What a construction manager really does
You keep a building on schedule and on budget by juggling trades, owners, inspectors and weather, and you answer for every slip.
FieldSkilled trades
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Considerable preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for construction managers, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Walk the site with the superintendent to check progress, safety and quality.
- Update the schedule and line up which trades and how many workers are needed next week.
- Answer a constant stream of email and calls from subcontractors, the owner and the architect.
- Review change order requests, track costs and prepare progress and cost reports.
- Run or join the weekly owner, architect and contractor meeting.
- Coordinate inspections and permits, and fix work that does not meet code.
- Replan when weather, late materials or a failed inspection knocks the schedule off.
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- Your day lives in your inbox and on your phone as much as on site. E-mail: 90% every day; Telephone conversations: 89% every day (O*NET Work Context)
- Long weeks are the norm. Duration of typical work week: 74% more than 40 hours (O*NET Work Context)
- You lead people who do not report to you, mostly subcontractors with their own priorities. Coordinate or lead others: 50% extremely important; Contract or oversee craft work (O*NET task 11, importance 78) (O*NET)
- Worker safety is on you, even when you are not holding a tool. Health and safety of other workers: 55% very high responsibility (O*NET Work Context)
- The schedule changes with weather and project demands, so your hours do too. Work schedules: 60% irregular (changes with weather conditions, production demands, or contract duration) (O*NET Work Context)
How people get into it
O*NET Job Zone 4 (considerable preparation). A bachelor's degree is the most common requirement (40% of workers surveyed), often in construction management, engineering or a related field. Others reach the role by moving up from the trades or field supervision with years of experience (15% high school diploma, 15% post-secondary certificate). Most start as project engineers or assistant project managers.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: This trial cannot show walking an active jobsite, reading the mood of a crew in person, the noise and weather of the field, or the slow build of trust with subcontractors over a multi year project. It covers scheduling, cost tracking, change order review, replanning after problems, and the meetings and messages that make up much of the job.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
Other careers you can try
Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 11-9021.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 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.