Which position is better if I want to get promoted in a construction company, Assistant Project Mana

Construction manager vs project manager. Still have a question? Ask your own! Depends on how far you want to go in the business. If you want to eventually become a Developer, it’s better if you get good experience onsite from the ground up which I’m assuming would be the Assistant Construction Manager position you describe. From there you can either move up to a Construction Manager or segue to Assistant PM and from there move up to PM and on up the administrative side to VP etc. I’ve been very blessed when I look back (55 years) and started in the estimating dept. of a major Toronto GC and was equal time onsite measuring for T&M contracts, all while going to Uni 4 years at nights. After 5 years GC, went with an Architect firm doing their budgets and checking GC work and monthly billings on multiple large scale Projects. After 4 years with Arch. firm I went to a CM firm as Contracts Manager overviewing bidding, contracts, and contract administration ending up VP. Then in 1980 I figured that what I had done for the prior 15 years is basically what a Developer does, so I started my Development company, Put $5k deposit from my Visa on a 10,000sf gas station lot on Toronto’s main street in 1980, got approvals for a 50,000sf mixed use (Retail, Offices, condos),financed on the added land value etc, built it, sold it and got on with the next one. Over the 55 years I’ve been front and centre on the production of over 26Mil SF of projects and retirement isn’t even on my radar and I’m helping who I can by way of mentoring. And guess what… I can’t even hammer a nail in straight.. Moral of the story… you don’t need to do the actual onsite work, just know what the trades should be doing and be good at administration of the entire process from concept to completion. My route and suggestion: Join RICS Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (NYC office) and take accredited courses for Construction Management and Project Management. RICS members are trained in all aspects of property development and therefore best way to become a Developer, plus of course while working in the Admin. end of a Developer's office if possible. My route: Ian B. Jones - Based in Toronto, Canada, and Dallas USA• President of the BGI Group - Full Service Real Estate Developers, Toronto, Canada and BGI USA - www.bgigroup.ca • Registered Member Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) based in London UK - RICS has 110,000 Property Professionals Worldwide Graduate: Ryerson University (4 yrs nights) Toronto - Quantity Surveying I, II, and III Graduate: George Brown College ( 4 yrs nights) - Surveying; Construction Estimating; Engineering; Arbitration & Law• 50 years direct and continuous experience in large scale Construction, Design, and Development - 5 years large General Contractors - Cost Control and Contract management - 4 years major Architectural firm - Cost Control and Contract management - 6 years major Construction Management firms -Contracts Manager and VP - 40 years - as Principal of Full Service Real Estate Development firm as President directing and overviewing all staff and roles in the following: - Land - Planning & Design - Sales & Marketing - Legal & Financial - Construction - Asset Management• Major role or Principal in delivering 28Mil.SF / $9Bil.of projects including: -1. Hotels ( 4/5 star - Westin / Hilton / Hyatt ) -2. Office Buildings & Mixed Use incl. Retail -3. Residential Condos (incl. Adult Lifestyle) -4. Healthcare ( Hospitals / Pharma Labs / Pharma Plants ) -5. Institutional ( Churches / University Buildings / Student Housing) -6. Industrial (Float Glass Plant / Nickel Mine Refinery & Smelter) -7. Plus - In House Planning and Design ( see BGI / Ian Jones detailed 55 year Project History Pictorial document for complete list - http://lnkd.in/MK3R3Z ) Need a Developer or mentor - contact me through LinkedIn profile above. promoted by Gateway Blend. Field construction and project management are two paths to senior management positions in the construction industry. At the entry level, they are effectively parallel tracks, with one path starting typically on the job site as an Assistant Construction Superintendent , and the other starting in the office as an Assistant Project Manager . Since the latter position generally requires the kind of baseline skills that one gets in an academic construction program (reading plans, basic engineering, understanding project management, ability to write a specification, etc.), it would be a bit unusual (but not impossible) for someone with only a high school or technical background to be ready to step right into that role. However, many of those skills can be learned 'on the job', so one frequently sees people without an academic background start in the field as an Assistant Super for a few years, and then move to project management. Depending on the size and type of the job, the PM and Field Super are roughly equivalent in rank. However, after that position, future growth within a construction management organization is typically office-based in management (the PM function) rather than supervision (the Super's role). Build Your Future is an industry wide program designed to encourage young people to choose careers in construction, whether or not they first pursue an academic background. They have a neat interactive, online career map for the industry ( Follow the Path to the Career of Your Dreams ) which is summarized in the following flow chart: They define the two roles as follows: As a superintendent you run the job site. You are on site and in charge of all subcontractors and work that is performed in the construction of that project. You are a craft professional that has been in charge of crews and completed supervisory training, or you are coming from a university project management track and have experience