​Do you enjoy working with your hands? Do you like to see the results of your labour? Are you looking for a stable career where you can earn good money? Do you dream of one day running your own company? Then working in the construction industry could be exactly what you are looking for.

Working in construction allows you to learn a variety of skills and to work in different places. It offers job stability and career progression. Construction work can be both rewarding and satisfying. Here are five reasons you should pursue a career in construction:

1. It’s not a desk job

It can seem to a lot of people that there is no alternative but to be trapped in an office from 9 to 5 every day. Construction offers a fantastic career that allows you to avoid this fate. Sitting at a desk for eight hours a day might suit some people but for many of us, there couldn’t be anything worse. Recent studies have shown that sitting too long can drastically shorten your lifespan even if you work out regularly. It’s not just that sitting at a desk is bad for you it can also be incredibly boring. Working in construction there are many roles that allow you to work outside and be active all day doing something with tangible results. No need to go to the gym after work as you can get all the exercise you need on the job.

2. Career stability and progression

The construction industry is constantly growing and as it does so, it needs to recruit even more workers. There is an increasing demand for construction workers so choosing to work in this industry can give you a job for life without being forced to change careers at an inconvenient time. These days many industries are worried about how increasing automation will affect employment. In construction, new technologies are actually creating more jobs, as people are needed to operate more sophisticated machines.

Construction offers great opportunity to progress and develop your career. Beginning in an entry-level position as a labourer you will have the chance to learn new skills and take on more advanced roles. Those with managerial ambitions will in time have the opportunity to run their own construction firms.

3. Earn money quickly

If you start work in the construction industry as an apprentice you can begin work as soon as you finish high school. Whilst you are learning your trade you will earn a percentage of what a qualified worker earns, and that percentage will increase each year. You won’t make a full salary at first but you will be making an income while other people your age are completing their A-levels and earning nothing at all. Once you have completed your apprenticeship your take-home pay will increase by a large amount and will continue to grow year on year. By the time some people have completed university and got themselves into thousands of pounds of debt, you will have learnt a trade and have a well-paying career.

4. Diversity of roles and opportunities

Building a home requires a wide range of different skills and trades. A firm building a new home will employ up to 30 different tradespeople to help them complete the task. Engineers, roofers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters and many more are required for many construction projects. This means that as you progress through your career you can choose which parts of the process best suits your personal taste so that you can specialise in that particular area.

Not only are there a diverse number of roles you can do in the construction industry but there are also a lot of options about where you work. Construction projects take place all over the country and you have the chance to work wherever suits you best. Many of the roles require the same skills and knowledge everywhere in the world, so a career in construction can allow you to travel abroad while earning a living.

5. Job satisfaction

For most people, their jobs entail doing a small part of a process where they never get to see the results of their contributions. Jobs like this can be extremely frustrating and dispiriting after a while. Working in construction, on the other hand, can be highly rewarding. Wiring a home and then testing all the switches seeing what your hard work and craft has achieved can be very satisfying. When you are part of building a home you get to see the physical impact your work has had on the landscape. Through your efforts, you have helped turn a piece of unused land into somewhere that people can live and raise a family. There are very few career paths that let you see, in concrete terms, something that you have helped build with your own hands.