Construction Technology – Carpentry students take their skills to next level with Bachelor of Applied Science in Business at Montana Technological University

Three students at Highlands College of Montana Tech say the two-year Associate of Science Construction Technology – Carpentry program has prepared them for the job market that they intend to transfer to north campus at the end of the year to complete a Bachelor of Applied Science in Business (Construction Management track) to gain knowledge and skills that will allow them to advance even further in their future careers.

Montana Tech and Highlands College collaborate to offer a carefully tailored transfer program where students can earn both an associate’s and bachelor’s degree in just four years. First students earn an Associate of Science degree in Construction Technology-Carpentry. They can continue to the Bachelor of Applied Science in Business (Construction Management track), where they take two additional years of courses that delve deeper into the management, leadership, and business side of the industry.

Zachary Young started at another liberal arts college in Montana, but decided he wanted to be an engineer. After transferring to Montana Tech, he found that wasn’t quite the right fit for him either.

“I ended up not liking engineering and came down to Highlands,” Young said. “I would say that attending Highlands is better than going and doing just an apprenticeship. You're going to come out with an associate's degree, which is big. You can start off a little bit higher with the degree, so you don't have to start off as the low man on the totem pole.”  

Young completed one summer internship at Caliber Construction, and says he enjoys working in the industry, even if it means working in 125-degree heat in Arizona. He’s headed to Whiting Turner, also in Arizona, this summer. Young says Montana Tech’s Career Fair showcased the opportunities available in the construction industry.

“I was surprised by how many recruiters called me over at the Career Fair,” Young said. “They spotted the carpentry dot on my name tag.”  

Young felt prepared for the internships he had based on his coursework from Highlands College. Students complete a 2-year curriculum that revolves around building a 3-bedroom, 2-bath modular home from start to finish, including reading blueprints, site layout, framing, CAD design, and completing interior and exterior finishes. Students also learn how to be savvy businesspeople, with classes in business law, accounting, and estimating costs.

“We go through two management classes, estimating, blueprint reading,” Young said. “The instructors teach us everything here, so you're pretty much set up right out of the gate to know everything on the job site. When you first walk in, they start off with a tape measure test, and the bare basics and then bring you all the way up to speed.”

Through careful planning, Young has already taken some of the upper division classes required for the Bachelor of Applied Science in Business with classmates Evan Winkler of Billings and Jared Edwards, of Colorado.

“We've already taken Business Law, Intro to Business, Microeconomics/Macroeconomics, and Accounting,” Edwards said.

“We are kind of ahead of the game,” Winkler noted.

Winkler started out as a laborer at Jones Construction in Billings, and the 2-year to 4-year program at Highlands and Montana Tech stood out to him, especially as he worked in the field and saw the opportunity to learn more and access more jobs in the industry.

“You can decide at the beginning, I'm just going to go two years, but then later you can decide ‘Oh, I actually enjoy this, and you can do the business side, too,’” Winkler said.

Edwards said he enjoyed his internship with Engineered Structures Incorporated in Boise, Idaho. He saw the opportunities for growth while working there.

“I know at my internship there were definitely positions for that business side,” Edwards said. “Just because you are in the construction industry, you don’t have to be on-site. In our industry, construction and project management, there's always opportunities for project managers, project engineers, superintendents with strong salaries.”

To learn more about the Highlands College Associate of Science in Construction Technology-Carpentry degree, click here. To learn more about the Bachelor of Applied Science in Business (Construction Management track, click here.