Women in Construction: Kate Rieling
Meet Kate Rieling, Project Manager at Vertical Earth, Inc. in Atlanta, where she lives with her husband, “who is a bridge foreman for a (kind of) rival contractor!”
We’d say that “project manager” is a bit of a short sale when it comes to Kate’s duties on the job. She also coordinates daily tasks, builds schedules, assembles and tracks submittals, executes subcontracts and supplier purchase orders, keeps tabs on production and cost.
“Then billing our clients for the work we are completing with all of the required backup information. My biggest role is to support my guys in the field to make sure they have what they need to be successful!”
Aaaand this is why she is our Women in Construction feature this week! 🙌 Let’s ask her some more.
What challenges have you overcome as a woman in your position(s)?
Kate Rieling: I really struggled with feeling capable early on in my career. Some of that was just overall confidence in my abilities but as the years have gone by—11 years full time now. I have found my confidence and DGAF attitude that my male coworkers always seemed to have!
It has been a learning curve of analyzing my surroundings and knowing how to deal with different types of people and how they interact with me. I know there is still a lot to learn but I finally feel that confidence!
Advice for other women looking to enter your industry? Pros and Cons?
KR: You need to know what you are getting into. Being strong and thick-skinned is essential. Nobody is going to coddle you and cater to you as a female and honestly, most of us don't want to be treated any differently.
You are probably going to hear things you never wanted to hear but you either speak up and say something to stop it or let it ride. Whatever you do in those moments will set the tone for the worksite.
The hours are long and some of the people are jerks but if you truly love what you are doing you will find ways to get through the tough days and celebrate the wins with your team.
Describe a time when you totally kicked ass on the job:
KR: I recently had a massive win on a project where the data seemed to be against us on the amount of dirt we moved for an 8-month project. I spent hours pouring over the data and poked as many holes in them as possible looking at every side of the argument.
Then I walked into a meeting with the Owner's Management and my two bosses and proceeded to own the room. We walked out of the meeting and my boss said "Damn Kate, I didn't even need to be there! You killed it!" I'll always remember that one.
Describe a time when you felt you had to compete on the job:
“They had a wife that stayed at home and took care of their every need: laundry, cleaning, making their lunch. I was doing all of that for myself, plus trying to kick as at my job.”
KR: It seemed to be an issue earlier in my career when I worked for a very large contractor and I was competing with about 15 other people with the same job title. All men of course.
One of my biggest struggles was that they had a wife that stayed at home and took care of their every need: laundry, cleaning, making their lunch. I was doing all of that for myself plus trying to kick as at my job.
How do you create a work-life balance?
KR: I experienced major burn out in my career at around year 5-6. I was having thoughts like "how on earth can I do this for 30 more years?" which made me sad because I LOVE CONSTRUCTION.
I had my dream job and I started to hate it. So after a couple of years of soul searching, I found my current company which is very family-oriented. I also had to just set boundaries, emails/texts/phone calls at reasonable hours and if I know something may keep me late or start early, I communicate that with my husband.
Honestly, though, my husband and I talk a lot about construction at home. We just love it and learn a lot from each other.
Are you part of any volunteer organizations, groups, clubs, or other social events?
KR: I am currently participating in the Georgia Highway Contractors Association Executive Development Program which is a year-long program with leadership training and other useful construction knowledge.
I just recently got involved with Workforce Forsyth which is a local high school program promoting Career and Technical Education. My company is a supporter of this initiative and helping them design a “construction pathway.”
I am always looking to be more involved with organizations but it is hard to get involved with such a demanding work schedule!!
Follow Kate on her adventures through construction on her Instagram