When you think of construction jobs, you may picture workers in hardhats engaging in heavy labor at a construction site. And there’s no doubt that plenty of people in the construction industry fit this type of profile. But there are myriad jobs involved in taking an empty lot and turning it into a beautiful, functional, modern home. Here are a few positions that could offer you the rewarding career you’re seeking in the construction industry.

1. Carpenter. If you feel a sense of accomplishment when you see the framework of a house erected, knowing that the building blocks of a home have been put into place, or you love creating the warm woodwork that makes an interior truly special, than a career in carpentry could be just what you’re looking for. This isn’t the type of job that will have you sitting at a desk all day and wondering what kind of useful contributions you’re making to society. As a carpenter on construction projects you’ll have a very real product to show for your efforts. And you can feel good about knowing that the tangible asset you’re helping to create will one day be someone’s treasured home. Plus, you stand to earn an average salary of about $40,000-45,000, which is a pretty decent reward in itself.
2. Stone mason. The masons command a certain mystique for their secret society background, but there’s nothing mysterious about an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay, and that’s what you’ll get when you lay bricks, blocks, and stones on building projects to create beautiful and durable facades and/or fireplaces. And with median salaries coming in around a cool $50K annually, you’ll not only get to create beautiful additions to any structure; you’ll also get paid a decent wage.
3. Green building consultant. Plenty of people are looking for homes that are more efficient and built in keeping with environmental sensibilities. As a green building consultant, you can go above and beyond on behalf of the planet, helping homeowners and construction companies alike to create structures that are designed with efficiency in mind, not to mention built with sustainable, recycled, reclaimed, locally-sourced, or otherwise eco-friendly materials and practices. And for your efforts you could command a salary somewhere in the neighborhood of $55,000 a year.
4. Cost estimator. As you may imagine, the main tasks that fall to this type of professional revolve around calculating the costs of any given construction project. And depending on the company you work for, you could be in charge of managing specific expenses, like the costs of outside vendors needed for plumbing and electrical installation, or you might be responsible for all of the costs associated with a particular building project. It’s a job that doesn’t require you to dirty your hands much, and you could bring in around $60,000 annually.
5. Construction manager. At a median salary of $90,000-95,000 per year, this is one of the better paying jobs in construction, but you’ll have a lot to juggle when you take on this role. You not only have to oversee a project from start to finish and make sure that everything progresses on time and under budget, but you also have to attend to details like getting materials to the building site on time, filing for appropriate permits, securing labor and rigging Los Angeles to New York City, and of course, making sure that everyone is doing what they’re supposed to and that inspections are passed without fail. For your efforts you’ll earn an above-average salary, though, and you’ll have the added reward of orchestrating the construction of new homes.