do I ever shut up?

this one's about gcc. I know nothing about how to install software (other than rpms) other than than that when I untar a package with a "configure" script I'm supposed to run that first. The problem is that every time I do, no matter what the software, it tels me it can't find gcc, or any other cc, in my path. I' reasonably certain gcc is installed, so do I have to manually add its location to my path? If so, is there a place it would typically be that I could point my path to, or should I download another rpm or what?