PM/EST Salaries+

[ITO]

I would have expected a quality PM to want close to 6 figures most anywhere, someplaces a fair amount more. But a guy with only a few years experience, and no degree might not be worth quite so much. Even so, $40k seems pretty cheap.

A degree does not mean nearly as much as experience, and the ones who demand top dollar are not always worth it. Just my two cents but my best PMs have all had time in the trade.

 

[DAWGS]

acwservices: Yes I was in the field before I became a PM/EST.I went thru a (4)yr apprenticeship and spent about (3) yrs after school as a foreman.I am also an instructor for our local apprenticeship.

petersonra:The fuel card pays for all of my fuel expenses to and from work as well as any company related driving.
I have always felt that my base salary was a little low. I also felt the cost of my fuel was part of my compensation. At today's prices my fuel cost to and from work is about $150 per week.
The owner and I are trying to come to an agreement on how to restructure my "contract". I have a good tract record on my projects I have estimated and I project manage all of the jobs I estimate and some for our "senior" estimator. That along with the 3 years I have been doing this I am trying to find out what would be fair compensation for what I do.

I have thought about proposing to the owner that I make a base salary comparable to what my web searches have found plus a per mile compensation for job related uses.

Maybe that salary was fine while you were learning, but now with the experience and a good tract record you should be making much more. I would say at least around $60,000 plus benefits, plus company truck with gas card, and you should also be on a bonus program. I would check around and see what you could get with other company's.

 

[petersonra]

A degree does not mean nearly as much as experience, and the ones who demand top dollar are not always worth it. Just my two cents but my best PMs have all had time in the trade.

I have run across a lot of PMs in my lifetime. Most were pretty mediocre. Most of the ones I ran across were involved in either the construction side (like the OP) or the system vendor side.

Most of the construction PMs seemed to have at least some trade background, but also seemed to spend way too much time worrying about the minutiae of what was going on rather then the big picture. I always thought most of what they did was really something the foreman should have been handling.

Looking back, the best ones seemed to often knew very little about what was going on (at least technically), but were good organizers and were able to get the people involved to talk to each other and work things out. They seemed to be the ones with the big bonuses time after time, too.

A lot of the more successful PMs seemed to spend much of their time taking flack from management for us peons so we could keep moving forward.

 

[cschmid]

Could be that the title does not accurately reflect his true job. Thats not unusual.

Very true I know how that works..

A lot of the more successful PMs seemed to spend much of their time taking flack from management for us peons so we could keep moving forward.

I know how that is true..:roll:

Looking back, the best ones seemed to often knew very little about what was going on (at least technically), but were good organizers and were able to get the people involved to talk to each other and work things out. They seemed to be the ones with the big bonuses time after time, too.

I believe it is more about being able to multi task effeciently..You also need to have good people skills..I let the supervisors handle their people..I manage the other items and vendors / contractors / stuff like that..I do allot more then that..The real problem is you catch a large amount of challenges in the average day..

Just so you know they may rain on my parade but I still hold the smile even in the rain storm..

 

[gregorsc]

The gas card is a company credit card.Whenever I need to fill up I use the card. The bill is paid for by the company and it covers my fuel to and from work and any driving I do related to work.
As for being both a PM/EST it is difficult at times.There are times I can not get to do a job visit for over a week. And when I do visit I am usually on my way to a job meeting or walk thru.As the PM I meet with the foreman to check progress,address manpower issues and answer any questions he might have.I process change orders,submit pay requests to our office manager,maintain submittal info for close outcall for inspections and material for some jobs others the foreman handles the material calls.
I do want to thank everyone for their input it has given me an idea of where I stand.