Careers in Civil Engineering: Construction Supervisor

One of the most common jobs of the civil engineers is the construction supervisor. This is also the job taken up by most of the civil engineers at the beginning of their career and which lays down the foundation for achieving greater goals in future. For gaining the real experience of civil engineering and being a successful down to earth civil engineer the experience of working as the supervisor is very useful. The job of the supervisor is an on-field job so the newbie gets lots of exposure to the adventures of construction field.

The supervisor is required for all types of construction be it construction of the small residential building, large buildings, multiplexes, hotels, air ports, bridges, dams etc. As a construction supervisor you may be working in the building construction company, also called as the builders or in the contracting company, also called as the contractors. If you are working in building construction company, you will report to your company bosses for all the progress and problems related to the work. If you are working with the contractor, you will have to report to your boss as well the employing company that has awarded the project to your company.

The job of construction supervisor is considered to be very vital for all types of construction activities. It is the supervisor who actually carries out the construction activities as per the designs and executes the plans. Here are various duties of the construction supervisor:

1) Make sure the skilled labor in sufficient numbers is available for the purpose of construction.

2) Make sure all the construction materials of specified quality are available in sufficient quantities for the planned construction works.

3) Carry out the construction of the building as per the designs and drawings given to them. It is the job of the supervisor to execute the plans so that the construction is done as per the schedules within the allocated budget.

4) Guide the team of the labors to carry out all the construction works smoothly as per the specified quality norms. It is also the duty of supervisor to solve all technical problems faced by the labor.

5) Make sure that the buildings are watered thoroughly and that there is enough supply of water for construction as well as curing purpose.

6) Be in constant touch with the seniors and seek their advice for all the intricate issues. Report to the seniors the daily progress of the work and plan for the future activities.

The job of the supervisors is very rough and tough. On one side they have to get the things done from the labor, who many times are difficult to handle and on the other side they have to face the bosses who may be stressed to meet the demands and schedules from the top brass.

Another difficulty with the job of the supervisor is that their sites tend to keep on changing. The person may have to travel long distance from their residences to go to the sites. In fact, in most of the cases the supervisors have to leave their house to reside at the sites for their jobs. The living conditions at the site are never as comfortable as those available at the home.

Though the job of the supervisor is the tough, it gives you the real hands-on experience in your field that is civil engineering. It helps you understand various technical and non-technical intricacies and issues related with the construction and also helps you understand how you to solve these issues.

The job of the supervisor helps you improve your skills to deal with the group of people and gives to confidence to lead them. The technical and behavioral skills acquired during the job of the supervisor will go a long way in helping you becoming a successful consultant, builder and contractor.

To become a civil engineer supervisor a good civil engineering degree or even diploma is good enough. In fact you even do civil engineering course online or by distance education.