What Does a Construction Manager Do?
The construction industry shapes our modern world, determining where and how we live, work and connect. These projects call for careful planning and seamless execution to ensure that structures are safe, durable, and sustainable, all while keeping costs reasonable.
Driving this effort? Skilled construction managers who draw on an in-depth understanding of the construction industry, as well as leadership qualities and advanced technologies that can help navigate the myriads of construction challenges.
This role can be rewarding, but it’s far from easy. Success begins with comprehensive training and hands-on skill development. Below, we’ll describe these essentials while also revealing: What is the role of a construction manager and what does a construction manager do for a construction company?
What Is a Construction Manager?
Construction managers lead, coordinate, and oversee construction projects, drawing on technical knowledge and leadership skills to ensure that projects are completed on time and on budget. These professionals play a central role in driving successful projects, ranging from small residential builds to major infrastructure projects.
Key Responsibilities of a Construction Manager
Construction managers hold diverse responsibilities related to scheduling, budget management, quality assurance and code compliance. Ultimately, these different responsibilities build toward a central goal: completing projects in a way that satisfy client expectations. This means ensuring that projects are completed not only within timelines and budgets, but also according to the quality, safety and regulatory standards contained within the contract documents.
So, what does a construction manager do — and what does a project manager do? These roles are distinctly different, but they involve differences related to skills, responsibilities, stakeholder engagement and the scope of their oversight. Let’s discuss the core elements of construction management, revealing how this role influences both individual projects and the industry at large.
1. Project Planning and Pre-Construction
Successful construction projects begin with detailed plans, specifications, and a strategic approach to the crucial pre-construction phase. More specifically, this means determining the project’s scope of work, construction timelines, subcontracting strategies, material procurement strategies and construction methods.
The Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) defines planning as the targeted process that construction managers use to “lay out how they will manage and execute a construction project, from building design to completion.”
CMAA adds that this involves project initiation documents (PID), which, in turn, form the basis for concrete construction plans that eventually determine project execution.
Project plans should be broken into smaller, more manageable parts, determining critical resources (such as labor or materials) along with milestones or deadlines that keeps the construction team accountable.
2. Budgeting and Cost Control
Budgeting is key to maintaining the financial feasibility of construction projects, ensuring that resources are accounted for and cost overruns are avoided.
As CMAA points out, this is heavily influenced by clearly defined project scopes that clearly state expectations and deliverables. A failure to properly define scope leads to costly scope creep, causing the project to incur extra costs while ultimately diminishing profit margins.
Cost benchmarking and market research are also crucial, ensuring transparency regarding all anticipated project costs. Typical expenses tracked during construction include:
- Labor
- Materials
- Equipment
- Overhead
- Contingencies
Through contingency planning, construction managers can plan for potential unexpected delays or supply chain challenges. If not appropriately planned for, these could dramatically increase overall construction costs.
3. Scheduling and Time Management
Construction managers utilize detailed field schedules to ensure consistent progress and avoid delays. Relying on Gantt charts, construction managers use detailed project schedules that highlight necessary tasks and dependencies.
This effort involves the critical path method (CPM), which indicates the longest sequences of dependent tasks yielding the shortest possible project duration. This systematic approach allows for prioritization and optimal execution, proactively identifying and addressing the most important activities within the schedule.
4. Team and Stakeholder Coordination
Today’s complex construction projects unite professionals from numerous disciplines or specializations, contributing to the big picture of project success: safe, durable, and functional builds that meet stakeholder expectations. Construction managers coordinate diverse team members while establishing essential lines of communication.
It’s important to note that construction managers are different from project managers, prompting the question: What does a project manager do in construction? The answer involves stakeholder engagement. Project managers engage stakeholders by understanding their needs and preferences, ultimately ensuring that projects align with the stakeholders’ vision.
Through progress updates, performance reports and formal meetings, project managers ensure that stakeholders remain in the loop, all while facilitating open communication.
5. Quality Assurance and Compliance
Construction managers are responsible for developing and upholding the construction quality standards, with the recognition that rework can dramatically increase construction costs and spark unacceptable delays.
By maintaining quality assurance, construction managers take a proactive approach, ensuring that the materials, equipment, timelines and even labor achieve positive outcomes.
Compliance is also a large part of the equation. Put simply, compliance ensures that all construction activities and completed work adhere to relevant federal, state and local regulations. These include building codes and zoning laws, but also labor laws, safety regulations and environmental requirements. To promote compliance, construction managers and project managers develop policies, conduct audits and commit to ongoing project compliance monitoring.
6. Problem-Solving and Conflict Resolution
Even the most harmonious construction teams are vulnerable to conflicts at times. Common problems include:
- Bottlenecks
- Scope creep
- Supply chain problems
If conflicts cannot be resolved, construction managers should facilitate resolution through mediated discussions. This may involve drawing on dispute review boards (DRBs) when needed, which helps drive impartial recommendations to keep projects on track.
How to Become a Construction Manager
The journey to becoming a construction manager begins with college-level training, including programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Coursework should cover both the technical and leadership sides of construction management, using problem-solving scenarios and other immersive learning opportunities to help future construction managers apply diverse skills.
