CONSTRUCTION MANAGER
01Construction Manager
Schedule, quality, safety, cost. The person who keeps the site running.
An engineer who manages the schedule, quality, safety and cost of a construction project on site. You direct the trades, consult with the client and the designers, and record the work in documents and photos. To be assigned to a site as a chief engineer（主任技術者）or supervising engineer（監理技術者）, you need a Construction Management Engineer（施工管理技士）license or the specified amount of practical experience.
- Job openings ratioArchitecture, civil engineering & surveying engineers / FY2025
- 5.585.1× all jobs
- Est. annual payArchitectural engineers / avg. age 43.4
- ¥6.79M
- Key licenses
- 2nd-class Construction Management Engineer（2級施工管理技士）1st-class Construction Management Engineer（1級施工管理技士）Assistant Engineer（技士補）
Sources: 一般職業紹介状況・雇用関係指標（年度）2025年度 — Employment Referrals for General Workers, FY2025 (MHLW) / 令和7年賃金構造基本統計調査 — 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure (MHLW, Mar 2026). Full-time only: 6.72. Civil engineers: about ¥6.25M (avg. age 46.0).
01 WORK
What the job involves
Schedule control
Plan the order and headcount of each trade’s work so the project finishes on time, and adjust for delays.
Quality control
Inspect whether the work matches the drawings and specifications, and record it in photos and documents.
Safety management
Morning briefings, hazard-prediction (KY) activities, scaffold and heavy-equipment checks: setting up the work so no one gets hurt.
Cost control
Check material and subcontracting costs against the estimate and finish the job within budget.
Where you’d work
Arranging and coordinating subcontractors, consulting with the client and designers. Large projects must have a supervising engineer.
Managing the company’s own specialty scope, such as electrical, piping or interiors.
Often said to handle several detached-house sites at once (no official statistics).
Assisting with supervision and inspection on the side of government agencies or developers.
02 LICENSE
Steps to getting licensed
Assistant work (paperwork, photo records, survey assistance) needs no license. Since FY2024, anyone aged 17+ can take the 2nd-class first exam, and anyone aged 19+ can take the 1st-class first exam, regardless of education or work experience.
- STEP01NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED
Construction management assistant
No license needed. Start with paperwork, photo records and survey assistance.
- STEP02
2nd-class first exam → 2nd-class Assistant Engineer（2級技士補）
Age 17+ (as of the end of the exam fiscal year)
FY2025 pass rate 49.6% (all fields)
- STEP03
2nd-class second exam → 2nd-class Construction Management Engineer（2級施工管理技士）
After passing the 2nd-class first exam, 3+ years of practical experience (2 years for construction machinery), among other routes
FY2025 pass rate 46.6%. Qualifies you as a chief engineer
- STEP04
1st-class first exam → 1st-class Assistant Engineer（1級技士補）
Age 19+, regardless of education or work experience
FY2025 pass rate 45.0%. Can serve as assistant to a supervising engineer (conditions apply)
- STEP05GOAL
1st-class second exam → 1st-class Construction Management Engineer（1級施工管理技士）
After passing the 1st-class first exam, 5+ years of practical experience, or 3+ years including 1+ year of specified experience, among other routes
FY2025 pass rate 45.9%. Qualifies you as a supervising engineer
Construction Management Engineer exams, FY2025: examinees → passers (pass rate)
| Field | 1st-class first | 1st-class second | 2nd-class first | 2nd-class second |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil engineering | 43.1% | 38.9% | 50.5% | 53.5% |
| Building | 48.5% | 39.0% | 39.5% | 32.7% |
| Electrical works | 41.5% | 69.6% | 57.2% | 51.8% |
| Plumbing & HVAC works | 38.7% | 63.3% | 61.8% | 50.0% |
| All fields | 45.0% | 45.9% | 49.6% | 46.6% |
Source: 技術検定 令和7年度受検者数・合格者数 — Technical qualification exams: FY2025 examinees and passers (MLIT, FY2025). Some pass rates are calculated from the numbers of examinees and passers.
See the license roadmap for all five trades →03 PAY & DEMAND
Pay and job openings ratio
Source: 令和7年賃金構造基本統計調査（一般労働者・企業規模10人以上） — 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure (regular employees, enterprises with 10+ employees) (MHLW, published Mar 2026). Estimated annual pay = scheduled monthly cash earnings × 12 + annual bonus; an estimate made by the source material (not an officially published figure). Regular employees at enterprises with 10+ employees.
