2021 Women in Construction: Nicole Phillips, Senior Project Manager, Network Design and Construction, Inc.

What was your greatest achievement or most notable project in the last 12 months? The greatest achievement was the renovation project of an occupied health care facility. Due to the pandemic the construction industry faced challenges. This particular project was notable as we were able to overcome these challenges and satisfied the customer’s expectation. We experienced minimal impact with material delays as the material procurement was completed just before the shutdown. Maintaining productivity while adhering to the state requirement of social distancing as multiple trades were unable to work simultaneously as before was another challenge. But the challenge that defines the project was ensuring that construction didn’t disrupt COVID testing while maintaining the schedule.

Why should women consider a career in the A/E/C industry? There are so many reasons why women should consider a career in the A/E/C industry namely: It provides a sense of empowerment and fulfillment, financial gain, developing practical skills, and an opportunity to peer with our male counterpart. The most important is the financial gain. There are not many industries that offers a higher paying salary for women, the A/E/C industry provides such opportunity. Statistics show that within the A/E/C industry, women get paid more than other industries that are historically women dominated.