Soldier needs help with education

[Brittany King]

 Hello,

   My name is Brittany. I'm a active duty soldier who is currently deployed. Wile I'm out of the states I wanted to start working on my education. I wanted to know how should I go about becoming a general contractor in Colorado springs? I've Googled it and the state of Colorado does not require contractors to pass an exam or receive a certification to operate a business as a contractor so where would I go to learn? The military is going to pay for my education and I would like to go into a field that will enhance my position as an investor. Also what would be a good degree program to study? Finance, economics etc? I just want to make the best use of this educational opportunity. Thank you all in advance for your advice. Have a great day!

[Aaron Moore]

Hi Brittany King , this is a great time to get into the building trade in Colorado Springs! There is no state requirement, but each building municipality does require a license to be a contractor. In Colorado Springs, the entity is Pikes Peak Regional Building, and you can get all the licensing and education requirements here: http://www.pprbd.org/contfiles/ContLicense.aspx

Most people just buy the books and self-study, but if you are going to make a business out of it I would definitely recommend learning basic principals of business and marketing before you get too far into it. There are lots of good craftsmen the out there, but very few contractors who are good business people.

If you are looking to build in other cities outside of El Paso county, you will need to look into each municipalitie's licensing requirements...Pueblo is a deferent building dept, teller county is deferent, Douglas county is different... (Denver Metro, for example, has a couple dozen building departments...each requiring separate licenses to work in their area).

Hope that helps. Good luck!