Management · Holland code ECR

Construction Managers

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.

Also called: Construction Foreman, Construction Manager, Construction Superintendent, General Superintendent, Concrete Foreman, Construction Area Manager, Construction Management Supervisor, Construction Services Manager.

O*NET 11-9021.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $114,990; Middle half earn $88,550 to $151,640. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 40% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +9% · Much faster than average; 550,300 jobs in 2024, projected 598,400. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Construction managers".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Determine labor requirements for dispatching workers to construction sites.
Confer with supervisory personnel, owners, contractors, or design professionals to discuss and resolve matters, such as work procedures, complaints, or construction problems.
Prepare contracts or negotiate revisions to contractual agreements with architects, consultants, clients, suppliers, or subcontractors.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Active Learning3.9 / 5
Monitoring3.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Building and Construction4.7 / 5
Administration and Management4.3 / 5
Mathematics4.0 / 5
Engineering and Technology4.0 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.9 / 5
Mechanical3.8 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic61
Investigative36
Artistic12
Social23
Enterprising79
Conventional63

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

construction manager · DE Führungskraft bei Bauprojekten · FR directeur de la construction immobilière/directrice de la construction immobilière
construction general contractor · DE Baugeneralunternehmer/Baugeneralunternehmerin · FR directeur de travaux/directrice de travaux
construction quality manager · DE Fachkraft für Qualitätssicherung und -management Bau · FR responsable qualité construction
construction general supervisor · DE Oberbauleiter/Oberbauleiterin · FR superviseur de travaux de construction/superviseuse de travaux de construction

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Construction and building trades supervisors (5330)53,100 employed
Production managers and directors in construction (1122)167,400 employed
Building and civil engineering technicians (3114)20,100 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Managers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€96,629
Italy	€96,052
Germany	€90,192
Austria	€82,936
Netherlands	€69,857
Sweden	€60,369
France	€58,740
Ireland	€55,854
Spain	€54,121
Portugal	€39,189
Poland	€19,596

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.03. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (11-9021).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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