When it comes to high-paying jobs in the building and construction industry, construction managers sit pretty close to the top. According to PayScale, the average salary for a construction manager in Australia is $111,264 per year.

There is good reason why construction managers are some of the highest paid professionals in the building and construction industry. It’s a challenging, supervisory, and sought-after role, requiring a combination of both study and experience.

So, how much can you actually earn? To help give you a better idea, we dig a little deeper into what it means to be a construction supervisor in Australia and how to carve out your career to the top.

How Much Does a Construction Manager Earn?

The salary for construction managers does vary, with some earning upwards of $190,000 a year. As in many professions, the more experience you have in an industry the higher your earning potential becomes. Your income will also depend on a few other factors, such as how often you work, who you work for and the scale of the projects you’re managing. 

As a construction manager, it’s likely you’ll have the skills and knowledge needed to take the leap and start your own business. If you’re savvy enough, and have a great team behind you working on high-paying jobs, there is really no limit to how much you can earn. 

What Does a Construction Manager Do?

There’s a reason why a construction manager salary is so high. Their involvement in a project is crucial, and as a construction manager you’ll be expected to supervise and advise staff on all matters associated with the day-to-day running of the job site. 

You’ll also be primarily responsible for setting calendars, coordinating workflow, assigning work to your construction team, making sure workplace health and safety regulations are up to scratch, and reporting on progress to homeowners and development investors. 

In short, a construction manager’s job is to ensure everything on the job site is executed efficiently and safely for the whole lifespan of the project, even if things start to go south. 

As you might imagine, given the above description, there is a range of other skills required to juggle all of these duties. Along with experience and education, you’ll need to have:

• Superior communication skills
• Management and leadership qualities
• Personal drive
• Strong initiative
• Great problem-solving skills
• The ability to work calm under high-level pressure

To be a successful construction supervisor you need to be able to work on a range of projects, both domestic and commercial. You also need to feel comfortable wearing numerous hats at once, as this is a multifaceted role from start to finish. 

Even within construction management, there are also a number of specialised roles. If you are interested in other jobs in building and construction, you might even pursue a related career as a building surveyor, civil engineer, or quantity surveyor.

How to become a Construction Project Manager? 

Becoming a construction manager required years of study and experience. So where does it all begin? For many, their journeys all started the same way – with an apprenticeship. Regardless of the trade you decide to pursue, be it plumbing or carpentry, an apprenticeship will lay the foundations for years to come.

After completing an apprenticeship with us, such as the CPC30211 Certificate III in Carpentry (Carpenters), you can then become a qualified tradie. From there, your next step in becoming a construction manager would be to enrol in a course such as the CPC40110 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building).

Armed with this qualification, you’ll have the skills and knowledge needed to become a licensed builder with the relevant state authority. With further experience, you’ll have the skills to plan, prepare and manage residential construction sites, as well as kickstart your own business.

Want to go one step further studying building and construction? To give yourself an even greater chance of becoming a sought-after construction manager, it’s worth looking into higher-level construction manager courses such as the CPC50210 Diploma of Building and Construction (Building).

This course will help refine your skills and reinforce your learning, giving you more opportunities to pursue high-paying construction manager roles within the building and construction industry – in both residential and commercial settings.

Study at CWBTS

At CWBTS, we understand that you’re likely a busy tradie during the day, or that you might live in a remote or rural part of the country. To bridge this gap, we offer the choice to study building and construction online through our virtual classrooms.

If you’re interested in knowing more about construction manager courses like the Diploma of Building and Construction (Building), or what you could expect from the jobs in building and construction get in touch with the team on 1300 4 CWBTS or online here.