With the recent resurgence of the housing industry, the outlook for a building boom is rosier. Qualified, experienced builders and construction tradespeople will be in great demand. While apprenticing or becoming a journeyman is a time-honored way to develop construction skills, one route to success in today’s building industry is obtaining a degree in construction management. Whether you want to build on your real-world construction experience in the field or prepare for a new career, gaining the education and skills necessary to tackle commercial and residential construction is a smart move.
Overseeing construction at the work site is part of the construction manager’s job, but working in an office environment is also a component of the job’s function. Good supervisory and leadership skills are necessary as the construction manager interacts or manages personnel from many different specialty areas and must coordinate supply deliveries and project estimates with project contributors.
Some construction management candidates can find employment with a high-school diploma and work experience or an associate degree, but earning a bachelor’s degree in construction management is an option. You can do this through a bachelor’s in business with a concentration in construction or a bachelor of science in construction management through a technical school program or university.
Core classes will explore communication, behavioral science and management techniques. Included will be coursework in understanding contracts and building codes, project management, construction law and quality control. Industry specific courses might be civil engineering, cost estimating and analysis, computer-aided design (CAD), construction safety and OSHA standards.
Online construction management degree programs provide essentially the same curriculum as campus-based college or university programs. Students earning their degrees may opt to continue into a program in architecture or other building industry specialties. Some online degrees in construction management can be completed in less than two years.
Increased Responsibility with Higher Education Level
Those that wish to expand their construction industry experience and skills may opt to continue towards a master’s degree in construction management. This often makes sense for building industry company owners that want to handle the big challenges that come with tighter completion deadlines, changing building regulatory requirements and the evolution of the construction industry.
With an associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree in construction management, the building industry highly values (and sometimes requires) that you become certified. Two certification bodies, the Construction Management Association of America and the American Institute of Constructors award certificates for passing certain technical exams (and the former for also undertaking a self-study course).
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics sees the job outlook for construction managers to grow 17% from 2010 to 2020 with median annual wages of $83,860 (in 2010). Related occupations such as architect will see a high job growth potential of 24% from 2010 to 2020 with median salary of $72,550 reported in 2010. Civil engineers projected job growth is 19% from 2010 to 2020 with a median annual salary in 2010 of $77,560.
