Construction managers oversee residential or commercial construction projects from start to finish. As a construction manager, some of the tasks you’ll be doing are:
- Putting together a cost estimate, budget, and time frame for completion
- Looking over other contracts through third-party contractors
- Keeping clients up to date on everything from timeline to budget
- Making the subcontractor selection
- Collaborating with other professionals
- Staying in charge of quality, cost, and safety management
- Ensuring every aspect of the contract is taken care of, and that the client is pleased with the process
How to Become a Construction Manager
While it is possible to work your way up to a construction manager career, the more typical and marketable path is to go to college and take construction management. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Get your high school diploma or GED.
- While in high school, consider working in construction to see if it’s even something you’d want to do.
- Go to one of the many colleges offering a bachelor’s degree in construction science, building science, or construction engineering.
- If you only want to work on smaller projects, you may only need an associate’s degree combined with work experience.
- Get hired as an assistant, where you’ll work for a couple months to a few years being trained. But you’ll earn a paycheck, as well.
Certifications for Construction Managers
For construction managers, certifications are completely voluntary. But if you really want to make an impression on hiring managers, the more, the merrier. Certifications translate to proficiency and competency, two things that are highly sought after in the field. Two associations offering certifications to construction managers are:
- Construction Management Association of America: To be eligible for this certification, you must have four years of construction management experience, along with either a bachelor’s degree in a qualifying field, or an associate’s degree plus four years experience, or no degree but eight years in general design or construction.
- American Institute of Constructors: Two levels of certification are available.
- Associate Constructor (AC) Level 1: If you have recently graduated from a four-year construction management program, this level is for you.
- Certified Professional Constructor (CPC) Level 2: If you have a few years of project oversight, and you are established in your field, then this is the certification exam you would take.
How Much Money Do Construction Managers Make?
A construction manager salary will depend on where they work and how much experience they have under their belt. The national mean for construction managers is $108,210. Entry-level salary is $60,500, but construction managers who have been working for close to ten years are earning approximately $163,800. Heavy and civil engineering construction jobs pay the highest salary.
Many construction managers earn bonuses on top of their salaries, but bonuses depend on how much business they bring in.
Construction Management Job Forecast
The population is growing, and with it comes the need for new buildings and homes. Which, in turn, creates more jobs in the construction industry, including construction managers. Employment is expected to grow 11 percent through 2030, which is faster than the average for other occupations. If you have the proper degree and experience, along with those certifications, then you should be highly employable.
Construction efforts are growing, new structures are being built, and old ones are being rebuilt. Because the building business is doing well, companies are looking for construction managers to head up the vast amount of projects being taken on.
Are you a construction manager who would like to add insight to this discussion? Use the comment area. You may leave a link to your business as a reference to your work.
Reference: