Types of Construction Work
One of the best things about the construction industry is the wide variety of different jobs and careers available in it. There is probably a job in the construction industry for almost everybody.
Having a little knowledge of the construction industry and the types of work available in it can help you get a job. Identifying the jobs that are in the most demand is the best way to find a lucrative career.
There are a number of good sources of information about construction jobs available. One of the best is the statistics compiled by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a US government agency. These can be accessed at the Bureau’s website at:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs003.htm
Types of Construction Jobs
Something to consider is that a large percentage of the professionals in the construction industry are self employed. The USBLS estimates that 60.9% of all construction managers are self employed. A great many carpenters and others work as self employed subcontractors.
Around 44.9% of all painters are also self-employed.
The most common position in the construction industry is that of construction laborer. This category contains a wide variety of workers including roofers, masons, carpenters, framers, dry wall hangers and a wide variety of workers. There were around 1.2 million people employed as construction laborers in 2008.
The number of construction laborers has probably declined because of the recent economic downturn. Large scale layoffs have been reported in the homebuilding and commercial construction industry.
Some Popular Construction Jobs
- Masons – masons are professionals that work with brick and stone. These positions require skill and can be well paid. The USBLS estimated that 160,200 people were employed as masons in 2008.
- Stagehands and set builders – The professionals who build sets for movie and television production made an average salary of around $63,360 a year in 2008 but only around 100 people were employed in that area.
- Around 91,620 people were employed in residential building construction in 2008. This includes all manner of laborers. This industry has suffered serious losses because of the economic downturn.
- Highway and street construction employed around 79,720 people in 2008. This segment of the business can be quite lucrative because many of the people in it are equipment operators. It is not as subject to economic fluctuations because many of the projects are funded by government.
- The USBLS estimated that around 1.2 million people were employed as carpenters in 2008. This figure undoubtedly includes many other construction trades such as drywall hangers. Interestingly enough around 32% of carpenters are self employed. Many carpenters were hard hit by the economic downturn which severely affected the home construction industry.
Trends in Construction Work
A growing trend in construction work is for a large portion of the labor to be done at factories and other locations rather than job sites. Many of the components of houses including window frames, doors, trusses and even floors are built at factories and shipped to jobsites. Modular or prefabricated homes and buildings are also becoming very common.
Even the components of many transportation systems such as highways, bridges and rail systems are now prefabricated. This trend will undoubtedly lower the number of construction jobs available in the future.
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