Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Architect to construction general contractor

An architect already meets 24% of what the construction general contractor role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From architect
24 % overlap
Distant match
To construction general contractor
10 You already bring
14 Still to learn
39 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

74/ 100

1 How much of what a construction general contractor is expected to do is already part of an architect’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the construction general contractor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A construction general contractor role treats 4 of its required skills as things an architect already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • ensure compliance with construction project deadline
  • green building practices
  • manage contracts
  • monitor parameters' compliance in construction projects

What stands in the way is 14 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A construction general contractor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an architect background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held envelope systems for buildings engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held monitor parameters' compliance in construction projects information skills
  • already held zero-energy building design engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held communicate with construction crews communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held green building practices engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • already held building codes engineering, manufacturing and construction

All 10 carried skills, including the 4 the construction general contractor role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 29 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information skills 5 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn perform quality control of design during a run required
  • still to learn audit contractors required
  • still to learn keep records of work progress required
  • still to learn monitor construction site required
  • still to learn read standard blueprints required
  • optional, not held inspect construction supplies optional
  • optional, not held review construction projects optional
02 business, administration and law 3 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn construction product regulation required
  • still to learn contract law required
  • still to learn real estate market required
  • optional, not held project commissioning optional
  • optional, not held quality assurance methodologies optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn identify customer objectives required
  • still to learn communicate with customers required
  • still to learn coordinate construction activities required
  • optional, not held advise architects optional
04 assisting and caring 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn check construction compliance required
  • still to learn follow health and safety procedures in construction required
  • optional, not held manage health and safety standards optional
  • optional, not held use safety equipment in construction optional
05 management skills 1 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn monitor contractor performance required
  • optional, not held plan allocation of space optional
  • optional, not held coordinate marketing plan actions optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional
  • optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
06 engineering, manufacturing and construction 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held decommissioning optional
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
  • optional, not held renewable energy optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a construction general contractor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 10 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held ensure compliance with construction project deadline skill
  • already held green building practices knowledge
  • already held manage contracts skill
  • already held monitor parameters' compliance in construction projects skill
  • already held building codes knowledge
  • already held communicate with construction crews skill
  • already held energy efficiency knowledge
  • already held energy performance of buildings knowledge
  • already held envelope systems for buildings knowledge
  • already held zero-energy building design knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 arts and humanities 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held design principles optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held decommissioning optional
  • optional, not held plan allocation of space optional
  • optional, not held project commissioning optional
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
  • optional, not held advise architects optional
  • optional, not held coordinate marketing plan actions optional
  • optional, not held design principles optional
  • optional, not held inspect construction supplies optional
  • optional, not held manage health and safety standards optional
  • optional, not held perform project management optional
  • optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
  • optional, not held quality assurance methodologies optional
  • optional, not held renewable energy optional
  • optional, not held review construction projects optional
  • optional, not held use safety equipment in construction optional
85 held skills the construction general contractor role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role adapt existing designs to changed circumstances skill
  • not needed by the target role advise customers on building materials skill
  • not needed by the target role advise legislators skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on building matters skill
  • not needed by the target role airtight construction knowledge
  • not needed by the target role apply systemic design thinking skill
  • not needed by the target role architectural conservation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role architectural design knowledge
  • not needed by the target role architectural theory knowledge
  • not needed by the target role architecture regulations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role assess environmental impact skill
  • not needed by the target role assess heating and cooling systems skill
  • not needed by the target role building information modelling knowledge
  • not needed by the target role building materials industry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role carry out tendering skill
  • not needed by the target role cartography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role communicate with local residents skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct field work skill
  • not needed by the target role consider building constraints in architectural designs skill
  • not needed by the target role construction legal systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role create architectural sketches skill
  • not needed by the target role create solutions to problems skill
  • not needed by the target role design an artificial lighting system skill
  • not needed by the target role design building air tightness skill
  • not needed by the target role design building envelope systems skill
  • not needed by the target role design building retrofitting solutions skill
  • not needed by the target role design buildings skill
  • not needed by the target role design harmonious architecture skill
  • not needed by the target role design microclimates in buildings skill
  • not needed by the target role design open spaces skill
  • not needed by the target role design passive energy measures skill
  • not needed by the target role design spatial layout of outdoor areas skill
  • not needed by the target role design window and glazing systems skill
  • not needed by the target role develop a specific interior design skill
  • not needed by the target role develop architectural plans skill
  • not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
  • not needed by the target role draw blueprints skill
  • not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role ensure infrastructure accessibility skill
  • not needed by the target role environmental design knowledge

45 further entries not listed here

9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn construction product regulation required
  • still to learn contract law required
  • still to learn real estate market required
  • optional, not held decommissioning optional
  • optional, not held project commissioning optional
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
  • optional, not held design principles optional
  • optional, not held quality assurance methodologies optional
  • optional, not held renewable energy optional
Index

Other moves recorded from architect

Full index of moves from architect

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an architect become a construction general contractor?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. An architect already covers 24% of what a construction general contractor is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 4 of which the construction general contractor role treats as required.

What skills does an architect need to become a construction general contractor?

14 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is construction product regulation.

How hard is the move from architect to construction general contractor?

Its learning distance is 74 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.