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Jim Carkin nearly became a minor league baseball player and he studied aeronautical engineering in college before earning his degree in civil engineering and construction management from the University of Illinois.

He started his career with his uncle鈥檚 architecture firm 46 years ago and has worn many hats over the years, including project engineer and project manager. Carkin served as chief estimator for several legacy general contractors before joining Emerick 10 years ago. He credits his skills in math and science and the experience gained in his uncle鈥檚 firm with guiding him toward estimating.

鈥淚 think the thing I most enjoy about my work is the variety of projects and the problem-solving that each project requires us to become competitive and successful,鈥� Carkin said. 鈥淭here are a lot of pieces to estimating that require the exact same approach to determining what a project costs, but there are always unique parts to each project that invites you to think differently or outside the box in order to be more competitive and to provide the lowest bid in a competitive field.鈥�

He said he also likes that for each project Emerick has not been awarded, he has nevertheless still built that project in his head. 鈥淭hen, to watch the project being built from a distance, to see if that successful bidder approached the project in the same manner, is very educational.鈥�

Carkin, who owns and operates a working farm in Gaston, added that his favorite projects are those that have withstood the test of time over nearly five decades.

鈥淚f I happen to drive by one of them while on an errand, it brings back that year in my life, a flood of memories about my family and my career at the time it was being constructed, and it can actually feel a bit like an old friend, saying, 鈥楬ey, remember me, we had quite a time back then, didn鈥檛 we?鈥欌��
A mentor for project engineers and project managers, Carkin shares his knowledge and experience with younger team members and has helped Emerick become established in seismic and critical facility construction.