All careersEngineering & science

Construction Manager

$114,990
median / year
$69,690 – $189,440
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Plan, budget, and oversee construction projects, coordinating crews, schedules, and safety on site.

You may also see this posted as: Construction Foreman, Construction Superintendent, General Superintendent, Concrete Foreman, Construction Area Manager, Construction Management Supervisor.

Where you work

Construction sites and field offices; outdoors and in, on your feet.

The hours

Full-time; long hours and on-call to keep projects on track.

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Inspect or review projects to monitor compliance with building and safety codes or other regulations.
  • Develop or implement quality control programs.
  • Plan, schedule, or coordinate construction project activities to meet deadlines.
  • Prepare and submit budget estimates, progress reports, or cost tracking reports.
  • Direct and supervise construction or related workers.

Good fit if you like…

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Realistic

working with tools, equipment, materials, or the physical world

O*NET job zone 4 of 5

High preparation—usually a four-year degree plus experience—is common.

Work styles that matter most

Leadership OrientationDependabilityIntegrityAttention to Detail

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft ProjectProcore software

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$114,990
per year
Hourly median
$55.28
per hour
What most earn
$69,690–$189,440
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~46,800
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+8.7%
Faster than average
Working in the U.S.
380,360
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

BLS estimates 35.8% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

Bachelor's degree

Training path: Degree — or rise from the trades.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training.

License or certification

No license required; certification and field experience carry weight.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

LeadershipOrganizationProblem solvingCommunication

The honest take

Plenty climb from the tools to the trailer — field experience counts as much as the degree.

Standard Occupational Classification 11-9021. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.