How To Become An On Site Construction Superintendent: What It Is and Career Path

What is an on site construction superintendent and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Becky Serbin

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an on site construction superintendent. For example, did you know that they make an average of $36.51 an hour? That's $75,934 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 36,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an on site construction superintendent?

Becky Serbin

Director of Education and Curriculum, National Tile Contractors Association

Skill requirements are stated on our recruitment flyer, attached, but will ultimately be decided on by the hiring contractor. Beyond our flyer, many also require a valid drivers license.

ScoreOn Site Construction SuperintendentUS Average

Salary

5.9

Avg. Salary $75,934

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.8

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.56%

Asian 2.95%

Black or African American 3.94%

Hispanic or Latino 17.34%

Unknown 4.48%

White 70.72%

Gender

female 5.71%

male 94.29%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

7.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an on site construction superintendent

Explore on site construction superintendent education requirements

Most common on site construction superintendent degrees

Bachelor's

48.0 %

Associate

21.4 %

High School Diploma

11.2 %

Start to develop specific on site construction superintendent skills

Skills	Percentages
Construction Sites	21.23%
OSHA	19.21%
Site Safety	12.74%
Project Site	9.75%
Construction Management	6.94%

Complete relevant on site construction superintendent training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New on site construction superintendents 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 an on site construction superintendent based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real on site construction superintendent resumes.

Research on site construction superintendent duties and responsibilities

Manage third party contractors, including safety oversight, control inspection and environmental design specification compliance, and also direct consultants.
Prepare take-offs, change orders, RFI's, as-built, punch-list, and close-out documents.
Maintain a California OSHA standard on site.
Review building plans and specifications to determine the layout for plumbing and relate materials.

Prepare your on site construction superintendent resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your on site construction superintendent 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 an on site construction superintendent resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable on site construction superintendent resume templates

Build a professional on site construction superintendent 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 on site construction superintendent resume.