In this article
Both jobs are a step up. They wear you out in different ways.
At some point the company may ask which way you want to go: the super track or the PM track. Both run the job. The super runs it on site. The PM runs it on paper and on the phone. This page helps you see which day you would rather have. It does not tell you if you are ready. For that, take the Ready to be a super? quiz.
The short version
A super owns the site: people, weather, the schedule, safety, and what gets built today. A PM owns the money: the budget, contracts, change orders, email, and the owner. They work as a team. The super tells the PM what the field needs. The PM gets it bought, approved, and paid.
What a normal day looks like
Superintendent
- On site early, walking the job before the crews start
- Running the look-ahead schedule and the subs
- Solving problems in person: a missing part, a crew that is behind, a bad pour day
- Safety walks, inspections, and the daily report
- Most of the day on your feet, outside
Project manager
- Most of the day at a desk, in meetings, or on calls
- Budget, buyout, and cost reports
- RFIs, submittals, and change orders
- Keeping the owner and the architect up to date
- Billing every month and chasing payment
Pick by what drains you
Both jobs have stress. The question is which kind you can handle at 6 AM.
- Super stress: a crew that did not show, rain on pour day, a sub who is behind, an inspector who says no.
- PM stress: a budget that is over, an owner who wants a change for free, a contract fight, 80 emails before lunch.
If the first list sounds like a puzzle you want to solve, lean super. If the second list sounds like a puzzle you want to solve, lean PM.
Foreman vs assistant super
For most foremen the first step is not super or PM. It is assistant super. Here is what changes.
- Who you run: a foreman runs one crew in one trade. An assistant super helps run every trade on the site, including subs who do not work for your company.
- Your tools: a foreman still works with the crew some days. An assistant super mostly stops working with tools and starts walking, checking, and writing.
- Your paperwork: more of it. Daily reports, look-ahead schedules, inspection logs, and delay notices.
- Your authority: you will often ask people to do things who do not report to you. That takes clear asks and a paper trail.
- Your pay: a salary can mean more hours with no overtime. Check the real hourly rate with the foreman raise calculator before you say yes.
If you like being on site and want to lead more than one crew, assistant super is the natural next step. If you are the foreman who already handles the material orders and the money questions, ask about a project engineer or assistant PM role too.
Take the 6-question fit picker
Pick the answer that sounds most like you. There are no right answers.
Next steps
- Lean super? Take the Ready to be a super? quiz to see what to work on first.
- Lean PM? Start practicing with the Delay Notice Builder and the daily report guide. Clear writing is half the PM job.
- Not sure? Ask your super and your PM to let you shadow each of them for a day.