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Career Description

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.

What Job Titles Construction Managers Might Have

• Construction Manager
• Construction Superintendent
• General Contractor
• Project Manager

What Construction Managers Do

• Confer with supervisory personnel, owners, contractors, or design professionals to discuss and resolve matters, such as work procedures, complaints, or construction problems.
• Plan, schedule, or coordinate construction project activities to meet deadlines.
• Prepare and submit budget estimates, progress reports, or cost tracking reports.
• Inspect or review projects to monitor compliance with building and safety codes, or other regulations.
• Inspect or review projects to monitor compliance with environmental regulations.
• Plan, organize, or direct activities concerned with the construction or maintenance of structures, facilities, or systems.
• Study job specifications to determine appropriate construction methods.
• Investigate damage, accidents, or delays at construction sites to ensure that proper construction procedures are being followed.
• Prepare contracts or negotiate revisions to contractual agreements with architects, consultants, clients, suppliers, or subcontractors.
• Develop or implement quality control programs.
• Develop or implement environmental protection programs.
• Implement new or modified plans in response to delays, bad weather, or construction site emergencies.
• Interpret and explain plans and contract terms to representatives of the owner or developer, including administrative staff, workers, or clients.
• Perform or contract others to perform prebuilding assessments, such as conceptual cost estimating, rough order of magnitude estimating, feasibility, or energy efficiency, environmental, and sustainability assessments.
• Apply for and obtain all necessary permits or licenses.
• Evaluate construction methods and determine cost-effectiveness of plans, using computer models.
• Contract or oversee craft work, such as painting or plumbing.
• Direct and supervise construction or related workers.
• Determine labor requirements for dispatching workers to construction sites.
• Requisition supplies or materials to complete construction projects.

What Construction Managers Should Be Good At

• 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 there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 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).
• 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.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 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).

What Construction Managers Should Be Interested In

• Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

What Construction Managers Need to Learn

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