Director of Construction
Impact: Project delivery, financial performance, safety standards
Directs and oversees all aspects of construction projects, ensuring adherence to budgets, schedules, and quality standards.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- Team-oriented
- Client facing
- Sometimes
- Impact visibility
- High
- Travel
- Frequent local travel to job sites, occasional regional travel
- Schedule flexibility
- Rigid
- Remote work
- Limited Remote
- Typical work hours
- 50-60 hours per week
- Stress level
- High
At a glance
- Median salary
- $140,000
- Entry-level
- $90,000 - $110,000
- Senior
- $180,000 - $250,000
- Growth by 2033
- 5% (average)
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High
- Typical student debt
- $30,000 - $60,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Project Management
- Budgeting
- Construction Methods
- Contract Management
- Risk Assessment
Soft skills
- Leadership
- Problem-solving
- Communication
- Negotiation
- Decision-making
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Bachelor's degree
- Licensing
- Varies by State
- Years to mid-career
- 8-12 years
- Years to senior
- 15-20 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Project Manager
- Senior Project Manager
- Director of Construction
- VP of Operations
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 10% to low risk due to complex decision-making and human oversight
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.5/10
- Meaning
- 3.8/10
- Work-life balance
- 2.8/10
- Prestige
- 7.5/10
- Social perception
- High