The concrete industry is on the fast path to $1 trillion. This is an incredible growth rate considering the industry was valued at roughly $617 billion in 2020. Reaching $1 trillion by 2030 depends on 4.7% annual growth through 2030.
With so much growth forecasted, this is a great industry to start a career in. Read on to learn about five lesser-known jobs that a concrete company offers. Explore the type of concrete jobs that construction projects rely on to get the job done.
1. Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
Masonry workers are well-known in the United States. This is no surprise, given that more than 267,000 masonry workers are in the country.
This figure includes both cement masons and concrete finishers. These are laborers that use concrete and concrete blocks as construction materials.
The excellent news for masonry workers is that they only need a high school diploma to get started. You do not need to incur student loan debt to start in this field. Instead, masonry workers learn through apprenticeships. Here, you shadow an experienced mason and learn various skills, including reading blueprints and building codes.
You can advance in this career path. After the end of your apprenticeship, you become a journeyman. Now you can complete tasks by yourself without supervision. As you gain more experience, you can apply for managerial roles. Naturally, these jobs earn more money as you become responsible for supervising and mentoring others.
2. Concrete Foreman
The foreman is critical to completing a job on time and under budget. This is where logistics and management come into play.
Foremen ensure that construction projects stay on schedule. They coordinate the purchase and delivery of valuable construction materials. They track extensive bills of material to ensure that manual laborers have everything they need.
This includes everything from concrete ready-mix to the required hand tools and heavy equipment. They are responsible for scheduling crews to work the various shifts. This includes ensuring that the right labor mix and equipment shows up at the work site at the correct times.
Foremen are typically promoted from a skilled trade position that shows tremendous leadership traits and responsibility. They are provided a work truck, tools, laptop, cell phone and all the technology to allow them to effectively plan and succeed.
There are also professional certifications available to improve your knowledge base. Many times successful foremen are promoted to Superintendents over time after developing a skill set to oversee an entire project.
3. Project Manager
Every project requires a leader to oversee all aspects of the job. The concrete industry is no different. Construction projects of all sizes need a manager from start to finish.
The project manager leads the project in an office setting and serves as a liaison to the field. They are responsible for multiple jobs related to cost, schedule, and technical details. Project managers are responsible for ensuring that the customer is satisfied. They must bring in subcontractors or specialists when the in-house staff cannot finish a task.
Project managers need a bachelor’s degree in a business or management field. They can seek additional knowledge via professional certifications. The Project Management Institute (PMI) is one avenue to obtain a professional certification.
It is not uncommon for experienced project managers to earn over $100,000. The median salary was nearly $95,000 in 2021.
The number of project managers is also expected to grow by 7% through 2030. This means an additional 56,300 project managers will be hired throughout the decade. This gives prospective project managers confidence that job opportunities will be available.
4. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
Construction projects rely heavily on safety inspections. Most concrete jobs are going to see a lot of human traffic. The concrete may have vehicles and other heavy items on top of it.
If the concrete project is not safely completed, there is a risk of human injury or property damage. For these reasons, safety and quality control are TOP priorities for the team.
There is also a lot of risk for employee injury at the workplace. Concrete jobs require heavy machinery and frequent interaction with potentially dangerous materials.
This is where occupational health and safety specialists come in. Their primary purpose is to ensure that the workplace and final product are safe. They perform routine inspections on the job site and any poured concrete.
Occupational health and safety specialists also review work procedures. They are heavily involved in the work planning aspect to ensure the job is to minimize the potential for injury or damage.
Most occupational health and safety specialists earn a bachelor’s degree in this field. There is a lesser designation called a safety technician. This job typically only requires an associate’s degree or professional certification.
5. Construction Superintendent
The mantra that everyone has a boss still rings true in the concrete industry. The construction superintendent can oversee multiple sites or projects at the same time or one larger single project The project managers report the status to the superintendent.
They have many of the same tasks that a project manager has, albeit on a larger scale.
Superintendents are responsible for allocating resources to the work site. Their focus is placed on completing projects on time and under budget.
They are responsible for all technical parameters of the job. This includes safety, quality control, and environmental considerations.
Construction superintendents are level on the organizational chart with project managers. They can expect to earn significant money due to the high level of responsibility You also need a high education level and more years of experience to land this job.
Your Guide to Five Lesser-Known Jobs That Concrete Companies Love
You are now ready to apply for some jobs in the concrete industry. Many people falsely assume that only masons work in this field. However, there are many different career paths to choose from. We did not cover many, including sales, marketing, administration, and more.
If you are interested in applying to concrete companies, apply for your next career at MegaKC today.
