Find Your Dream Job
Construction Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate, usually through subordinate supervisory personnel, activities concerned with the construction and maintenance of structures, facilities, and systems. Participate in the conceptual development of a construction project and oversee its organization, scheduling, budgeting, and implementation. Includes managers in specialized construction fields, such as carpentry or plumbing.
Also Known As:
Concrete Foreman
Construction Area Manager
Construction Foreman
Construction Management Supervisor
Construction Manager
Construction Services Manager
Construction Superintendent
General Superintendent
Job Superintendent
Site Manager
Wages
Annual wages for Construction Managers in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
598,400
9% Change From 2024
Explore Construction Managers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Implement new or modified plans in response to delays, bad weather, or construction site emergencies.
- Evaluate construction methods and determine cost-effectiveness of plans, using computer models.
- Investigate damage, accidents, or delays at construction sites to ensure that proper construction procedures are being followed.
- Develop or implement environmental protection programs.
- Develop construction budgets to compare green and non-green construction alternatives, in terms of short-term costs, long-term costs, or environmental impacts.
- Apply green building strategies to reduce energy costs or minimize carbon output or other sources of harm to the environment.
- Confer with supervisory personnel, owners, contractors, or design professionals to discuss and resolve matters, such as work procedures, complaints, or construction problems.
- Prepare contracts or negotiate revisions to contractual agreements with architects, consultants, clients, suppliers, or subcontractors.
- Study job specifications to determine appropriate construction methods.
- Plan, organize, or direct activities concerned with the construction or maintenance of structures, facilities, or systems.
- Plan, schedule, or coordinate construction project activities to meet deadlines.
- Investigate damage, accidents, or delays at construction sites to ensure that proper construction procedures are being followed.
- Develop or implement environmental protection programs.
- Interpret and explain plans and contract terms to representatives of the owner or developer, including administrative staff, workers, or clients.
- Inspect or review projects to monitor compliance with building and safety codes or other regulations.
- Direct and supervise construction or related workers.
- Interpret and explain plans and contract terms to representatives of the owner or developer, including administrative staff, workers, or clients.
- Plan, schedule, or coordinate construction project activities to meet deadlines.
- Implement training programs on environmentally responsible building topics to update employee skills and knowledge.
- Prepare contracts or negotiate revisions to contractual agreements with architects, consultants, clients, suppliers, or subcontractors.
- Apply for and obtain all necessary permits or licenses.
- Prepare and submit budget estimates, progress reports, or cost tracking reports.
- Plan, organize, or direct activities concerned with the construction or maintenance of structures, facilities, or systems.
- Develop or implement quality control programs.
- Contract or oversee craft work, such as painting or plumbing.
- Requisition supplies or materials to complete construction projects.
- Inspect or review projects to monitor compliance with environmental regulations.
- Perform, or contract others to perform, pre-building assessments, such as conceptual cost estimating, rough order of magnitude estimating, feasibility, or energy efficiency, environmental, and sustainability assessments.
- Evaluate construction methods and determine cost-effectiveness of plans, using computer models.
- Develop or implement quality control programs.
- Determine labor requirements for dispatching workers to construction sites.
- Perform, or contract others to perform, pre-building assessments, such as conceptual cost estimating, rough order of magnitude estimating, feasibility, or energy efficiency, environmental, and sustainability assessments.
- Secure third-party verification from sources, such as Leadership in Energy Efficient Design (LEED), to ensure responsible design and building activities or to achieve favorable LEED ratings for building projects.
- Direct acquisition of land for construction projects.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
Career Coaching
This is not WorldatWork. These are private coaching services.
You May Also Be Interested In
Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")