A new team member
My name is Philipp Müller, I’m 20 years old and I’m studying industrial engineering, construction and real estate at the Hochschule 21 in Buxtehude. The course combines business administration courses such as business administration, accounting and construction management with civil engineering subjects such as building materials, construction design, building law and structural engineering.
The course lasts seven semesters, half of which consists of a practical phase and half of which consists of a theoretical phase, and ends with a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a distinction from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce as an engineer. Since I will be working in a company for half of my studies, its choice was particularly important.
After graduating from high school, it was clear to me quite quickly that I wanted to work in the construction industry. On the one hand, the combination of classic office work and work on the construction site is important to me. I also find the industry as a whole very exciting because the product you create is individual and unique. Buildings have much more substance and a higher social relevance and importance than other products. Additionally, they are physical goods rather than intangible services. Design and construction can rarely follow the same pattern.
Every project offers new tasks to be solved. This variety makes the work much more multifaceted; there is rarely a standardized office routine.
My practice partner WBRE got me involved in projects very early on and I was quickly given responsible tasks, both on the construction site and in the office. In my first project, I supervised the conversion of a former branch of the Swedish sports chain Stadium on Mönckebergstraße in Hamburg. The project started at the same time as my first practical phase, so I was able to supervise it from the very beginning. I was involved in the construction meetings and, in consultation with the project manager, was able to conduct discussions with suppliers and partners on my own responsibility. My tasks also included determining quantities and drawing up bills of quantities. Afterwards, my work was discussed and I received constructive feedback. I immediately felt like a full-fledged team member who contributed something useful to the construction process.
This enabled me to directly apply the theoretical knowledge from university and to classify and understand topics and processes that would have been completely incomprehensible to me six months earlier.