A Construction Superintendent is at the center of every construction project. They lead the hands-on team and keep the project organized and efficient. If you would rather work directly rather than behind a desk, the construction industry may be worth looking into.
An associate of applied science in Construction Superintendency can prepare you with the skills and experience needed to be a construction superintendent, as well as to pursue other careers within the field of construction.
What Does a Superintendent Actually Do?
A superintendent is the primary leader on the ground in a construction project. While other roles like the Project Manager may handle the paperwork like contracts and budgets, the Superintendent works directly on the site.
Day-to-day duties involve:
- Enforcing Safety: Making sure everyone goes home healthy at the end of the shift. They make sure safety rules and laws are kept.
- Quality Control: Checking that the work being done matches the architectural specs and building codes.
- Coordinating Trades: Ensuring that one trade like plumbing doesn’t get in the way of another like electricians. They make sure that all subcontractors work on the right things at the right times.
- Problem Solving: When the materials show up late or the weather takes a turn, they are the one who finds a way forward.
Careers You Can Pursue
A degree in Construction Superintendency prepares you for a career in several different roles:
- Superintendent: manages and supervises the daily operations on a construction site
- Assistant Superintendent: This is the most common entry point into the field after graduation, where you support a Senior Superintendent in managing.
- Field Engineer: A field engineer works to make sure that the physical construction project is being built like the plans specified. They make sure the site is congruent to the designs and to safety standards.
- Project Foreman: Leads a specific crew (like framing or masonry) within a larger project.
- Building Inspector: Ensuring that residential or commercial buildings meet local safety and code requirements.
How to Start Preparing Now
While a degree is an incredibly important and useful thing to have, within the construction industry, experience is the most important credential. It is crucial that preparation for your future career begins before graduation day.
- Work the Summer: Get a job as a laborer for a subcontractor or local construction company over the summer or during your off-semester. Seeing how a site runs from the bottom up will make you a much better leader later.
- Learn to Read Plans: Take your blueprint reading classes seriously. Being able to quickly and accurately interpret a drawing is an invaluable and critical skill on a job site.
- Develop "Soft Skills": Communication is an essential part of a superintendent’s job. Practice resolving conflicts and speaking clearly in your group projects, it can be great practice for management and conflict resolution.
More than anything, make sure you get any and all experience you can. Work part time while in school, work full-time during the summer, take an internship, or get into the field as soon as you can after graduation. You will not be able to fill all of the roles necessary as a superintendent if you don’t know how the construction field operates, and if you don’t know how to build what you are supervising.
Conclusion
By understanding the leadership demands of the job site and starting your preparation now through hands-on work and soft-skill development, you are doing more than earning a degree, you are already developing your career. As you move forward in your education and career preparation, remember that every blueprint you read and every job you take is a direct investment in your future career. The industry is ready for the next generation of field leaders, and now is the time to start building the experience and the character necessary for those roles.
Sources & Further Reading:
- Construction Superintendency (A.A.S.) BYU-Idaho
- How to Become a Superintendent of Construction The Birm Group
- The Career Path of a Construction Superintendent Diamond Peak Recruiting
- Construction Superintendent Role Explained: Skills & Career Paths Autodesk Digital Builder