Mark Oakeson, P.E., has spent his career building more than projects — he has built teams, systems, and leadership capacity across some of the region’s most complex construction efforts. As Commercial Division Manager at Wadsworth Brothers Construction, Mark oversees multimillion-dollar projects for both public and private clients, drawing on expertise in scheduling, estimating, structural engineering, labor resource management, contract administration, integrated project delivery, and business development.
But Mark’s career path was not defined by a single promotion or milestone. Instead, his transition from engineer to manager happened gradually — and then all at once.
“For me the transition went relatively unnoticed until I had a few years under my belt and then suddenly I looked around and realized I wasn't just doing engineering for one project at a time but several,” Mark said. “Then a few more years went by and I looked around and I was managing more engineers and over 15 projects, and all my time was spent managing subordinate technical personnel and figuring out how to effectively allocate their time.”
Like many construction professionals, Mark discovered that technical expertise alone is not enough to prepare engineers for leadership. Managing projects, people, schedules, budgets, and contracts requires an entirely different skill set — one that many professionals are forced to learn on the job. That experience is one reason Mark sees tremendous value in the University of Utah’s online M.S. in Construction Engineering program. Having earned both a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Utah and an MBA from the University of Phoenix, Mark understands firsthand how graduate education can accelerate career advancement. But he also recognizes the limitations of traditional business programs for construction professionals.
“Conventionally, to receive additional graduate business education, a construction professional only had a traditional MBA program as an option,” Mark explained. “And while a traditional MBA curriculum is good, it is missing important coursework that is beneficial specifically to construction professionals.”
According to Mark, traditional MBA programs often provide strong foundations in accounting, finance, marketing, statistics, and communication, but lack critical construction-focused topics such as cost estimating, proposal writing, contract management, construction operations management, project scheduling, and construction innovation.
Designed specifically for working professionals, the online MS in Construction Engineering combines construction engineering principles with practical management and leadership training — helping engineers prepare earlier for the realities of project and personnel management.
“The program has been nicely built, integrating construction engineering principles and construction business management methodologies into one effective program that can be undertaken by busy professionals wishing to advance their careers,” Mark said.
Today, Mark leads large teams and oversees major commercial construction efforts with the perspective of someone who understands both the technical and managerial sides of the industry. For engineers preparing to make a similar transition, he sees the University of Utah’s online MS in Construction Engineering as a way to gain the skills he had to develop over years of experience — only faster, smoother, and with far more intentional preparation.