What do they do?

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 Manager, Construction Services Manager, Construction Superintendent, Job Superintendent, Site Manager

Typical Wages

Projected Growth Rate

Employment of Construction Managers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2022 to 2032, more slowly than average compared to all occupations.

Projected Employment For All United States

No Data Available
  • 4.5%

    Change

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    38,700

    Job Openings

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Best colleges for Construction Managers

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Education Level

Percent of workers in this field with these degrees:

  • High school diploma equivalent  (28%)
  • Bachelor's degree  (27%)
  • Some college, no degree  (22%)
  • Associate's degree  (9%)
  • Less than high school diploma  (7%)
  • Master's degree  (6%)
  • Doctorate or Professional Degree  (1%)

Typical College Majors

Most Popular Majors that prepare Construction Managers

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People in this career often have these skills:

  • Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

People in this career often know a lot about:

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • 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.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • 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.
  • Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  • Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

People in this career often have talent in:

  • Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.

People in this career often do these activities:

  • Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.
  • Manage construction activities.
  • Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
  • Communicate organizational policies and procedures.
  • Communicate organizational information to customers or other stakeholders.
  • Supervise employees.
  • Prepare forms or applications.
  • Negotiate project specifications.
  • Direct facility maintenance or repair activities.
  • Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.
  • Determine operational compliance with regulations or standards.
  • Investigate industrial or transportation accidents.
  • Implement organizational process or policy changes.
  • Develop procedures to evaluate organizational activities.
  • Purchase materials, equipment, or other resources.
  • Estimate labor requirements.
  • Evaluate green operations or programs for compliance with standards or regulations.
  • Estimate green project costs.
  • Analyze data to determine project feasibility.
  • Develop environmental remediation or protection plans.
  • Model operational processes.
  • Analyze forecasting data to improve business decisions.
  • Develop sustainable organizational policies or practices.
  • Recruit personnel.
  • Prepare operational budgets for green energy or other green operations.
  • Train employees on environmental awareness, conservation, or safety topics.

This page includes data from:

O*NET OnLine Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Logo Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics

careeronestop logo Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development

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