Do site supervisors really make good money?
"Construction site supervisors make good money."
This is what people often say about this line of work. In fact, compared to other industries, the average salary is indeed slightly higher.
However, to be honest, we wouldn’t dare call ourselves high earners—and we certainly don’t think of ourselves that way. That’s because our working hours are overwhelmingly long.
Have you ever calculated your work in terms of hourly pay? Or, for that matter, have you ever calculated it in terms of pay per second?If you've never thought about it, I really hope you'll give it some thought.
First, let me start by telling my story.
I'm 30 years old and in my third year at a local consulting firm—here's my hourly wage
After graduating from college, I worked in sales for a while before leaving that job to switch to the civil engineering industry. After gaining experience on construction sites, I passed the exam to become a First-Class Civil Engineering Construction Manager. I then joined a local construction company, and I am now in my third year there, serving as the branch manager.
Let me give you a rough idea of my salary.
A monthly salary of 300,000 yenWell. What do you think of this number? Whether you think it’s high or low depends on the person.
In my case, since I work 10 hours a day,Converted to seconds, that works out to 0.3 yen per second.This is how it works. Here's how to calculate the pay per second:
Monthly salary: 300,000 yen
↓
Daily wage: 12,000 yen
↓
Hourly wage: 1,200 yen
↓
Pay per piece: 20 yen
↓
Pay per second: Approximately 0.3 yen
I’d like everyone to start by calculating the “value of one second of their time.”
The more overtime you work, the poorer you get
Once people realize “the value of their own second,” many will likely be surprised at just how low it is.
First of all, I want people to realize that in the construction industry, the more overtime you work, the poorer you become. This is because the system of “presumed overtime” is widespread in this industry.
In my opinion, “deemed overtime” is like having the “value of a single second of my time” arbitrarily determined, as if I were giving away my valuable skills for free.
I hope you’ll quickly realize the contradictions in this industry and start to feel uneasy about them.
The Only Way to Get a Raise
So, in this day and age, how can we increase our salaries?
If you want a raise, there’s only one way I can think of. That is, “to make the proposal yourself.”
For example, if you’ve made significant contributions on the job but haven’t received a raise, it’s better to take matters into your own hands. You should speak directly with your superiors to ensure you receive the recognition you deserve.
I want you to think about this calmly. We construction management engineers are extremely valuable assets. We should be considered valuable simply by being part of the company. Yet, keeping us tied down without proper recognition is, no matter how you look at it, absurd.
People who can’t suggest improvements to their company—even though they aren’t being fairly evaluated—will remain corporate slaves forever.
Let's Envision Our Future Selves
If you can't clearly envision your future self, there's no way your salary will go up.
It might be fine at first, but ultimately, if you keep working without a clear idea of what you want—whether you want to start your own business or get promoted within a company—your salary probably won’t increase as much as you’d like.
If you have a vision of what you want to become in the future, you'll be able to see what you need to do right now.
If contributing to the company leads to a promotion, which in turn leads to a pay raise, what specific steps does that involve? Is it earning a certification, learning to use new tools, acquiring new skills, or actively seeking out business opportunities to bring in work for the company?
In any case,If you just keep doing the same thing every day, you won’t change at all by tomorrow.I suppose so.
Getting a raise isn't easy. However, we need to realize just how much of a waste it is to undervalue our precious time, and we need to develop a sense of urgency.
Unless you take a step back to consider where you stand right now and clearly define the vision you want to pursue as a site supervisor, all of your valuable skills, experience, qualifications, and time might end up being exploited by the company for its own benefit.
