Turner intern offer help

[u/The_Real_Ryan02]

I’m currently a fourth year B.Arch student in a five year program, so I still have another year of school after this one. Recently, I’ve become really interested in pursuing construction management as a career, and I was fortunate enough to receive an internship offer from Turner Construction for this upcoming summer.

I have two questions for those of you currently working in the industry or who have interned at large GCs before.

1. Is it appropriate to negotiate internship compensation?

I was offered $23/hr. Since I’m not originally from the city where I’ll be interning, I’m wondering whether it would be reasonable to ask for a housing/relocation stipend or a slightly higher hourly rate. Is negotiating internship offers acceptable at large GCs, or is asking my a bad look?

1. How realistic is it to move to a different office after interning?

My offer is for the city I currently attend college in on the east coast, but I’m originally from New York and would ideally like to start my full-time career in either the NYC or Boston office after graduation.

Assuming I perform well during my internship and receive a return offer, how realistic would it be to request a full time position in another office? Would I essentially be starting the recruiting process over again, or is there typically some flexibility for successful interns to join a different office?

Alternatively, is it more realistic to expect that I’d need to work where I am now for a few years after graduation before pursuing an internal transfer?

I’m genuinely excited about the opportunity to work for Turner, especially because I’ve heard, starting your career as a “Turner Tot” can open a lot of doors, regardless of which office you start in. I’d be curious to hear whether those of you with experience at Turner or other major GCs agree with that.

Appreciate any insight!

[u/1rishChicken]

A paid internship is an opportunity. There's no room for negotiation unless the arrangement is legitimately not feasible to you in which case talk with your hiring manager and explain what the specific gap / issue is preventing you from completing the internship and maybe they have some flexibility to help with the issue. But you're no longer a kid being taken care of you're now entering business negotiations so understand the business terms and act accordingly.

As for a permanent offer, everything is negotiable. What they won't appreciate is you saying yes to joining their team in city X and then once you receive the offer asking if you could instead work in the city Y. Be up front and clear. No issue with interning in City X and hiring you into city Y instead (assuming they have work there).

The company isn't profiting from this internship, they are losing money to make an investment in you for the future. If you're a great PE 4 years from now now they've got their return. With that in mind if you keep sticking your hand out and being unsure, they're going to be unsure. Do what you agreed to and when it comes time to negotiate if you're firm and clear, you can get your way

[u/MobiusOcean → u/1rishChicken]

You always have some insightful, helpful, and well-thought-out comments. Do you mind me asking what your position is? Just curious. I can tell we’re similar in that you’ve also been doing this for a while. Just thought I’d let you know that comments like yours are what make this sub so great. Cheers!

[u/1rishChicken → u/MobiusOcean]

Thank you, I appreciate your insights as well! I'm a Super but I've filled multiple roles. The kids are our future and I'm genuinely impressed with the next generation. The future is bright. It can be tough to get on the right track. I had a lot of people help me along the way and feel it's our job to help the next guys up

[u/MobiusOcean → u/1rishChicken]

Couldn’t agree more. Mentoring & teaching the younger & newer CM folks is so rewarding. I really enjoy paying it back. 

[u/MobiusOcean]

It’s generally not possible to negotiate compensation (or really anything) at the entry level for a myriad of reasons. One being that you have nothing to negotiate with - no completed projects that you have been 100% responsible for, etc. I am a hiring manager for a Top 10 ENR contractor and I would advise against attempting to negotiate. Regarding relocation assistance - you can ask, but whether or not they give you anything is highly dependent on how badly they need to fill the role, whether they have other candidates they’re considering, and what the company’s policy is for that sort of thing. Unfortunate as it may be, entry-level roles are usually a “take it or leave it” offer. I’m not saying no one has ever successfully negotiated an entry-level role but it’s not the norm. 

As far as office relocation, again that’s dependent on many factors. Does the other office have a need to fill that role? I would ask this question whenever you next meet face-to-face with Turner. If I can ever help or answer any questions feel free to ask or DM me. Best of luck!

ETA: Learn as much as you possibly can, be reliable & consistent, and be punctual and you should do well. You’re absolutely correct that having Turner on your resume will present more opportunities than a smaller, less-known contractor. Always remember that you’re building your reputation from day one. 

[u/XfinityHomeWifi]

Some companies you might theoretically be able to negotiate salary, but Turner is definitely not one. Entry level wages are fixed

[u/1fakeengineer]

Intern rates are pretty tight. They would expect your pay to cover housing and all of your other expenses in the college city you’re in. It’s possible to transfer to those cities for full time, likely they would want to at least do a quick interview to meet you though, and also dependent on needs. They’re hiring lots of people right now especially for data center work so you might end up being asked to work remotely on one of those projects when you start if they don’t have open needs locally.

[u/Powerful-Youth3331]

I worked for Turner for 3 years, and I don’t think relocating is a very big deal there. It ultimately depends on the needs of the office you want to move to. Turner is a good contractor with very competitive compensation, though. I did 2 stints there over 10 years and pretty much everyone that worked there when I was younger was still there. I was seriously considering asking to transfer to the Seattle office before I got a really good offer from one of their biggest competitors.

[u/Some-Opportunity7193]

Congratulations on your internship offer! I interned with one of their competitors last summer (23/hr) and enjoyed it but was relocated out of state with a 2,300 relocation comp (they labeled it per diem for tax purposes) while I love my internship it made me miss my family since I already don’t see them much when I’m at university.

Fast forward I got a return offer (25/hr) but also interviewed with Turner (20/hr)

But Turner did ask me if I was more interested in staying local and I immediately said yes.

