Architecture & Construction

Speaker Information

About the Industry

Local Industry

Careers in the architecture and construction cluster involve designing and building homes, roads, and other structures. Nearly all of the construction and extraction occupations and many of the architecture and engineering occupations in the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) are assigned to this cluster.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counted about 7.8 million jobs in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) occupations that are assigned to the architecture and construction cluster. Median annual wages for these occupations ranged from $23,940 for landscaping and groundskeeping workers to $84,410 for construction managers.

More than half of the occupations in this cluster typically require a high school diploma or equivalent. However, specific designations range from less than a high school diploma and short-term on-the-job training for carpet installers to a bachelor’s degree and an internship for occupations such as architects.

BLS projects most job openings in the architecture and construction cluster to be in occupations assigned to the construction pathway. The occupation expected to have the largest number of job openings in the cluster is construction laborers.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Kansas City’s architecture and engineering industry is responsible for the foundation of the city’s infrastructure. As early as the 1900s, Kansas City engineering firms began to notice problems with Kansas City’s infrastructure including its water system and electric lights.

In 1898, Clinton Burns and Robert McDonnell joined to form Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, and tackled the sewer sanitation system in Kansas City and surrounding towns. After several projects in its first year, the new company made a profit of only 13 cents. Burns & McDonnell designed Kansas City’s first water treatment plant, which it updated again in 1945 to carry 150 million gallons of water per day.

In 1915, Ernst Bateman Black and Nathan Thomas Veatch, began a partnership that would become an engineering legacy. Black & Veatch began building roadways and streets in Kansas City in 1925. By 1928, 250 miles of modern roadway were placed throughout the Kansas City area.

Many civic projects in Kansas City were constructed in the 1960s and 70s including the Truman Sports Complex, KCI Airport, Kemper Arena and the Truman Medical Center.

HOK Group also succeeded in the sports, venue and event industry. In 1983, HOK Sport Venue Event division, now called Populous, was formed and employed eight architects and engineers. Populous was responsible for master planning the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London.

The concentration of successful architecture and engineering companies has made Kansas City a leader in the industry.

Source: Kansas City Area Development Council