Growing up outside of Cincinnati, Erin Jones began thinking of a career in engineering when she was in high school.
“I got into construction because of my physics teacher in high school, who showed me this really cool experiment and I was just was kind of hooked,” said Jones.
She studied civil engineering in college and moved into construction as a career. That’s led to her current role as a project manager for Skanska USA, which is building the Signia by Hilton hotel next to the Georgia World Congress Center and Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I deal with primarily the structure — so anything dealing with the structural steel or concrete; deep foundations, underground utilities and demolition, that’s what my role has been here,” said Jones, who now lives in Norcross.
The 40-story hotel is being built on the site of the old Georgia Dome. Jones says that means some of the foundations of the old facility are being reinforced and strengthened and used for the construction of the new hotel.
Construction in Georgia — and across much of the U.S. — is dealing with a shortage of workers. That could mean more career opportunities for women in the industry. Currently, women represent about 10% of construction workers.