Skip to content
TryHired.
Role hub · First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers

Foreman: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Nov 4, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of foremen earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$79,920
Hourly
$38.42
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Foremen directly supervise and coordinate activities of construction or extraction workers. The median pay is $79,920 a year ($38.42 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a post-secondary certificate (27% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$79,920
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
812,210
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 3 of 5
medium preparation
Most common education
Post-Secondary Certificate
27% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (O*NET-SOC 47-1011.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Key facts

Foremen at a glance

  • First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers in the United States earned a median annual wage of $79,920 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers in the United States to grow 5.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 67,000 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimates that less than 10% of first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers in the United States had the ability to telework in 2025, a preliminary estimate of whether the job allows it, not a count of remote jobs.

    Source: BLS Occupational Requirements Survey, 2025 preliminary

Explore the role

Every page for Foremen

SalaryForeman salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeForeman how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeForeman resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsForeman interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What foremen do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Inspect work progress, equipment, or construction sites to verify safety or to ensure that specifications are met.
  2. Read specifications, such as blueprints, to determine construction requirements or to plan procedures.
  3. Supervise, coordinate, or schedule the activities of construction or extractive workers.
  4. Assign work to employees, based on material or worker requirements of specific jobs.
  5. Coordinate work activities with other construction project activities.
  6. Estimate material or worker requirements to complete jobs.
  7. Analyze worker or production problems and recommend solutions, such as improving production methods or implementing motivational plans.
  8. Order or requisition materials or supplies.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

CoordinationcoreActive ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreManagement of Personnel ResourcesCritical ThinkingTime ManagementReading ComprehensionMonitoringJudgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas: Administration and Management, Building and Construction, Mechanical, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Design.

Tools and technology

Software foremen use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Autodesk AutoCADComputer aided design CAD softwareHot technology
  • Procore softwareAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • Graphics softwareGraphics or photo imaging software
  • Inventory tracking softwareInventory management software
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareIn demand
  • Adobe AcrobatDocument management softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft ProjectProject management softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
  • Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio ManagementProject management softwareHot technology

Also called: Coal Mine Production Foreman, Construction Foreman, Construction Supervisor, Electrical Supervisor, Field Operations Supervisor, Field Supervisor.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.