Construction administrator vs site manager

The differences between construction administrators and site managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a construction administrator and a site manager. Additionally, a site manager has an average salary of $59,192, which is higher than the $46,576 average annual salary of a construction administrator.

The top three skills for a construction administrator include construction management, construction projects and construction contracts. The most important skills for a site manager are customer service, safety procedures, and oversight.

Construction administrator vs site manager overview

	Construction Administrator	Site Manager
Yearly salary	$46,576	$59,192
Hourly rate	$22.39	$28.46
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	79,644	47,853
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

What does a construction administrator do?

A Construction Administrator is responsible for all administrative duties regarding a company's construction projects. They prepare construction contract documents, review project budgets, and meet with the general contractor and clients to assist in the construction process.

What does a site manager do?

The tasks of a Site Manager may vary, but the responsibility will always revolve around supervising the construction project and its employees, making sure that the project is completed within the allotted time, budget, and quality. Site Managers are required to have great communication and leadership skills as they are often the ones to engage with the clients and coordinate with the employees. Moreover, It is also the Site Manager's responsibility to ensure the safety of employees, prepare site reports, conduct quality control procedures, assess and solve problems, negotiate contracts, and secure permits needed for the project.

Construction administrator vs site manager salary

Construction administrators and site managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Construction Administrator	Site Manager
Average salary	$46,576	$59,192
Salary range	Between $32,000 And $66,000	Between $32,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	California
Best paying company	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	Meta
Best paying industry	Construction	Technology

Differences between construction administrator and site manager education

There are a few differences between a construction administrator and a site manager in terms of educational background:

	Construction Administrator	Site Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

Construction administrator vs site manager demographics

Here are the differences between construction administrators' and site managers' demographics:

	Construction Administrator	Site Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2%	Male, 63.4% Female, 36.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 2.8% White, 71.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 2.8% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between construction administrator and site manager duties and responsibilities

Construction administrator example responsibilities.

Manage and execute the SharePoint business integration implementation project and become the corporate governance portal administrator.
Prepare all notice to owners, certificates of insurance, and AIA billings for projects.
Respond to difficult RFI's, ferreting out inappropriate requests with answers clearly indicate in the contract documents.
Review the contract documents and specifications and consult with the design professional as required to provide responses to RFI's.
Facilitate and schedule all in-house AIA credit presentations for manufacture representatives.
Perform detailed CPM schedule analyses on as-built schedules to determine delay entitlement.

Site manager example responsibilities.

Manage all aspects of LTE upgrade procedure.
Manage incoming work through Ricoh project software and through e-mail.
Manage incoming and outgoing faxes, mail, and FedEx packages.
Identify and manage all work require to complete and acquire NTP.
Manage day-to-day processing of account receivables and payables using QuickBooks and Xero, producing reports as requested.
Monitor KPI's and manage them so that weak areas can be addressed and future performance can be improve.

Construction administrator vs site manager skills

Common construction administrator skills

Construction Management, 7%
Construction Projects, 7%
Construction Contracts, 7%
Project Management, 6%
RFI, 5%
Purchase Orders, 5%

Common site manager skills

Customer Service, 17%
Safety Procedures, 7%
Oversight, 6%
OSHA, 6%
Logistics, 5%
Project Management, 4%

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Executive Management Industry
Construction Administrator
Construction Administrator vs Site Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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