JOB OPENINGS RATIO
5.58
Architecture, civil engineering & surveying engineers (FY2025)
Full-time only: 6.72. That works out to about 5.6 job openings per job seeker.
Source: 一般職業紹介状況（職業安定業務統計）・雇用関係指標（年度）2025年度 — Employment Referrals for General Workers, FY2025 (MHLW, published 2026). Through Hello Work, regular employment incl. part-time.
04 WORK STYLE
Working conditions & rule changes
Overtime cap (from April 1, 2024)
The legal cap on overtime now applies to construction too: in principle 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year; even under a special clause, 720 hours a year and under 100 hours a month, among other limits. Some caps do not apply to disaster recovery and reconstruction work.
Covering two sites (from December 13, 2024)
For contracts under ¥100 million (under ¥200 million for general building work), a supervising engineer or similar can now cover up to two sites, provided conditions such as being able to check the sites via ICT are met.
Age profile of the industry
Of people working in construction, 36.7% are 55 or older and 11.7% are 29 or younger (2024). The industry is older than all industries combined (32.4% and 16.9%).
Two days off a week & busy seasons
We could not find official data on how many sites give two days off a week (8 days off per 4 weeks) or on busy seasons. The reliable way is to ask each company and each site.
05 FIELD CHECK
Ask this on your visit.
On a visit or trial day, ask the people on site about the things a job ad doesn’t show.
- Q1
Does your Article 36 agreement（36協定）have a special clause? What were the monthly overtime hours recently?
WHYThe overtime cap has applied since April 2024. The actual numbers show how it works in practice.
- Q2
How many sites does one person handle?
WHYCovering two sites is now allowed for contracts under ¥100 million. Also ask whether they have an ICT setup for checking sites remotely.
- Q3
Will you certify my practical experience project by project for the second exam?
WHYSince FY2024, practical experience is certified per project. Whether you will be assigned to sites where you can gain specified experience also matters.
- Q4
Who handles the Construction Career Up System (CCUS)?
WHYThe prime contractor’s construction manager may be responsible for the card readers and registering the site organization.
- Q5
Do people actually get their scheduled days off?
WHYThere are no official statistics on two-days-off-a-week practice. Ask the people on site directly.
Visit a workplace in this trade before you choose.
With Cura, you can apply for a visit or a paid trial day without a résumé or interview. It’s free for job seekers.
The Cura app is in Japanese.（クーラのアプリ／サイトは日本語です）
NOTE / READING THE NUMBERS
- There are no official statistics for “construction manager” alone. The openings ratio is for “architecture, civil engineering & surveying engineers” and the wage is for “architectural engineers,” which also include design, cost-estimating and surveying engineers.
- Wage data cover regular employees at establishments of enterprises with 10 or more employees. Many small local builders are not included.
- Until FY2028, you can also take the second exam under the old eligibility rules (years of experience by education level).
SOURCES
- 一般職業紹介状況（職業安定業務統計）・雇用関係指標（年度）2025年度 — Employment Referrals for General Workers (Public Employment Security Statistics), employment indicators by fiscal year, FY2025 (MHLW, published 2026)
- 令和7年賃金構造基本統計調査（一般労働者・企業規模10人以上） — 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure (regular employees, enterprises with 10+ employees) (MHLW, published Mar 2026)
- 令和６年度より施工管理技術検定の受検資格が変わります — Eligibility for the Construction Management Engineer exams changes from FY2024 (MLIT, 2023)
- 技術検定 令和7年度受検者数・合格者数 — Technical qualification exams: FY2025 examinees and passers (MLIT, FY2025)
- 建設業・ドライバー・医師等の時間外労働の上限規制 — Overtime caps for construction, drivers, doctors and others (MHLW, in force Apr 2024)
- 持続可能な建設業の実現のため、建設業法等改正法の一部を施行します（報道発表） — Partial enforcement of the amended Construction Business Act for a sustainable construction industry (press release) (MLIT, Dec 2024)
- 改正建設業法「令和７年１２月施行分」説明会資料（労働力調査をもとに国交省作成） — Briefing materials on the amended Construction Business Act, Dec 2025 provisions (prepared by MLIT from the Labour Force Survey) (MLIT, Jan 2026)