General Foreman is also known or referred to as a construction supervisor or superintendent. As a general Foreman, you are to supervise construction sites and be in charge of the management of staff and building schedules. You have to ensure that every operation on a construction site is running smoothly. Typically, you are in charge of conducting inspections regularly. The coordination with engineers and architects is also a part of your duties.

In addition, you are to manage expenditure and budget while still supervising workers. You must also ensure that projects are done according to the desired time frame. Furthermore, you are to ensure that workers implement all safety policies and regulations to have a safe and productive workspace for everyone.

Usually, to be a general foreman, you don't need a college education to qualify for this role. However, you should possess at least a high school diploma or GED. A general foreman makes an average salary of $64,025 per year.

What Does a General Foreman Do

There are certain skills that many general foremen have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, listening skills and communication skills.

Learn more about what a General Foreman does

How To Become a General Foreman

If you're interested in becoming a general foreman, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 27.4% of general foremen have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.6% of general foremen have master's degrees. Even though some general foremen have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a General Foreman

General Foreman Career Paths

Average Salary for a General Foreman

General Foremen in America make an average salary of $48,517 per year or $23 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $62,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $37,000 per year.
Average General Foreman Salary
$48,517 Yearly
$23.33 hourly

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Roles and Types of General Foreman

The role of a general foreman includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general general foreman responsibilities:

  • Maintain and troubleshoot electrical equipment and power distribution throughout the plant. Establish the appropriate procedure to locate
  • The general foreman is responsible for managing shop production, quality
  • Plan and direct the operations of an assigned production area in the manufacturing facility, including safety, quality, productivity,

There are several types of general foreman, including:

Foreman

Role:

The Foreman is a central figure at construction sites, supervising work and troubleshooting any issues that may arise. Foremen mediate between site workers, architects, and supervisors, or property owners. They coordinate the day-to-day work on-site and report on the progress to the managers. Following the lead of a general contractor, they create the work schedule and allocate tasks, manage the budget, order material, if necessary, and make sure the delivered work is top-notch.

They make sure safety measures are met and supervise the machinery and equipment in use. They might also be responsible for recruiting, hiring, and training the crew.

Being a foreman is not for the faint of heart. You need to have excellent leadership skills, years of on-the-job experience, and the nerves to deal with paperwork, follow sketches and blueprints, hammer out interpersonal conflicts, and manage time like a pro.
  • Average Salary: $55,073
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Carpenter

Role:

How much wood would a carpenter.. Wait, that's not how that goes. Speaking of carpenter's though, they do cut a lot of wood. That's how they're able to construct, repair and install building frameworks.

With only a high school diploma, you could be making an average of $48,330 a year by becoming a carpenter. The range of projects they work on range from installing kitchen cabinets to building highways and bridges.
  • Average Salary: $41,748
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Apprentice Carpenter

Role:

An apprentice carpenter performs a variety of duties which include assisting a carpenter in building and constructing wooden structures, clearing debris from construction sites, and fetching tools needed by the carpenter. Your job also requires you to pay attention to the works of licensed carpenters and learn every aspect of the skill including the use of carpentry tools and construction processes. Also, you are to assist the carpenter in reading blueprints and construction layouts and regularly advise and plan construction projects with the supervising carpenter. Furthermore, you must ensure a safe working environment is maintained and maintain all tools.

A high school diploma or GED certificate is needed to get this job. Also, you must have experience in construction, possess strong math and endurance skills, and be able to pay attention to detail. With these, you will earn an average salary of $31,805 per year or $15.29 per hour.

  • Average Salary: $37,902
  • Degree: High School Diploma

States With The Most General Foreman Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active general foreman jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where general foremen earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of General Foreman Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California4,575$54,058
2Pennsylvania1,704$43,311
3New York1,546$59,059
4Massachusetts1,029$53,853
5Washington890$56,148
6New Jersey811$54,669
7Florida645$44,166
8Oregon557$50,956
9Texas530$45,551
10Connecticut424$63,957
11Virginia304$49,672
12North Carolina286$48,825
13Georgia279$50,726
14Nebraska277$47,827
15Idaho277$46,107
16New Hampshire245$59,835
17Colorado212$51,400
18Ohio212$50,871
19Maine194$44,105
20Delaware190$45,321
21Iowa188$46,798
22Indiana184$51,338
23Arizona177$53,272
24South Carolina163$39,947
25Tennessee157$36,766
26Alabama155$38,368
27Illinois144$50,303
28North Dakota142$59,769
29Rhode Island139$54,672
30Minnesota134$54,480
31Maryland132$53,134
32Wisconsin131$46,355
33Michigan125$41,471
34South Dakota113$48,673
35Utah108$48,200
36Kansas93$47,031
37Missouri85$55,607
38Louisiana81$52,308
39Montana74$48,936
40Kentucky73$50,842
41Nevada70$47,844
42Vermont70$45,748
43Oklahoma65$42,482
44Arkansas49$44,319
45New Mexico48$43,497
46Mississippi45$35,604
47West Virginia41$45,047
48Wyoming33$50,374
49Alaska32$40,193
50Hawaii15$56,937

General Foreman Education

General Foreman Majors

23.2 %

General Foreman Degrees

High School Diploma

32.8 %

Bachelors

27.4 %

Associate

23.3 %

Top Skills For a General Foreman

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 10.7% of general foremen listed safety procedures on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and listening skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable General Foreman Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use General Foreman templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your General Foreman resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

General Foreman Resume
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General Foreman Demographics

General Foreman Gender Distribution

Male
Male
97%
Female
Female
3%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among general foremen, 3.0% of them are women, while 97.0% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among general foremen is White, which makes up 66.4% of all general foremen.

  • The most common foreign language among general foremen is Spanish at 68.4%.

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Best States For a General Foreman

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a general foreman. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and New York. General foremen make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $63,957. Whereas in New Hampshire and North Dakota, they would average $59,835 and $59,769, respectively. While general foremen would only make an average of $59,059 in New York, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. North Dakota

Total General Foreman Jobs: 142
Highest 10% Earn:
$74,000
Location Quotient:
2.37

2. Connecticut

Total General Foreman Jobs: 424
Highest 10% Earn:
$87,000
Location Quotient:
1.98

3. New Hampshire

Total General Foreman Jobs: 245
Highest 10% Earn:
$79,000
Location Quotient:
2.17
Full List Of Best States For General Foremen

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Top General Foreman Employers

Most Common Employers For General Foreman

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Fluor Corporation$59,177$28.45238
2Bechtel Corporation$57,037$27.4292
3PCL Construction$56,977$27.3928
4Kiewit$56,641$27.2325
5Austin Industries$56,015$26.9326
6Zachry Group$55,312$26.5957
7Turner Industries$54,802$26.3556
8Zachry Construction$54,284$26.1042
9TIC - The Industrial$53,977$25.9537
10CCC Group$53,926$25.9327

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