that does not need a full time PM.  The beauty of a consultant is that you only pay for what you need and not a penny more.  Consultants can assist with all project management duties, cost tracking, estimating support, and construction planning.  They also have extensive professional networks that can help you connect with key people within your industry.

In summary, there are several ways to address today’s project management shortage in the greater Seattle Area.  If you have the resources, and are able to find and hire a full-time PM or PE, great!  If you want to run lean and mean and DIY your project management, more power to you!

If you are like many companies and business owner for whom Options 1-3 are not really options, I would encourage you to reach out to Bowman Construction Consulting.  At Bowman Construction Consulting, we serve construction companies from a variety of trades and are ready and able to help you fill the gap in your project management needs.  Please reach out to Zach Bowman (206) 235-5399 or via email at zach@bowmancc.com to find out more about how we can help your construction business capitalize on the golden era of construction that we are currently living in.

References:

Salary.com Seattle Construction Project Manager - Median Compensation = $162,359
Salary.com Seattle Construction Project Engineer - Median Compensation = $105,586