About The Industry
Do you want to design, build, and maintain structures where people live, work, and play? This industry includes careers in designing, planning, managing, building, and maintaining the built environment. Careers in the architecture and construction industry involve designing and building homes, roads, and other structures. More than half of the occupations in this industry typically require a high school diploma or equivalent. However, specific designations range from less than a high school diploma and short-term on-the-job training for carpet installers to a bachelor’s degree and an internship for occupations such as architects.
We Found 91 Careers!
Construction Managers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Plan, direct, or coordinate, usually through subordinate supervisory personnel, activities concerned with the construction and maintenance of structures, facilities, and systems. Participate in the conceptual development of a construction project and oversee its organization, scheduling, budgeting, and implementation. Includes managers in specialized construction fields, such as carpentry or plumbing.
Cost Estimators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.
Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Plan and design structures, such as private residences, office buildings, theaters, factories, and other structural property.
Landscape Architects
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Plan and design land areas for projects such as parks and other recreational facilities, airports, highways, hospitals, schools, land subdivisions, and commercial, industrial, and residential sites.
Surveyors
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. Provide data relevant to the shape, contour, gravitation, location, elevation, or dimension of land or land features on or near the earth's surface for engineering, mapmaking, mining, land evaluation, construction, and other purposes.
Geodetic Surveyors
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Measure large areas of the Earth's surface using satellite observations, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), light detection and ranging (LIDAR), or related sources.
Civil Engineers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures, and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems.
Transportation Engineers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Develop plans for surface transportation projects, according to established engineering standards and state or federal construction policy. Prepare designs, specifications, or estimates for transportation facilities. Plan modifications of existing streets, highways, or freeways to improve traffic flow.
Architectural Drafters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Prepare detailed drawings of architectural designs and plans for buildings and structures according to specifications provided by architect.
Civil Drafters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Prepare drawings and topographical and relief maps used in civil engineering projects, such as highways, bridges, pipelines, flood control projects, and water and sewerage control systems.
Civil Engineering Technicians
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Apply theory and principles of civil engineering in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of structures and facilities under the direction of engineering staff or physical scientists.
Surveying Technicians
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Adjust and operate surveying instruments, such as the theodolite and electronic distance-measuring equipment, and compile notes, make sketches and enter data into computers.
Mapping Technicians
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Calculate mapmaking information from field notes, and draw and verify accuracy of topographical maps.
Interior Designers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Plan, design, and furnish interiors of residential, commercial, or industrial buildings. Formulate design which is practical, aesthetic, and conducive to intended purposes, such as raising productivity, selling merchandise, or improving life style. May specialize in a particular field, style, or phase of interior design.
First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in landscaping or groundskeeping activities. Work may involve reviewing contracts to ascertain service, machine, and workforce requirements; answering inquiries from potential customers regarding methods, material, and price ranges; and preparing estimates according to labor, material, and machine costs.
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Landscape or maintain grounds of property using hand or power tools or equipment. Workers typically perform a variety of tasks, which may include any combination of the following: sod laying, mowing, trimming, planting, watering, fertilizing, digging, raking, sprinkler installation, and installation of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units.
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of construction or extraction workers.
Solar Energy Installation Managers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Direct work crews installing residential or commercial solar photovoltaic or thermal systems.
Boilermakers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Construct, assemble, maintain, and repair stationary steam boilers and boiler house auxiliaries. Align structures or plate sections to assemble boiler frame tanks or vats, following blueprints. Work involves use of hand and power tools, plumb bobs, levels, wedges, dogs, or turnbuckles. Assist in testing assembled vessels. Direct cleaning of boilers and boiler furnaces. Inspect and repair boiler fittings, such as safety valves, regulators, automatic-control mechanisms, water columns, and auxiliary machines.
Brickmasons and Blockmasons
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Lay and bind building materials, such as brick, structural tile, concrete block, cinder block, glass block, and terra-cotta block, with mortar and other substances to construct or repair walls, partitions, arches, sewers, and other structures.
Stonemasons
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Build stone structures, such as piers, walls, and abutments. Lay walks, curbstones, or special types of masonry for vats, tanks, and floors.
Construction Carpenters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Construct, erect, install, and repair structures and fixtures of wood, plywood, and wallboard, using carpenter's hand tools and power tools.
