We sat down with Kim, who recently accepted a position as Assistant Professor in the School of Building Science at Auburn University, to discuss the path that led him to the School of Building Construction and the milestones in his graduate journey so far.

This is Kim's story, in his own words:

I worked for more than 20 years at Holder Construction. I started as an intern with Holder while a student at Auburn University, and held various positions including: Project Engineer, Project Manager, Corporate Education, and Business Analyst.

While involved in training and education at Holder, I realized I enjoyed educating professionals and am interested in educating Construction Management students. I decided to pursue a career in academia.

I wanted to try something different, my original degree was in Construction Management, and I chose to focus in Program Management. I left Holder on good terms and became a full time student in the School of Building Construction, pursuing my goal for a career as Construction Management professor.

It had been more than 20 years since I studied Construction Management, and a lot had changed that I did not expect. The biggest change was the diversity of students-international, sex, age, professional background, etc. There are lots of women-it is very encouraging for the Built Environment.

I’m glad I came here because of the diversity, it gave me new perspectives and I continue to learn from the other students.

My advice to future students is to look for learning opportunities outside your focus area. I was Program Management focused, but took an elective in the Residential track. I learned a lot, I wish I had time for more electives. It seems like just yesterday I started the program. I’ve had a good experience here and met great people.

Visit our website for more information on the School of Building Construction at Georgia Tech. You can connect with Jeff Kim via https://www.linkedin.com/in/whoisjeffkim.