2021’s 30 Under 30 EC&M Electrical All Stars: Brett Olson

Brett Olson

Job Title: Assistant Project Manager

Company: EC Electric

Location: Portland, Ore.

Age: 25

Years on the Job: 2

Interests: Enjoying the beautiful Pacific Northwest hiking, floating the river, and snowboarding

Competing as part of his middle school’s robotic team sparked Brett Olson’s interest in electric power and tech systems. Born in Gresham, Ore., Olson majored in construction engineering management at Oregon State University. While in college, he trained for the tasks he would be performing as a project manager, including estimating, scheduling, planning, writing RFIs, budgeting, and examining financials. Now that he works for EC Electric, he says he has never lost the mindset of a student.

“Every day, I go to work with the expectation that I will learn something that will help me progress in my career — whether that be electrical install, management practices, or coordination of documents.”

During a typical workday, he attends trade coordination meetings, prices change orders, modifies budgets, and solves issues as they arise on the project.

“Each day presents new challenges that need to be addressed and take an intuitive approach to solve,” he says. “Because of this, the workweek never gets old, and I am able to learn in an interactive and dynamic manner.”

He is currently working on Project Trident. Down the road, he sees himself as a project manager running his own projects.

“I plan on getting there by continuing to learn every day, surrounding myself with people who can teach me what is needed to know, and attending further education classes that will help prepare me for the future state of construction.”