Information Provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
Construction managers must be availableoften 24 hours a dayto deal with delays, bad weather, or emergencies at the jobsite. Employers prefer individuals who combine construction industry work experience with a bachelors degree in construction science, construction management, or civil engineering. Excellent employment opportunities are expected as the increasing complexity of many construction projects requires more managers to oversee them.
On average, Construction Managers earn $ 73,700 per year.
Job Opportunities for Construction Managers are expected to:
Increase as fast as the average.
Construction managers plan, direct, and coordinate a wide variety of construction projects, including the building of all types of residential, commercial, and industrial structures, roads, bridges, wastewater treatment plants, and schools and hospitals. Construction managers may oversee an entire project or just part of one. They schedule and coordinate all design and construction processes, including the selection, hiring, and oversight of specialty trade contractors, but they usually do not do any actual construction of the structure.
Employers increasingly prefer to hire construction managers with a bachelors degree in construction science, construction management, building science, or civil engineering, although it is also possible for experienced construction workers to move up to become construction managers. In addition to having education and experience, construction managers must understand contracts, plans, specifications, and regulations.
Construction managers held 487,000 jobs in 2006. About 57 percent were self-employed, many as owners of general or specialty trade construction firms. Most salaried construction managers were employed in the construction industry, 13 percent by specialty trade contractor businessesfor example, plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical contractors9 percent in residential building construction; and 9 percent in nonresidential building construction. Others were employed by architectural, engineering, and related services firms and by local governments.
