hmm the construction project manager yep it's exactly how it sounds the project manager is the person in charge of a construction project and is responsible for making sure the job is delivered on time and on budget simple right you have plans you have specifications the buildings practically build themselves wrong the project manager has to deal with schedules budgets contracts with subcontractors and vendors communications between stakeholders they have to make dozens of decisions every day just to keep the job moving along there is a reason why project managers get paid the big bucks guess what every
project needs a manager so here at build your path we're going to dig a little deeper into the roles of a project manager and what's needed in order to become one [Applause] what's up guys it's chloe here at build your path before we dive in let's give a special shout out to our awesome sponsor a general contracting and construction management firm that builds some amazing projects we'll get to them in a bit because if you want to pursue this path you need to hear what they have to say so stick around every major construction project
from buildings to bridges to stadiums to roadways has a project manager sometimes referred to as the pm the pm is just one half of an integral construction team the other is the superintendent the superintendent role is the subject of another video but for now what you need to know is that the superintendent handles getting the project built and the pm handles the vast majority of the business side of the job buildings are not just bricks and mortar there's a lot of money time legal regulatory and technical issues that have to be addressed from start to
finish which means they need a seasoned and savvy professional to navigate the way through from the time the construction company is awarded a project either through a competitive bid or a negotiated contract the project manager springs into action typically the pm starts by getting familiar with the project the plans the owner the architects and the engineers the project manager part banker part designer part lawyer part diplomat part boss but all business these days becoming a project manager involves having a college degree typically most construction companies will hire candidates with bachelor's in either construction management or
civil engineering those degrees are not exclusive and many companies will consider others you just have to be really passionate about building people with an associate's degree and on-the-job experience can also become pms because again it's all about the passion nationally according to the department of labor in 2018 the median salary for construction managers is averaged at 93 370 dollars after training and education in some regions of the country entry-level construction managers earn 75 000 to 85 000 with a full benefits package experienced project managers can earn 150 000 or more per year the department of
labor also said that the job market is expected to go up 11 by 2026. some of the mega projects have several layers of project managers including junior and senior pms as well as project executives being a good communicator is probably the most important skill for apm to have you're going to be dealing with a variety of positions from corporate level ceos to brilliant engineers that talk in technobabble project management usually means a lot of in-office work there are tons of meetings phone calls and lots of time behind a computer if the thought of sitting in
an office all day makes you cringe don't worry there's still plenty of time spent on site at the entry level positions you'll probably spend more time at the job site than in an office as your career advances however you will spend more time in the office than in the field there isn't much physical building going on in this career track so if you're someone who enjoys working with their hands or like to be outside all day other career tracks may be for you and now some knowledge from our sponsor being a project manager sounds really
intimidating but our wonderful sponsor was nice enough to give us some first hand pm experience so you know what that means field trip construction management is awesome uh why because every day you you learn something there's always a challenge for you to conquer you can wake up on a tuesday and be faced with a whole new different set of challenges than on thursday so if you like the flexibility and the kind of change in scenery and kind of something new every day this could be the field for you the days always start early 6 30
7 o'clock in the morning and you always start with a huddle with your subcontractors to kind of see what their goal is for the day what their plan is for today typically in the morning is when you get all of their issues and things are trying to work out so you may be able to resolve those issues with them in the field or you may have to take those issues back to the design team or to your team to help figure it out what we do on a day-to-day basis is essentially getting other people to
do what we need them to do when we need them to do it when they're not necessarily interested in doing it so in construction management you have a design team you have the construction team we have the trade partners or the subcontractors that specialize in their own scope and all those individuals have to come together to make the project happen and it really takes teamwork so i appreciate and i enjoy the problem solving and the collaboration it's also a very rewarding and satisfying career because you get to touch something tangible a lot of young people
are really anxious together get their feet dirty internships are the way to go because you have a chance to get your feet dirty really get in the grind and understand if this is really what you want to do and have an impact too because we give interns real work the typical pathway to getting in the construction management is really one of two ways right you can come up through the trades and develop a skill set and stay in the field if you will you know the superintendent route or you can also stay in the office
through the project engineer up through the project management route and that is typically more often than not achieved by attaining your four-year degree whether you want to build homes whether you want to be in the commercial aspect and and build apartments or office buildings or health care projects or going to advanced tech the opportunity is there so you can always move from one respect to another and keep learning and growing so if their passion is about building is about solving complex problems and challenges and always have a changing environment if you have a strong work
ethic and you're willing to put in the time and dedication it's a highly rewarding field that pays well and the world's not going to stop changing and we're always looking for ways to to be innovative and to build better as your body of knowledge grows you'll get to take on larger and more complex projects the path beyond project management usually leads to executive management roles within the company where you could be working on talent recruitment business development and strategic partnerships you can even earn an ownership stake in a company or potentially start your own we're
not going to stop building and if every construction project needs a manager what are you waiting for construction project managers highly talented skilled smart at business and good communicators that make sure our built environment gets constructed on time and on budget all without their heads exploding most days anyway check out buildyourpath.org for more info or go to the interwebs to find a degree program near you thanks for watching this installment of build your path stay tuned as we are doing new career highlight videos until next time [Music] you
