How To Become A Flagman: What It Is and Career Path

What is a flagman and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a flagman. For example, did you know that they make an average of $20.55 an hour? That's $42,743 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFlagmanUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $42,743

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.9

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.48%

Asian 2.41%

Black or African American 16.22%

Hispanic or Latino 15.12%

Unknown 4.74%

White 60.03%

Gender

female 11.52%

male 88.48%

Age - 56

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 56

Stress level

6.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.9

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a flagman

Explore flagman education requirements

Most common flagman degrees

High School Diploma

53.8 %

Associate

15.0 %

Diploma

15.0 %

Start to develop specific flagman skills

Skills	Percentages
Construction Sites	34.40%
Traffic Control Devices	23.40%
Train Crews	11.56%
Hand Signals	9.19%
Safety Rules	8.65%

Complete relevant flagman training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New flagmen learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a flagman based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real flagman resumes.

Research flagman duties and responsibilities

Provide general labor and flagging responsibilities for the installation of asphalt pavement.
Set up devices including but not limit to: cones, barricades, signs according to MUTCD guidelines.

Prepare your flagman resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your flagman resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a flagman resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable flagman resume templates

Build a professional flagman resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your flagman resume.