Twenty-Four Seven August 9, 2006, 9:04AM EST

Building on a Degree

A business degree at the University of Central Florida led to a job at a busy building subcontractor in Orlando. Here's a typical day

When deciding to submit my resume for the account administrator position at Spraggins Builder Services after graduation, visions of uneducated old men filled my head. That's what I thought tile, carpet, and wood flooring were all about. Much to my surprise, from the moment I walked into the office I was greeted with a young, vibrant, college-educated staff that seemed genuinely happy to be working in such a fast-paced industry.

As an account administrator, I act as a liaison between builder partners and suppliers on flooring, wall accent, and window treatment products. Some of my daily tasks include accounting, auditing, invoicing, scheduling, and customer service.

	Joseph Ritter Account Administrator Spraggins Builder Services BSBA Class of 2005, University of Central Florida College of Business Administration

The culture at Spraggins is almost a perfect blend of the family-oriented mom-and-pop small business and the detail-oriented, structured nature of a large corporation. With the help of its emphasis on family and the community, Spraggins has positioned itself as the largest flooring services provider to the largest production builders in central Florida.

Below is an example of a typical day in the office:

7:30 a.m.—I've already been awake for a while and coffee is unquestionably a necessity. I arrive at the office to find my physical mailbox overflowing with paperwork. The thought of sifting through and organizing everything barely enters my mind when I get my first call from a superintendent who forgot to schedule a carpet installation and needed it yesterday.

8:00 a.m.—After getting the installation scheduled and paperwork processed, I sit down at my desk to check my e-mail, which usually looks like I haven't checked it for a month (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/24/06, "E-mail, Spreadsheets, and More E-mail").

8:15 a.m.—My e-mail has almost been sorted into emergency and non-emergency issues when I'm interrupted by one of the area managers responsible for assessing the quality of our subcontractors' work. He informs me that an installer has misread the original work order I created, and we need to reorder two complete bathrooms' worth of tile. It doesn't end there. We will need to remove all of the tile that has already been installed and reinstall the correct tile.

8:30 a.m.—After doing some research to gather product numbers, colors, and quantities, I contact one of our vendors to verify that I can get the same dye lot of tile that they previously shipped us.

8:45 a.m.—I run the paperwork for the job in question and begin the task of setting up the remaining jobs due to go out that week.

9:15 a.m.—I get a call from a building superintendent wondering when the wood installer will be arriving to complete a job. This requires me to head over to the hard-surface installation manager's office, where I will wait for roughly 15 minutes until he's finished speaking to an installer, to find out the name of the installer on the wood job and his estimated time of arrival.

9:45 a.m.—I resume setting up work orders.

11:00 a.m.—After getting the correct product ordered for jobs appearing on the long-term schedule, I begin the purchase-order auditing process. This is by far one of the most important aspects of the job. It ensures that the builder has paid us for the correct items.

Noon—It's finally lunch time. It's a 15-minute drive each way to take the puppy for a walk, which my wife undoubtedly appreciates.

1:15 p.m.—Getting settled back in at my desk, I resume the purchase-order auditing.

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