After graduation, those entering the construction management industry often take jobs as junior staff members for construction management or design firms or join a construction-related consulting team. From here they work their way up to higher positions. Others join forces with people with similar interests to start their own businesses, and a few step out on their own and immediately become self-employed, using what contacts they have to build their own businesses from the ground up.
If you have significant experience in one particular area of specialty, some of the best jobs will be contract jobs where you play a smaller managerial role in part of a larger project. You might be construction manager over vital portions of the work including plumbing, heating and A/C, electrical work, all of which can be quite extensive if your project is, say, a shopping center or a medical complex. Other good jobs include working for local and state governments overseeing the developments of streets and drainage and highway expansion projects.
Some of the best construction management jobs are going to be ones at the senior level, which will garner the best pay. Senior level construction management jobs come to those who have many years of experience under their belts and have proven themselves as leaders in construction management. Senior construction managers oversee what can at times be numerous lower-tier construction managers. Senior construction managers develop the scope of the project and are heavily involved from the planning phases to the final inspections and punch lists. Sometimes senior construction managers are in charge of entire franchises and oversee the progress of multiple construction or remodel projects.
No matter what you end up doing, you will be responsible for hiring and/or working closely with subcontractors (including consultants and suppliers), ensuring that your projects stay within their budget and ensuring that your project meets design standards and building codes.
Resources
Two great sites that provide job boards in construction management and related fields are the Construction Management Association of America and ConstructionExecutive.com. The former is a good general job board and the latter shows high-level construction jobs offering six-figure salaries, for those who have been in the industry for a longer period of time.