Career
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
Lead construction crews on the job site.
$79,920
Median pay
+5.0%
Job growth, 2025–35
67,000
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Inspect work progress, equipment, or construction sites to verify safety or to ensure that specifications are met.
- Read specifications, such as blueprints, to determine construction requirements or to plan procedures.
- Supervise, coordinate, or schedule the activities of construction or extractive workers.
- Assign work to employees, based on material or worker requirements of specific jobs.
- Coordinate work activities with other construction project activities.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on persuasion & leadership, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Inspect work progress, equipment, or construction sites to verify safety or to ensure that specifications are met.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Coordination, Speaking, Active Listening, Critical Thinking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $79,920 a year and 67,000 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Construction Trades, GeneralCIP 46.0000
- Mason/MasonryCIP 46.0101
- Carpentry/CarpenterCIP 46.0201
- ElectricianCIP 46.0302
- Building/Property MaintenanceCIP 46.0401
- Concrete Finishing/Concrete FinisherCIP 46.0402
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers$79,860 · +4.1%
- First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$74,450 · +1.8%
- First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand
- First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators
- First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers$58,430 · +4.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.