in the field. You will likely travel to different jobs around the United States and possibly the world depending on the size company you work for. Your next step in advancement might be to become a project manager or to move into senior management. A lot of this depends on the structure of the company. After completing a construction management program, there are a variety of positions that you can go into within a construction company: assistant project manager, estimator, safety manager, scheduler, quality assurance manager or human resource manager. Most firms will start you as an assistant in one of these positions, because it is important for you to get the experience necessary before managing a project on your own. At this point you will manage single projects at a time, but as you progress, you will become responsible for multiple projects. The size of the firm will determine the amount of traveling you will be doing. In my case, I started as an Assistant Project Manager, and then moved to the field as an Assistant Super (the reverse of the typical route). I then returned to the office as a junior manager. While I eventually moved on from the construction field, I found both experiences to be incredibly useful, and I would absolutely recommend both PM and field supervision work to anyone seriously considering a carer in the industry. So, for someone entering the business with a strong academic background in construction management, even though the typical (logical/conservative) approach would be to go right into Project Management, my personal suggestion would be to start in the field. Not only will it give you 'street cred' for the rest of your career, but it will give you the kind of insights into real world conditions and job dynamics that you simply can't get in the office. After having done that for one or two jobs (anywhere from six months to two or three years, depending on the location, type of construction and specific firm), your next career step should almost certainly be project management. Depending on the experience you garnered in the field, you might go in as either an APM or (if you did a great job for a significant period as an Assistant Super) a full-fledge Project Manager on a small- or mid-sized job. Having done that for a couple of years, you'll probably find yourself with the option of either continuing in project management within the organization, or returning to the field, either as the #2 person to a senior super, or as the top field person on a smaller job. At this point, you'll need to look into your heart and decide which role you most enjoy. Both pay well, both can be incredibly fulfilling. but they are very different. Some people take to field conditions like a duck to water, and enjoy the crazy, busy, dangerous, profane, physical, tangible world of the job site. Others can't wait to move into the office, and prefer the planning, reading, meetings and business issues that are the bread and butter of project management. Neither is right or wrong, just different. To me, these classic roles are perfectly illustrated by two gentlemen I knew and worked for, Peter Lehrer and Gene McGovern : The two met in the early 1970s while working for Morse-Diesel Construction on one of New York's iconic skyscrapers: the former Pan Am Building (now the Met Life Building) on top of Grand Central Terminal. Peter was the PM, Gene was the Construction Super. After finishing the job, the two struck out on their own as equal partners, founding Lehrer McGovern, which grew to be one of the country's largest construction firms (they restored the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, built EuroDisney and Canary Wharf, etc.) Throughout this, Peter was always the PM/business/sales guy, and Gene the field/operations/construction guy. Their skill sets were complementary, and completely different. Anyone interested in the subject should definitely watch the documentary about them, Dream Builders . But to return to the original question of career paths, a straightforward description comes from the career placement web site of Western Carolina University, which offers a degree in Construction Management: Construction Management Career Paths Graduates of CM programs may move up through the profession either through the project superintendent career path or through the construction management career path to the position of project manager. The next level is either manager of projects, vice president, president or chief executive officer of a firm or owner of a company. With a degree in construction management, students have the option of several different career paths. Typical starting positions include the following: Inspector Contract administrator Scheduler Estimator Cost control Project controls Procurement Facilities manager Assistant construction manager Construction manager Assistant project manager Project manager And to tie up everything with a nice bow and reiterate that there are multiple career paths for advancement, we turn to the conclusion of the Build Your Future career map: Regardless of where you start, industry apprenticeship, community college or a university, success in a construction company is dependent more upon your skill and dedication than the path you took to get here. There are thousands of great stories within the construction industry of how a kid that loved to build things or tinker ended up as CEO or owner of a company. If there is one industry that allows multiple paths to success, it is the construction industry. Most careers have a single path to success that very specifically spells out what you do and what order you do it in. Construction allows you to create your own path to success. Is it college first, work first, or both? The most important aspect is that you get credentials whether it is through the college system or the industry, credentials do matter. Your level of success is in your hands.