Construction and Extraction · Holland code ECR

First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of construction or extraction workers.

Also called: Construction Foreman, Construction Supervisor, Electrical Supervisor, Roustabout Field Supervisor, Coal Mine Production Foreman, Field Operations Supervisor, Field Supervisor, Insulation Foreman.

O*NET 47-1011.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $79,920; Middle half earn $63,400 to $101,460. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Post-Secondary Certificate; 27% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

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

Inspect work progress, equipment, or construction sites to verify safety or to ensure that specifications are met.
Read specifications, such as blueprints, to determine construction requirements or to plan procedures.
Supervise, coordinate, or schedule the activities of construction or extractive workers.
Assign work to employees, based on material or worker requirements of specific jobs.
Coordinate work activities with other construction project activities.
Estimate material or worker requirements to complete jobs.
Analyze worker or production problems and recommend solutions, such as improving production methods or implementing motivational plans.
Order or requisition materials or supplies.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.8 / 5
Speaking3.8 / 5
Critical Thinking3.6 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.4 / 5
Monitoring3.4 / 5
Learning Strategies3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Administration and Management4.1 / 5
Building and Construction4.1 / 5
Mechanical4.0 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.7 / 5
English Language3.7 / 5
Design3.5 / 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
Investigative15
Artistic0
Social32
Enterprising83
Conventional66

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)

mine shift manager · DE Schichtleiter/in Bergbau · FR chef de quart en industrie minière
construction general supervisor · DE Oberbauleiter/Oberbauleiterin · FR superviseur de travaux de construction/superviseuse de travaux de construction
dredging supervisor · DE Aufsichtskraft Baggerarbeiten · FR chef de chantier dragage
lift installation supervisor · DE Polier Aufzugbau/Polierin Aufzugbau · FR superviseur de monteurs d’ascenseurs/superviseuse de monteurs d’ascenseurs
paperhanger supervisor · DE Polier Tapezierarbeiten/Polierin Tapezierarbeiten · FR superviseur de poseurs de papiers peints/superviseuse de poseurs de papiers peints
plumbing supervisor · DE Polier Rohrinstallation/Polierin Rohrinstallation · FR superviseur de plombiers/superviseuse de plombiers

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Construction and building trades supervisors (5330)53,100 employed
Transport and distribution clerks and assistants (4134)69,500 employed
Water and sewerage plant operatives (8134)21,000 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 “Technicians and associate professionals”. 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, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

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 middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.31. 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 (47-1011).

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.

Take the career interests test