How to become a Construction Manager

This article provides in-depth information into What is a Construction Manager? What Construction Managers do? Degrees for Construction Managers, Steps to become Construction Manager and much more.

Construction managers oversee construction projects from the beginning of development to the finished product. In addition to hiring and supervising workers, construction managers must estimate project costs, determine schedules, report progress, and ensure that safety codes are met. Everything you need to become a construction manager is detailed in this article.

What does a Construction Manager do ?

Construction managers coordinate and supervise a wide variety of projects, including the building of all types of residential, commercial, and industrial structures, roads, bridges, power plants, schools, and hospitals.

  • Release and use of funds throughout the project.

  • Project scheduling.

  • Control of the scope of work.

  • Optimum use of other firms' talents and resources.

  • Avoiding delays, changes, disputes, and cost overruns.

  • Optimum flexibility in contracting and procurement.

  • Assuring the project is built to specifications.

  • Explain technical information to other professionals.

  • Update clients on work progress and budget matters.

  • Collaborate with construction specialists, engineers, and architects.

Steps for becoming a Construction Manager

1

Get A Bachelor’s Degree

Experience is the most important factor in the construction industry but employers prefer a candidate who holds at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field like construction management, building science or civil engineering.

2

Get An Internship

An internship not only provides experience in the field, but it also may help with landing employment after graduation. Internships may offer insight into both the labor and managerial aspects of the industry.

3

Gain Experience

To become a certified construction manager you need to have prior construction experience. Students work as management assistants after bachelor’s degree to gain work experience. Such work experience provides first-hand knowledge of construction site operations. Construction management firms may provide training to prospective managers to prepare them for advancement opportunities.

4

Get Certified

To get certified as Certified Construction Manager (CCM) students’ needs to have a bachelor’s degree in related field with particular work experience requirements, including four years of construction management experience. After that, he can appear in the test conducted by the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA).

5

Pursue Master’s Degree

Construction managers looking to further advance in their careers may want to pursue a master's degree program in construction management. Graduate-level studies in the field emphasize practical applications of key management principles. Courses include construction materials and methods, labor relations, safety, public policy, and construction management practices.

Construction Manager Salaries

Construction Manager

Construction Manager Degree Levels

Associate

A 2-year college degree, Associate in Science (AS) in Construction Management is offered by many community colleges. The degree provides instruction in management skills, construction industry-specific technical and occupational subjects, such as construction planning, design, and OSHA 30 safety.

Structural Design

  • Beams

  • Tension Members

  • Compression Members

Objectives

  • Ensure safety

  • Ensure stability

  • Understand Concrete Structure

Construction Planning & Scheduling

  • Creating the Logic Diagram

  • Determining Activity Durations

  • Money and Network Scheduling

Objectives

  • Network schedules

  • Construction projects

  • Planning of each activity

Sustainable Construction Practices

  • Sustainable Construction Methods

  • Sustainability and the Building Industry

  • Using Renewable Energy Sources

Objectives

  • Proper planning

  • Environmental effects

  • Sustainable Design

Bachelors

Bachelor in Construction Management program equips students with refined skills in written and verbal communication, technical construction fundamentals, mathematics, business, and law to prepare them for their future careers as construction leaders.

Design and construction technologies

  • Statics of Architectural Structures

  • Building Systems

  • Materials: New and Old

Objectives

  • Understand contemporary building technology

  • Rich historical and cultural

  • Evolution of technique

Quality assurance

  • Construction Equipment

  • Statistical Methods

  • Modern Construction Materials

Objectives

  • To ensure building meets specifications

  • To find out all the faults

  • To check every detail

Construction project management

  • Project Planning

  • The Estimating Process

  • Performance and Payment Bonds

Objectives

  • Planning of each activity

  • Procurement of materials

  • Financial Planning

Masters

For complex construction projects, employers demand specialized management-level personnel. A Master’s degree in Construction Management program places particular emphasis on developing skills as a business manager prepared for the construction trade’s current and future challenges.

Operating & Managing a Construction Organization

  • Applications of Statistical Methods

  • Construction Technology

  • Retrofitting of Structures

Objectives

  • To understand the business process

  • Know about Construction Methods

  • Planning for Construction Equipment

Negotiation & Dispute Resolution

  • Shapes & Geometry of Negotiation

  • Tools for dispute resolution

  • The Protean Negotiator

Objectives

  • Understanding conflicts

  • Importance of a negotiation

  • Avoid or control a dispute.

Construction Safety Management

  • Construction Safety

  • Safety Technology

  • Accident Prevention

Objectives

  • Establishing effective safety goals

  • Accident prevention

  • Health preservation and loss reduction

Certificate

Specialized Construction management certificates are available online. These certificates will be useful to those candidates who are interested in holding upper-level management positions like Company management or Project management.

Construction Financial & Cost Control

  • Construction accounting operations

  • Project Breakdowns and Overviews

  • Forecasts

Objectives

  • Construction cost monitoring

  • Understanding analysis

  • Calculating project estimates

Construction Methods & Technology

  • Planning and Drawing

  • Light Construction Systems and Material Resources

  • Non-Structural Systems

Objectives

  • To understand the construction industry

  • Methods used in construction

  • Planning, designing and constructing the project.

Construction Cost Estimating

  • Labor, Equipment, and Material

  • Indirect Costs, Overheads, Cost Indexes.

  • Contingency Analysis

Objectives

  • To understand Estimates and

  • Details of estimating

  • Labor, materials, equipment, and overhead costs.

Construction Manager’s salary

On average, the Construction Manager earns about $111,636 a year and it typically ranges between $96,543 and $127,563 as per the Bureau of Labour Statistics 2020. The salary depends on the education, certification, additional skills, and amount of experience earned in that field.

Job growth

The employment opportunities for a construction manager in the United States is estimated to rise up to 10 percent during the period of 2018 to 2028 as projected by the Bureau of Labour Statistics. Earning a bachelor's degree in construction management, construction science, and gaining experience construction experience will have better opportunities to explore.




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