1. Earn a Relevant Bachelor’s Degree
A bachelor’s degree is a must across the scope of construction management. It’s generally required for entry-level or mid-level roles involving project coordination, construction site administration, project scheduling or procurement.
While some undergraduate students may pursue construction science, other programs can also prove useful. For example, business administration, project management, architecture and civil engineering programs all provide relevant skills.
2. Gain Practical Experience
Once equipped with a bachelor’s degree, it’s possible to step into many management-focused roles. These often include titles such as:
- Coordinator
- Administrator
- Assistant
Entry-level professionals typically focus on specific aspects of construction management, such as site operations, safety inspections, project scheduling and cost estimating.
3. Consider a Master’s Degree
The right degree and professional experience can help you secure promising construction management roles. However, your career progression may stall if you lack graduate-level credentials.
That’s where Texas A&M’s Master of Science in Construction Management can prove invaluable. This in-demand graduate degree helps build on architecture, engineering, construction science or business while leveraging multi-disciplinary knowledge to help shape the exciting field of construction management.
Ideally, you should look for a flexible program that builds on your existing strengths and exposes you to innovative ideas and opportunities. Through industry-targeted graduate programs, you can draw on current competencies while putting construction-focused critical thinking and problem-solving skills into action.
4. Pursue Professional Certification
Construction-focused certifications verify specialized skills and provide opportunities to explore passion-driven niches. These are not pursued in lieu of advanced degrees; rather, they’re used to complement academic credentials.
- Certified Construction Manager (CCM). Obtained through the esteemed Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), the CCM represents one of the field’s most respected credentials. It conveys expertise in project scheduling, budget management and quality control.
- Project Management Professional (PMP). Available through the Project Management Institute (PMI), the PMP is a great option for aspiring project managers.
- LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Ideal for sustainability-focused construction managers, LEED’s AP (Accredited Professional) credential verifies an in-depth understanding of green building practices. Options relevant to construction managers include LEED’s BD+C (Building Design and Construction) and ID+C (Interior Design and Construction) programs.
- OSHA Safety Certifications. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration offers voluntary ten and thirty-hour construction training courses that detail hazard identification by highlighting common risks seen on contemporary construction projects.
What’s the Career Outlook for Construction Managers?
A current boom in construction is sparking considerable demand in the industry. Analyses from Deloitte, for example, anticipate strong demand in areas such as residential construction, large-scale manufacturing and energy projects.
Technological advancements are also driving a demand for skilled, experienced professionals who can utilize technology. In HR Future, construction industry analyst Johnathan E. Mitchell details a “discrepancy between the existing workforce’s skills and the emerging requirements of modern construction practices,” revealing that while emerging techniques and technologies can address diverse industry challenges, they also influence increasingly “complex projects [that] demand higher expertise.”
Finally, data compiled by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates a job outlook of 9% between 2023 and 2033. This confirms that demand in construction management outpaces demand than many other occupations.
Salary Expectations
Construction management can be a lucrative field, although much of it depends on experience and specialization. Wage information from the BLS reveals a median construction manager salary of $106,980. Those involved in heavy and civil construction earn median wages of $121,060.
How a Graduate Degree Can Accelerate Your Career
As you prepare for a bright future in construction management, think carefully about how you can set yourself up for success. Graduate-level training will give you a significant advantage, including increased credibility and the following perks:
- Transition to strategic planning. Perhaps you have a strong background working directly on construction sites — and now, you’re eager to expand your competences by exploring the strategic side of this field. A master’s degree can help you make this transition by providing a detailed overview of risk management, construction operations and sustainable and LEAN construction practices— topics that will help you embrace the strategic components of construction management.
- Advance into senior management roles. Interested in exploring senior or even executive-level roles? A master’s degree is increasingly essential for climbing the construction management career ladder. This degree offers not only advanced management insights and skill development but also networking opportunities that can help you break into higher-level positions.
- Specialize in high-demand sectors. Many emerging specializations allow you to leverage your construction management skills to make a powerful difference in your area of choice. Specialized graduate courses will expose you to these niches, encouraging you to explore in-demand areas such as sustainable construction or even new construction technologies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do construction managers need to be licensed?
Licensing requirements vary between states. However, many construction managers do not need to seek state-specific licensure. Those who function as general contractors need contractor licenses.
What’s a typical day like for a construction manager?
In construction management, no two days look exactly alike. Workflows often involve meetings and briefings, monitoring site progress, coordinating suppliers, or engaging with stakeholders.
Is construction management a good career?
Construction management can be an excellent field for motivated professionals who are passionate about construction and eager to complete tasks and want to work in fast-paced environments. This role may offer strong wage growth, career progression and professional satisfaction.
Discover Your Potential in Construction Management at Texas A&M
Whether you aspire to a career in construction management or construction project management, you can gain well-rounded preparation through TAMU’s online Master of Science in Construction Management.
TAMU’s advanced coursework offers foundational concepts such as cost estimating and project scheduling, as well as specialty topics like risk management, construction technologies and LEAN project delivery. Learn more about our construction management curriculum or get on the path to success by applying today.
