Project managers direct and coordinate the course of construction projects. Typical duties include estimating the cost and schedule of a project, ensuring legal compliance and hiring laborers and subcontractors. Project managers usually have at least a bachelor's degree in a construction-related field and several years of experience in the industry. These workers are sometimes called construction managers or general contractors.
Median and Average Wages
As of 2011, the reported average income of a project manager was $45.14 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Project managers earned a mean annual salary of $93,900. The median hourly wage of project managers in 2011 was $40.50, and half of all project managers reportedly received wages of between $31.15 and $53.85 per hour.
The highest-paying states for project managers were located in the Northeast and West as of 2011, while those in the South reported the lowest hourly pay. New York ranked first with an average wage of $61.62 per hour, followed by New Jersey at $60.48, Rhode Island at $59.93, Washington, D.C. at $53.78 and Alaska at $53.53. Arkansas reported the lowest average wage in the country for project managers, $32.27 an hour. The highest local pay for project managers was found in Elmira, New York, where the average hourly wage for this occupation was $74.79 an hour. The highest average wage reported in a nonmetropolitan area was $62.48 an hour, in Southwest Alaska.
Wages by Industry
About one quarter of all project managers worked in nonresidential building construction as of May 2011 and earned an average of $45.41 an hour. Those who worked as building equipment contractors earned slightly less, averaging $46.52 an hour, while those engaged primarily in residential housing construction made an average of $43.50 an hour. Those who specialized in the construction of hotels averaged $62.75 an hour, while project managers who oversaw the construction of amusement parks earned an average of $60.57 an hour.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth among project managers is expected to occur at about 17 percent between 2010 and 2020. This is slightly higher than the average job growth of 14 percent expected for the economy as a whole. In addition, many project managers are expected to retire in the coming decade. As a result, the bureau predicts that applicants who have both construction experience and a bachelor's degree in construction science or civil engineering will experience favorable job prospects.