Building Construction Technology

Types of Degrees Building Construction Technology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many building construction technology graduations there were in 2018-2019 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	541
Undergraduate Certificate	472
Associate’s Degree	349

What Building Construction Technology Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, building construction technology majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Building Construction Technology Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in building construction technology should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Building Construction Technology Majors

building construction technology majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Abilities for Building Construction Technology Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a building construction technology student include the following:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Building Construction Technology Major?

People with a building construction technology degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Civil Engineering Technicians	8.9%	$52,580
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	12.6%	$65,230

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Building Construction Technology?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 91% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of building construction technology majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	8
Black or African American	20
Hispanic or Latino	55
White	214
International Students	3
Other Races/Ethnicities	49

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Building Construction Technology. About 0.9% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Building Construction Technology Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $54,670 to $70,540 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to building construction technology. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Building Construction Technology

Some degrees associated with building construction technology may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for building construction technology careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	3.3%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	21.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	25.3%
Some College Courses	30.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	10.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	8.7%

Online Building Construction Technology Programs

In 2018-2019, 126 schools offered a building construction technology program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	55	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	69	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	7	0
Associate’s Degree	59	0
Bachelor’s Degree	1	0
Post-Baccalaureate	55	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Building Construction Technology Worth It?

The median salary for a building construction technology grad is $54,670 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 37% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $295,400 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Building Construction Technology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to building construction technology.

Major	Number of Grads
Building/Property Maintenance	1,699
Building/Construction Site Management/Manager	752
Other Building/Construction Finishing, Management, & Inspection	609
Building/Home/Construction Inspection/Inspector	301
Glazier	67
Drywall Installation/Drywaller	62
Painting/Painter & Wall Coverer	52
Roofer	30
Carpet, Floor, & Tile Worker	10
Concrete Finishing/Concrete Finisher	6
Metal Building Assembly/Assembler	0
Insulator	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.