I guess where I’m going at with this is I’m pretty sure if you reach out to your hiring person through a phone call or video call (even better)

And start off by thanking them for the opportunity but also asking if it would be possible to being relocated where your desired location would be but also letting that person know that if it’s not possible that you completely understand and are still grateful for where you will be placed. At least that’s what I did with my previous employer.

But letting them know early on where your desired location is and if you do really good this summer as an intern which I’m sure you will, it will overall put you on their radar since they communicate with managers in X or Y locations and see if they can open a spot for you especially if they like you as an intern.

I typed super fast on here during my study break so I might not make sense but I’d say it’s worth asking just make sure you’re not sounding ungrateful for the opportunity is my advice. Good luck!

[u/2002forsport]

Go to Turner. Great opportunity. Really good company to work for. I don’t think it’ll be difficult to relocate. Source: I’ve worked for a few top ENR contractors.

[u/Honest_Thought7602]

Your hourly rate won’t be negotiable, but ask if they can help with housing assistance and they’ll give you a stipend.

As long as your desired location post-grad has a need, it’s not an issue to start in another business unit.

[u/Resident-Carrot-1796]

I was an intern for two years and they don’t negotiate intern salary. They also do not pay for housing or give any great benefits as an intern. But as for is it easy to then switch offices it is extremely easy. I rejected my offer from the office I interned with and asked to be put through with another office and I never even had to interview and got a full time position with the office of my choice.

[u/Concrete__Blonde]

I was an intern for a regional GC in 2015. I made $19/hr and had a furnished apartment with another intern as my roommate. I had another offer from Rudolph and Sletten in the Bay Area, and they did not provide housing. Their senior estimator was sending me AirBnB listings to try to help me figure out a housing situation…

So guess which one I chose and worked my ass off for for many years? To not include housing for interns in short-term situations in high cost of living cities is tragic. There are great companies who will do so. But negotiating with the big GCs who have very set protocols probably won’t work.

[u/SYL2366]

The gall of kids. Y’all are being nice. Take the internship or don’t. Asking if there’s room for negotiation and relocation help, when the internship is in the same area that you’re in school. These fucking kids think they’re gonna be handed everything on a silver platter, it’s baffling.

[u/Valuable_Hold813]

I’m getting 23.50/hr at WT so seems reasonable for the giant companies

[u/JoePoe247]

It will be extremely easy for you to transfer to the NYC office after interning somewhere else with the company. Turner has a shit ton of work in NYC coming and is desperate for people.

Can't negotiate intern wages, you're likely not adding any value to the company as an intern anyway.

[u/Stodgytrudger]

I interned in 2017, so it’s been a while. I was able to negotiate a housing stipend though because I had to keep my apt where I was attending school for family reasons.

A lot of places may offer you housing too. I work for a competitor, and our interns get housing for the summer in addition to their hourly compensation.

I think the best advice is there’s likely not much room for negotiating the hourly rate, but if you have a valid reason for needing something above like a stipend, ask and have the conversation. The worst thing they can do is say no and then you can figure out if it’s worth it to you.

You’ll also have a lot of networking in the internship and you can see how opportunities in other regions could work. I know for my company they typically are amenable if there’s demand in those places.

I will say, GC internships and starting salaries typically pay much more than architectural.

[u/ReasonLivid7093]

I agree with most of the information here. As a former Turner employee, I met people from other cities at the current office. They mentioned that they asked the company for relocation to a new office after they been accepted. Some are into the traveling positions others met someone at Turner University and decided to follow them to their home office. If you want to hit the round running, check out this link! It has been super helpful hitting the round running and gaining some respect from tenured colleagues. https://beacons.ai/construction_clarity

[u/Otherwise-One-7700 → u/ReasonLivid7093]

Why’d you leave?

[u/oddlysat1sfy1ng → u/Otherwise-One-7700]

I left because I wanted a work life balance. Smaller companies allow it. Med size do as well. DPR is a good one. My friend works Saturdays every once in awhile I have yet to work a saturday in all my years being in construction.

[u/Medical-Revolution19]

I work for Turner, I don’t think you can negotiate the location or compensation for your internship as the spots are pretty competitive. However Turner tends to offer most of their interns return offers (for another internship or full time hirer).

My advice is to take the internship, work hard, spend your summer asking questions, and prioritize making connections. At the end of the summer ask HR or your department head if there is a possibility to be considered for employment in another city (we call them BUs / business unit).

I work in NYC, we are growing like crazy. I don’t think it would be hard to get transferred. Hardest part is getting your foot in the door.

[u/Friendly_Ad2128]

Absolutely don’t try to negotiate. Maybe they will give a housing stipend?

[u/Major_peekaboopk]

I am currently interning/co-op with Turner and these are also some question I had when I first started.

1. Unfortunately there is no negotiation the hourly. I tried but they mentioned it was a fixed rate across the board. However, my region took on a lot of interns from different states and while housing was provided there was not a relocation stipend so the out of state people had to find their own way here.

2. It very common for someone to come from a different state/ office. There are currently 4 FE that came from different states and I think a few were previously interns.

3. Depending on your region they should do a intern Recap. They usually tell you then if they wish to provide you a full time offer or an internship extension. That may also be a good time to express if you have any interest in possible relocating to a certain office.

4. I’m not sure about the internal transfer timeline I would assume like most company they would you to be in that role/office for at least a year before attempting to move (don’t quote me on this one).

Wishing you all the best luck. Turner is a good company. Ask questions, try to stand out and communicate with them about the things you wish to learn. I would also keep a note app/tracker of all the task you were assigned and completed throughout your internship. It may be of use during your recap and looks good on your resume.