How to Become a Certified Construction Manager

The field of construction management has been growing steadily in the past decade. Construction managers work in an advisory role on behalf of building owners. They are hired to oversee many aspects of construction, including budgets, safety, quality control, and time management. Construction managers may also mediate disputes that arise among builders, designers, and other parties. If you have a background in general project management, engineering, construction, or architecture, you can easily transition to become a CCM--Certified Construction Manager. Though it is possible to become a construction project manager without certification, official credentials are more desirable. This guide will give you tips on becoming certified.

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Getting Certified as a Construction Manager

Visit the website of CMAA--Construction Management Association of America--and learn the requirements for getting certification. There are separate requirement categories for three kinds of people: those who have a Bachelor's degree in a field related to construction, those hold an associate degree in a construction field, and those who hold no degree or an unrelated degree.

In general, the less education you have in the areas of management, construction, engineeering, or architecture, the more related work experience you need in order to get certification. The CMAA website has a matrix with detailed requirements.

If you don't have the requisite educational background, or enough experience in decision-making roles, there are ways to fill in the gaps. One is to take college level courses and earn enough credits to get a second degree. For example, if you hold a Bachelor's degree in a hard science, you can take courses in engineering to get a second major. Or, you can simply enroll in a community college construction management program.

Another way to fill in the gaps is to find supervisory-level construction jobs. The longer you are employed in a leadership position where you can make project management decisions, the closer you get to meeting the 48-month minimum, as per CMAA requirements.

Once you have fulfilled the work experience and/or educational requirements, the next step in becoming a certified construction manager is to file an application with CMAA. The application fee is $275. When you application has been reviewed and approved by CMCI (Construction Management Certification Institute), you will be eligible to take the exam.

Schedule your Construction Management Exam (CM exam) and pay the $275 testing fee. A passing score is around 75%, and the retake fee is $100. The test is computer based, and multiple choice, and it takes about 5 hours to complete. To help you prepare for the CM exam, CMAA publishes several study guides.

After passing the exam, you will officially be a CCM. To keep your certification current, the CMAA requires that you apply for re-certification every 3 years.

At this point in time, certification is completely voluntary, not required by law. Since construction management has only recently emerged as a career field, there are no agencies that oversee this profession. However, as the construction management industry becomes more regulated, owners and contractors will increasingly value certification.

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