Which position is better if I want to get promoted in a construction company? Assistant Project Manager or Assistant Construction Manager (Superintendent)?

I believe that the best CM's i have known have jumped from being a trade foreman (mostly carpenters) on several sites over several years to being asked or asking to Contract  Manage a small site and progressing from there. In my experience CM's who have good trade expertise have by far outshone the university graduates.

I think this is highly dependent on the size and type of the company. In my experience working with global construction companies, a project engineer/project manager position was a much better starting point to rise through the company. Much of this is because large companies have more of a management and financial approach to construction, contracting out a lot of the field work to other companies. The value they bring is having enough capital and expertise to execute large projects. As a project manager you learn financial skills and dealing with (and selling to) customers. A solid relationship with customers is important and a valuable asset. If you bring in the work, you will be rewarded. There is no doubt that field experience is important, but as David points out, there are many paths, and working as a project engineer with a good superintendent can help you learn a lot of things so do not shy away from it, but I disagree that it is the best path to the top positions at construction companies. Pick the path that suits your skills and interests best.

As Jack says this answer depends entirely on what company you work for.  I happen to work in an organization that values and encourages hopping between these two career paths (and others like estimating).  I took advantage of this and I believe this meant my career progressed a little more slowly but with an ultimately higher ceiling.  I could transfer my field experience to understand productivity in estimating and then I could use my estimating skills to handle changes in work scope as a PM and I could use my familiarity with contracts from being a PM to effectively manage subcontractors as a Supt... the cycle builds on itself quite well.  To hedge a little less - and this goes for pretty much and job in any type of company - I would look at the skill sets of those in the job you want to ultimately achieve and determine if you should mimic them (follow the path they did) or complement them (take a different path and set yourself apart in the ways you contribute).  I would be less concerned with the pace at which you progress and more concerned with securing the ability to succeed at the next level in your career.  And always, always, always be training your successor in every job you have.  You don't become indispensable anywhere until you're dispensable everywhere.

Some excellent answers here based on experience and not conjecture.  One aspect of making a choice between these two paths that has not been mentioned is entirely personal in nature but none the less vitally important to one's ultimate success. Some of us, me included, are just not suited to work in a corporate office environment.  Several times during my career I was moved from the field into the office to do project management, estimating and value engineering.  I absolutely hated it.  It had no soul and was terminally boring for me.  I am a creature of the trenches, the front line, and I felt like I was in prison when in the corporate environment. So to the OP, do some soul searching as you work your way through the profession.  Make the choice that suits your and motivates you to show up every day and take no prisoners. It really matters.

If your goal is to get promoted up the ladder in a construction company to eventually attain an exec position, APM is the simple answer. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't pursue field experience first. The standard paths are as follows: Field -laborer -labor foreman -assistant superintendent -superintendent -general superintendent Office -intern -project engineer -assistant project manager -project manager -senior PM -exec management Both routes eventually lead to high levels of compensation and value to the company. This is not a "law" and sometimes you can crossover if you prefer to switch roles. The most successful people understand the challenges of the "other side" and respect the work that is required. The Superintendent route typically leads to more money faster and the office side eventually catches up as you move up the ladder.

I am a Senior Engineer (Assistant Project Manager level- PMP accredited) with 10 years site experience on mega projects ($40B+) for Tier 1 contractors. The term Project Manager can be used quite loosely, I have even seen people call themselves Project Managers when they are simply running a few guys in a truck. In this answer where I refer to a Project Manager, I refer to scope of minimum $250M, but generally more in the realm of $500M+ to $1B package. The salary for a Project Manager in this role would be approx. $400-500k.Let me first put context on this answer by stating that some of the Construction stream men I have met are very good at construction, and if we had to motivate a workforce of 1000 men then they would far outperform a white collar person, including myself. There are soft skills required and to build trust and respect with a lot of men who are from very basic walks of life takes a very specific approach. But please remember the role of Senior Management is far removed from this, and their role is to ensure profitability for the company.Moving on. In short I believe that Engineers (or at least Construction Management graduates) in the Project Management path will outperform tradesman who take the Foreman/ Superintendent path up the corporate ladder. While 20 years ago Regional Managers/ Directors could be from the tools and work their way up, this is now becoming the exception. The most important factor in judging the success of a project is the bottom line. (PM’s will happily sacrifice the schedule to ensure profitability, or even force a change in construction sequencing to avoid contract liquidated damages.)The step above Project Manager is to Project Directors, then to Executive General Manager. It is in the step from Construction Manager to Project Manager/ Senior Project Manager that a construction person generally becomes unstuck. After 15-20 years of thinking nothing but Earned/ Burned hours and material controls, (please remember during these years all of the “thinking” has been done by their Project Engineer counterparts) you are then thrusting them in to a heavily commercial and white collar management role which is unfamiliar to them. For every 1 that swims, 3 tread water, and 6 sink fast. Those that swim have generally completed some extra formal project management which is removed from their long term experience. (I do know 1 person who is running a large LNG project in Australia who is from the blue collar stream who I think very highly of- I give credit where its due.)As a result I would recommend roles such as Project Engineer of Area Engineer as a good entry point to get the required experience. The role of Project Engineer (assistant PM) will expose a person to all functional departments including project controls/ scheduling, commercial, construction, technical requirements and safety which a competent Project Manager must be proficient in.What is just as important as getting promoted (if that is your goal) is that you have the necessary skills to perform in your new role. If you don’t, you will stall in your ladder growth (and possibly get a reputation of underperforming which may get you sent back down the ladder.)I hope I am not coming across bias as I am an engineer but I believe this is a fair answer. Ask yourself how many Construction Managers you have met could comfortably answer these questions. What clause in the contract are we going to utilise as the basis of this Notice of Delay X? Can you please review this contractual letter informing the client of cost/ schedule implications? Is this schedule logic/ strategy an effective way to capture the implications of client disruption for Event Y? Are these Rules of Credit sufficient to meet our Cash Flow forecast? Can you please review this Earned Value Analysis Report to Senior Management? These are everyday examples of what a PM or Senior PM would need to do, all the while being reviewed by the Exec General Manager (who himself is performing higher level tasks.)But after all these words also remember, if you want to climb the ladder make sure you make the right friends and don’t be a jerk. There are plenty of smart talented people who get kept down because of poor people skills- I know many of them.Best of luck in the industry.

Many organizations and companies are recommending or even requiring PMP certification for their project managers. PMP stands for Project Management Professional. Project Management is now quickly becoming method of management for more and more industries. Many large companies have a stated policy to manage their companies by using project management methods. Project Management is a combination of steps and techniques for keeping the goals and objectives, budget and schedule in order. The tools of project management suggest a system of avoiding missed targets, unclear expectations, and over spending on budget. These techniques help to coordinate things easily and also to obtain more expected results.Project Management is very useful in Construction Industry . In my view , you should go for Assistant Project managerHere is an article that will help you understand more about the benefits of Project management .http://www.greycampus.com/blog/project-management/project-management-in-different-sectors?utm_source=quora&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=sma-pmds

There are many good jobs which are related to construction field but you need to get some degree according to that. One of the best bachelor degree programs for construction is construction management. Sometimes you do not even need to get a bachelor degree; even a 6-months or year diploma is enough to get you a http://blog.myjobhelper.com/2015/01/12/can-start-career-construction-worker/