Construction Management

Types of Degrees Construction Management Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many construction management graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	335
Graduate Certificate	130
Doctor’s Degree	1

What Construction Management Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to construction management and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Construction Management Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Skills for Construction Management Majors

construction management majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Abilities for Construction Management Majors

Construction Management majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Construction Management Major?

People with a construction management degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Construction Managers	11.1%	$93,370

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Construction Management?

This major attracts more men than women. About 75% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of construction management majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	24
Black or African American	36
Hispanic or Latino	50
White	138
International Students	61
Other Races/Ethnicities	26

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Construction Management, too. About 18.2% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Saudi Arabia
• India
• China
• Canada
• Mexico

How Much Do Construction Management Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median early-career salary of construction management students with a master’s degree is $78,154 a year according to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $73,261 (25th percentile) and $88,214 (75th percentile).

One thing to note here is that not all of these people may be working in careers related to construction management.

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to construction management is $103,110. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Construction Management

Some careers associated with construction management require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to construction management have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	4.0%
Some College Courses	12.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	4.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	76.0%
Master’s Degree	4.0%

Online Construction Management Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 168 schools offered some type of construction management program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	27	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	67	6
Bachelor’s Degree	12	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	33	7
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Construction Management Worth It?

The median salary for a construction management grad is $103,110 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 158% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,264,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Construction Management

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to construction management.

Major	Number of Grads
Business Administration & Management	131,555
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	31,701
Accounting	19,309
Human Resource Management	12,117
General Business/Commerce	9,137
Finance & Financial Management	5,784
Marketing	4,011
Management Information Systems	2,766
International Business	2,007
Entrepreneurial Studies	1,823
Taxation	1,350
Hospitality Management	1,341
Real Estate	1,280
Other Business, Management & Marketing	1,073
General Sales & Marketing	537
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	180
Business/Managerial Economics	162
Insurance	143
Business/Corporate Communications	117
Telecommunications Management	23

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By RudolfSimon under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.