Rough Carpenters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Build rough wooden structures, such as concrete forms, scaffolds, tunnel, bridge, or sewer supports, billboard signs, and temporary frame shelters, according to sketches, blueprints, or oral instructions.
Carpet Installers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Lay and install carpet from rolls or blocks on floors. Install padding and trim flooring materials.
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Apply blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, or decorative coverings to floors.
Floor Sanders and Finishers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Scrape and sand wooden floors to smooth surfaces using floor scraper and floor sanding machine, and apply coats of finish.
Tile and Marble Setters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Apply hard tile, marble, and wood tile to walls, floors, ceilings, and roof decks.
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs using a variety of hand and power tools. Align forms for sidewalks, curbs, or gutters; patch voids; and use saws to cut expansion joints.
Terrazzo Workers and Finishers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Apply a mixture of cement, sand, pigment, or marble chips to floors, stairways, and cabinet fixtures to fashion durable and decorative surfaces.
Construction Laborers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers.
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways, or equipment used for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.
Pile-Driver Operators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate pile drivers mounted on skids, barges, crawler treads, or locomotive cranes to drive pilings for retaining walls, bulkheads, and foundations of structures, such as buildings, bridges, and piers.
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erect structures, or pour concrete or other hard surface pavement. May repair and maintain equipment in addition to other duties.
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings. Apply or mount acoustical tiles or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings and walls of buildings to reduce or reflect sound. Materials may be of decorative quality. Includes lathers who fasten wooden, metal, or rockboard lath to walls, ceilings or partitions of buildings to provide support base for plaster, fire-proofing, or acoustical material.
Tapers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surface for painting or papering.
Electricians
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Install, maintain, and repair electrical wiring, equipment, and fixtures. Ensure that work is in accordance with relevant codes. May install or service street lights, intercom systems, or electrical control systems.
Glaziers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Install glass in windows, skylights, store fronts, and display cases, or on surfaces, such as building fronts, interior walls, ceilings, and tabletops.
Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Line and cover structures with insulating materials. May work with batt, roll, or blown insulation materials.
Insulation Workers, Mechanical
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Apply insulating materials to pipes or ductwork, or other mechanical systems in order to help control and maintain temperature.
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. May remove old paint to prepare surface prior to painting. May mix colors or oils to obtain desired color or consistency.
Paperhangers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Cover interior walls or ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, or attach advertising posters on surfaces such as walls and billboards. May remove old materials or prepare surfaces to be papered.
Pipelayers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Lay pipe for storm or sanitation sewers, drains, and water mains. Perform any combination of the following tasks: grade trenches or culverts, position pipe, or seal joints.
Pipe Fitters and Steamfitters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Lay out, assemble, install, or maintain pipe systems, pipe supports, or related hydraulic or pneumatic equipment for steam, hot water, heating, cooling, lubricating, sprinkling, or industrial production or processing systems.
Plumbers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Assemble, install, or repair pipes, fittings, or fixtures of heating, water, or drainage systems, according to specifications or plumbing codes.
Plasterers and Stucco Masons
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Apply interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster.
Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Position and secure steel bars or mesh in concrete forms in order to reinforce concrete. Use a variety of fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, and hand tools. Includes rod busters.
Roofers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Cover roofs of structures with shingles, slate, asphalt, aluminum, wood, or related materials. May spray roofs, sidings, and walls with material to bind, seal, insulate, or soundproof sections of structures.
Sheet Metal Workers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.
Structural Iron and Steel Workers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Raise, place, and unite iron or steel girders, columns, and other structural members to form completed structures or structural frameworks. May erect metal storage tanks and assemble prefabricated metal buildings.
Solar Photovoltaic Installers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Assemble, install, or maintain solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on roofs or other structures in compliance with site assessment and schematics. May include measuring, cutting, assembling, and bolting structural framing and solar modules. May perform minor electrical work such as current checks.
Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Help brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, or tile and marble setters by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Helpers--Carpenters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Help carpenters by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Helpers--Electricians
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Help electricians by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Help painters, paperhangers, plasterers, or stucco masons by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Help plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Helpers--Roofers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Help roofers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Elevator Installers and Repairers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Assemble, install, repair, or maintain electric or hydraulic freight or passenger elevators, escalators, or dumbwaiters.
Fence Erectors
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Erect and repair fences and fence gates, using hand and power tools.
Highway Maintenance Workers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement, repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road or plow snow from roadway.
Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Clean and repair septic tanks, sewer lines, or drains. May patch walls and partitions of tank, replace damaged drain tile, or repair breaks in underground piping.
Segmental Pavers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Lay out, cut, and place segmental paving units. Includes installers of bedding and restraining materials for the paving units.
Solar Thermal Installers and Technicians
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Install or repair solar energy systems designed to collect, store, and circulate solar-heated water for residential, commercial or industrial use.
Weatherization Installers and Technicians
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Perform a variety of activities to weatherize homes and make them more energy efficient. Duties include repairing windows, insulating ducts, and performing heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) work. May perform energy audits and advise clients on energy conservation measures.
Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Rig derrick equipment and operate pumps to circulate mud through drill hole.
Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Set up or operate a variety of drills to remove underground oil and gas, or remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.
Service Unit Operators, Oil, Gas, and Mining
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate equipment to increase oil flow from producing wells or to remove stuck pipe, casing, tools, or other obstructions from drilling wells. May also perform similar services in mining exploration operations. Includes fishing-tool technicians.
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate a variety of drills such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic to tap sub-surface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. May use explosives. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.
Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Place and detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials. May perform specialized handling, storage, and accounting procedures. Includes seismograph shooters.
Continuous Mining Machine Operators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate self-propelled mining machines that rip coal, metal and nonmetal ores, rock, stone, or sand from the mine face and load it onto conveyors or into shuttle cars in a continuous operation.
Mine Cutting and Channeling Machine Operators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate machinery such as longwall shears, plows, and cutting machines to cut or channel along the face or seams of coal mines, stone quarries, or other mining surfaces to facilitate blasting, separating, or removing minerals or materials from mines or from the Earth's surface. Includes shale planers.
Rock Splitters, Quarry
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Separate blocks of rough dimension stone from quarry mass using jackhammer and wedges.
Roof Bolters, Mining
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate machinery to install roof support bolts in underground mine.
Roustabouts, Oil and Gas
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Assemble or repair oil field equipment using hand and power tools. Perform other tasks as needed.
Helpers--Extraction Workers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Help extraction craft workers, such as earth drillers, blasters and explosives workers, derrick operators, and mining machine operators, by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include supplying equipment or cleaning work area.
Mechanical Door Repairers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Install, service, or repair automatic door mechanisms and hydraulic doors. Includes garage door mechanics.
Heating and Air Conditioning Mechanics and Installers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Install, service, or repair heating and air conditioning systems in residences or commercial establishments.
Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Install and repair industrial and commercial refrigerating systems.
Millwrights
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to layout plans, blueprints, or other drawings.
Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Build or repair equipment such as furnaces, kilns, cupolas, boilers, converters, ladles, soaking pits and ovens, using refractory materials.
Commercial Divers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Work below surface of water, using scuba gear to inspect, repair, remove, or install equipment and structures. May use a variety of power and hand tools, such as drills, sledgehammers, torches, and welding equipment. May conduct tests or experiments, rig explosives, or photograph structures or marine life.
Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Move or install mobile homes or prefabricated buildings.
Riggers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry.
Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Help installation, maintenance, and repair workers in maintenance, parts replacement, and repair of vehicles, industrial machinery, and electrical and electronic equipment. Perform duties such as furnishing tools, materials, and supplies to other workers; cleaning work area, machines, and tools; and holding materials or tools for other workers.
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Fabricate, position, align, and fit parts of structural metal products.
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate or maintain stationary engines, boilers, or other mechanical equipment to provide utilities for buildings or industrial processes. Operate equipment, such as steam engines, generators, motors, turbines, and steam boilers.
Conveyor Operators and Tenders
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Control or tend conveyors or conveyor systems that move materials or products to and from stockpiles, processing stations, departments, or vehicles. May control speed and routing of materials or products.
Crane and Tower Operators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.
Dredge Operators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate dredge to remove sand, gravel, or other materials in order to excavate and maintain navigable channels in waterways.
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate or tend machinery equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets, to excavate and load loose materials.
Loading Machine Operators, Underground Mining
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate underground loading machine to load coal, ore, or rock into shuttle or mine car or onto conveyors. Loading equipment may include power shovels, hoisting engines equipped with cable-drawn scraper or scoop, or machines equipped with gathering arms and conveyor.
Hoist and Winch Operators
Industries: Construction & Architecture
Operate or tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operated cable equipment.