Economic forecasts aside, the long-run job prospects in Construction Management are much better than average, from the perspective of salary and chance of hire.
The number of construction management jobs will grow 15.7% between 2006 and 2016. The median salary in 2006 was $73,700.
A bachelor’s degree in construction science, construction management, building science, or civil engineering or architecture are preferred and work experience is also expected, whether through an internship, a cooperative education program, or a job in the industry. The traditional path to advancement begins with long-term experience as, for example, carpentry, masonry, plumbing, or electrical installation.
In Northeast Ohio, five colleges have relevant four-year programs that would qualify you, after work experience, for a construction management opportunity:
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland State University
Kent State University
The University of Akron
Youngstown State University
For example, Cleveland State University’s Engineering program has made “large investments have been made in new labs and the renovation of classrooms and office space…” Its co-op program enables students to alternate between classes and work at many (related) “prominent companies”.
According to the Dean’s report in spring 2008, 63% of the faculty graduated from the top 26 engineering schools in the United States, including MIT, Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, Purdue, Texas A&M and a variety of others. The Visiting Scholar program has hosted scholars from Carnegie Mellon University and internationally from Myong Ji University and Dankook University in South Korea, Fujian University and Shanghai Polytechnic University in China, Federal University of Sao Carlos in Brazil and JNTU in India.
In the Cleveland marketplace, there are an estimated 970,000 construction management positions, with an average hourly wage of $42.55 and an average annual salary of $88,510.
According to the Occupational Outlook, construction managers “plan, direct, coordinate, or budget…activities concerned with the construction and maintenance of structures, facilities, and systems”. Construction managers help conceptualize the development of a construction project and organize, schedule, and implement related activities with the help of supervisory subordinates. Specialties such as carpentry or plumbing are included in this profession, and job titles include general superintendents, project managers, and constructors.
The biggest employers of construction managers include petroleum and related wholesale, investment pools or funds, and travel accommodations. Most managers are involved with nonresidential, residential, building equipment, foundation, structure and exterior contactors.
Sources: Occupational Outlook Handbook, http://www.csuohio.edu/engineering/
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