This month, we’re celebrating Women in Construction Week (March 6-12) with a blog series highlighting the value and ingenuity women bring to our member businesses. We’ll also feature careers and opportunities available to women interested in a rewarding, full-time job and being a part of the precast, prestressed concrete industry’s bright future.
PCI-MA: How do you describe your job to people?
Webster: Working in the steel shop is a lot of hard work: standing, lifting, reading drawings, and taking those skills to build reinforcement for underground utility projects.
PCI-MA: How long have you been with Smith-Midland?
Webster: I have been with Smith-Midland for thirty-three years.
PCI-MA: How did your career journey lead you to your company?
Webster: I had no experience in this industry when I came to Smith-Midland. My friend and I were driving by, and I asked her to stop as they were hiring. The person I talked to said they were looking for someone right away and despite having no experience, I was hired on the spot. They took a chance, believed and invested in me, and I’ve been here since.
PCI-MA: What is one of the greatest challenges you’ve faced in our industry and how have you overcome it?
Webster: One of the greatest challenges is learning to navigate the drawings and making sure what I am producing is exactly to the specs of the project. I love what I do, and wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.
PCI-MA: What do you enjoy most about your job?
Webster: I work on a variety of projects, but my favorite ones to work on are reinforcements for utility projects. These were the first drawings that I learned to read and work off of, and they started me on this career path. I also love the people I work with. They are my family.
PCI-MA: Do you have a mentor or role model? If so, how does this person support you in your personal and professional growth?
Webster: Coming into this field of work without prior knowledge meant there was a big learning curve, but my first boss believed in me, was supportive, and was a great teacher. He taught me how to cut and bend rebar, read drawings, and from those drawings, build to spec the proper reinforcement needed from steel.
PCI-MA: What are your career and life aspirations and goals?
Webster: I am looking forward to retirement, and then I want to be a caregiver to seniors. I love talking to and caring for them and would love to have that be the next chapter in my life.
PCI-MA: What advice would you give a young woman entering the construction industry?
Webster: Don’t be discouraged because there aren’t many women in the industry working on the floor. If you like the work, show up, work hard, do your best, and you will go far. Stay true to yourself and what you want.
About Smith-Midland Corporation
Smith-Midland develops, manufactures, licenses, rents, and sells a broad array of precast concrete products and systems for use primarily in the construction, transportation, and utility industries. Management and the Board own approximately 17.5 percent of SMID stock, aligning with shareholder values.
Smith-Midland Corporation has three manufacturing facilities located in Midland, VA, Reidsville, NC, and Columbia, SC, and a J-J Hooks Safety Barrier rental firm, Concrete Safety Systems. Easi-Set Worldwide, a wholly owned subsidiary of Smith-Midland Corporation, licenses the production and sale of Easi-Set products, including J-J Hooks and SlenderWall, and provides diversification opportunities to the precast industry worldwide. For more information, please call (540) 439-3266 or visit www.smithland.com.
Want to learn more about a career in precast? Check out our workforce Career Center for job descriptions, career paths, job listings, and other helpful resources.
