Construction Laborer Job Description, Salary, and Requirements.
Construction Laborer Job Description & Definition
What Does a Construction Laborer Do?
In this career guide, we’ll discuss the position of construction laborer: the job description, salary, requirements, and more. The position of construction laborer is often the starting place for anyone beginning a career in the trades. Whether you aspire to be a construction foreman, equipment operator, or estimator, many people begin their careers as a labor.
Construction laborers provide assistance on the job site in a variety of ways. Depending on the trade, they might pick up debris or fill dumpsters, do simple repeat tasks, unload or setup tools, and more. And while that might not sound glorious, it is necessary, and it provides you a great chance to learn the trade (and learn about other positions you’re aspiring to) by watching, working hard, and asking questions.
This job (like many in construction) requires physical labor, such as lifting, using hand tools, walking, etc. Depending on the trade and the job, you might spend most of your time indoors or outdoors.
The beautiful thing about the position of laborer is that it’s a fresh start for anyone interested in learning a trade, and requires no prior experience. If you want to someday become a roofing contractor, general contractor, commercial construction foreman, or even an estimator or project supervisor, all these positions can be attained by starting as laborer, and working your way up.
Commercial vs. Residential
Construction laborers handle many of the same type of tasks, whether you’re doing residential or commercial work. In both residential and commercial roofing, for example, laborers will be responsible to help roof, manage debris and dumpster space, carry tools, and more. The difference between residential and commercial will simply be what kind of job sites you’re working on.
Full Time or Part Time
You can work a construction laborer position full time, or part time. It simply depends on what the company is looking for. Some companies may only be hiring for full time employees, while others are happy for you to take on less hours.
Sources: Student Scholarships.org
Learn construction basics online.
Duties
- Lifting.
- Loading/unloading.
- Managing debris.
- Repetitive labor tasks.
Skills Required
- Hand/eye coordination.
- Ability to lift 50lbs.
- Willingness to learn, and work hard.
- Listening & following instructions.
Education Needed
There are no specific educational requirements for this position. However, employers may require you to have a high school diploma or G.E.D. As with all construction trades, an ability to read and perform basic math are important to help you progress and safely perform your job.
Qualifications
There aren’t any formal requirements or qualifications to becoming a construction laborer. However, there may be specific qualifications depending on the company hiring.
Construction Laborer Salary
How Much Does a Construction Laborer Make?
$20,800
$32,230 per year
$54,000
Construction Laborer Career Paths
Where Can You Go From Here?
To get started as a construction laborer, first determine which trade you think you might be interested in. Look ahead to where you think you’ll want to be, and start as a laborer in that trade. For example, do you want be a construction estimator? Great! Now get a little more specific – do you want to be a commercial roofing estimator, or a commercial concrete estimator? Do you want to be a foreman? If so, which trade?
Only you can do the research, evaluate each trade, and determine which trade you think would be best for you to pursue. However, once you’ve pursued that – it’s time to go get a job as a laborer at a company in that trade, and begin to work your way up. We put together a brief guide to give you a little more direction as to how to do that.
Sample Resume
Need a construction laborer resume template?
Download our sample resume template, and edit it for your needs. Just open the document in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or another text editor, and replace what’s there with your own information.
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Similar Professions
If you’re interested in this, you might like:
Assistant, Roofing Laborer, field hand.
