How to bid small construction jobs?

Would the Hamm brothers have an easy time getting high-rise construction jobs?

• Here’s the connection I make: Retired gymnasts who maintain good physical fitness would be a great fit for a post-gymnastics career in high-rise construction. Their experience on the balance beam would reduce the likelihood of falling, and those gymnasts who did a lot of iron cross / ring work would have excellent all-around static strength to carry loads of cement, bricks, etc. without going off-balance. I suppose the changing times have made more fluid the construction managers' collective ideas of what the ideal construction worker can look like and have as prior work experience. Well-publicized male gymnasts such as Morgan and Paul Hamm have helped rework the image of gymnastics as a "macho" sport that involves not only agility but also raw power, traits stereotypical of construction workers. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2004-08-18/sports/0408180139_1_morgan-hamm-bar-and-floor-floor-exercise Few Olympic sports build physique and balance quite like gymnastics does! That combination of physical attributes would make a former male gymnast really stand out as a good applicant if I were a high-rise construction manager; the guy can not only carry the concrete but also safely walk the girder more quickly than a fellow occupational newbie. But then again, I’m not a high-rise construction manager -- so I ask those who are: Would you interview Paul and/or Morgan Hamm for a position on your crew and then hire him if his personality isn’t overblown from having a measure of fame? Or would the Hamm brothers’ focus on a one-on-one sport give you less favorable impressions such as the presumption they aren’t team players?

• Answer:

  The question has a flawed premise. There is no such thing as a generic "high rise construction worker". In those cities where you find skyscrapers, you will also find highly professional and specialized construction trades. What "construction companies" do is provide a tiny staff of project managers, field superintendents and accountants (perhaps 5-10 people) and then sub-contract with up to 20 or 30 different specialized trades (plumber, electrician, mason, etc.) who in total may supply 100-200 people working on a job at any given time. The days are long gone when steel workers had to balance precariously on high beams atop the NYC skyline. Today, on a typical multi-hundred-million dollar high rise project, there are full-time safety inspectors, complex rigging, and many other aspects that value brains over brawn. So, since the Hamms seem smart and dedicated, I'd probably hire them as entry-level assistant superintendents.