In today's high-technology world, almost every job description is changing for the better. New ways to track clients, upload plans, copy schematics and forward messages have become available at the click of a mouse or the press of a key or button.

Construction managers need high-quality communication skills as they are the leaders and bearers of intense responsibility. They both lead and manage people as well as very detailed and important construction projects. Many construction managers also need Spanish as today many carpenters and laborers speak Spanish as their first or only language.

The construction manager in the field from years past had primary tools onsite like his tool belt, a "walkie-talkie" and a pad of paper with a pencil behind the ear. It actually was about that simple. Today, the technology savvy manager has a few other tools to use.

The construction manager of today has a mobile hand-held device that can display plans, show database entries and forward messages to people on the site or in the office. Likely it also does Spanish translation.

Construction today has a much bigger playing field than simply at the site the current job is being done. There are increasingly more complicated environmental standards that must be met and the playing field is now very global in nature. A site might actually be a mirror of another project happening in a similar location in another country.

 As an economic activity, construction is now exposed to increasingly competitive sets of circumstances. This has been largely ushered in through the doorway of global communication over many networks with markets for goods and services. The global markets have also driven a universal reflection that is seen onsite where many materials are from one global supplier, and many construction managers are doing international collaborations on an unprecedented scale.

More process-oriented approaches are being used by today's managers. Leadership is a highly valued skill which has also lead to better management practices when managers are allowed to be creative and make good use of the changing perspectives on how to motivate workers and encourage highest quality delivery of services, labor and work quality.

In the past engineering principals were applied to work structures. This oriented tasks with functions yet neglected processes and outcomes. Today outcomes are highly competitive and there is no longer the luxury that comes with low competition. Our cyclical economy is only a small part of how the global economy affects construction and how it is now being managed.

Today new tech savvy mangers come in with the idea that offices are no longer necessary. They want to upload all of the work-project information into a WordPress blog using security pass-codes for the more sensitive information. Today they want to be on the scene while uploading observations and changes, suggestions and having online partners checking on other potential expenses like saving on materials and shipping for lower costs. Today most construction managers have an Ipad 2 or some other construction software on their tool belt.

The days of the fancy construction manager’s office are long gone. At the end of the day instead of leaning back in a chair and throwing back a shot of jack--you will find your manager uploading the last of the day’s information into the WordPress blog, and downloading what he needs for tomorrow to go a bit more smoothly.