Architectural superintendent vs general contractor

The differences between architectural superintendents and general contractors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both an architectural superintendent and a general contractor. Additionally, an architectural superintendent has an average salary of $118,084, which is higher than the $66,602 average annual salary of a general contractor.

Architectural superintendent vs general contractor overview

	Architectural Superintendent	General Contractor
Yearly salary	$118,084	$66,602
Hourly rate	$56.77	$32.02
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	13,755	66,218
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

Architectural superintendent vs general contractor salary

Architectural superintendents and general contractors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Architectural Superintendent	General Contractor
Average salary	$118,084	$66,602
Salary range	Between $74,000 And $186,000	Between $41,000 And $107,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between architectural superintendent and general contractor education

There are a few differences between an architectural superintendent and a general contractor in terms of educational background:

	Architectural Superintendent	General Contractor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Drafting And Design	Business
Most common college	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Architectural superintendent vs general contractor demographics

Here are the differences between architectural superintendents' and general contractors' demographics:

	Architectural Superintendent	General Contractor
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 92.3% Female, 7.7%	Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 2.5% White, 76.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 2.8% White, 71.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between architectural superintendent and general contractor duties and responsibilities

Architectural superintendent example responsibilities.

Lead the development of BIM modeling content for the architecture team as a direct report to the executive and lead architects.
Work closely with OBO and the SSM.
Work extensively in Google SketchUp to produce promotional models as representations of propose designs.
Edit and render high quality video animation to provide the story frame-by-frame of modeling and surroundings.

General contractor example responsibilities.

Manage the repair/replacement of mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and structural of primarily historical residences.
Manage third party contractors including safety oversight, environmental design specification compliance, and similar construction specifications and requirements.
Perform electrical, mechanical (HVAC), plumbing, framing, roofing and finishing construction for residential and commercial buildings.
Remodel restaurants, which include painting, dry wall, tiling, plumbing, electrical and laying carpet.
Assist and perform all duties with installation of cabinets, flooring, sheetrock, framing, concrete, and basic plumbing.
Experience in roofing, painting, digging of footers, and tile setting.

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Architectural Superintendent
Architectural Superintendent vs General Contractor

Updated January 8, 2025

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