What is a Civil Engineer?
Civil Engineer Job Description Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures, and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems.
Civil Engineer Responsibilities
- Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.
- Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
- Design energy efficient or environmentally sound civil structures.
- Design or engineer systems to efficiently dispose of chemical, biological, or other toxic wastes.
- Inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.
- Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.
Civil Engineer Required Skills
When polled, Civil Engineers say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Operations Analysis: Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Mathematics: Using mathematics to solve problems.
Types of Civil Engineer
- Forest Engineer
- Condemnation Engineer
- Airport Engineer
- Foundation Engineer
- Geotechnical Engineer
Are There Job Opportunities for Civil Engineers?
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 303,500 jobs in the United States for Civil Engineer. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 10.6% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 32,200 new jobs for Civil Engineer by 2026. The BLS estimates 25,900 yearly job openings in this field.
The states with the most job growth for Civil Engineer are Utah, Tennessee, and Colorado. Watch out if you plan on working in Alaska, Mississippi, or Maine. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Civil Engineer Salary
The salary for Civil Engineers ranges between about $54,780 and $142,560 a year.
Civil Engineers who work in Alaska, California, or New Jersey, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Civil Engineers in different U.S. states.
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $84,320 |
| Alaska | $125,470 |
| Arizona | $84,770 |
| Arkansas | $81,780 |
| California | $109,680 |
| Colorado | $93,560 |
| Connecticut | $93,630 |
| Delaware | $91,410 |
| District of Columbia | $99,820 |
| Florida | $89,480 |
| Georgia | $81,110 |
| Hawaii | $86,680 |
| Idaho | $78,280 |
| Illinois | $94,570 |
| Indiana | $82,420 |
| Iowa | $83,940 |
| Kansas | $82,340 |
| Kentucky | $82,840 |
| Louisiana | $98,700 |
| Maine | $82,160 |
| Maryland | $86,110 |
| Massachusetts | $94,210 |
| Michigan | $82,240 |
| Minnesota | $90,760 |
| Mississippi | $85,880 |
| Missouri | $86,710 |
| Montana | $77,480 |
| Nebraska | $84,240 |
| Nevada | $100,700 |
| New Hampshire | $83,970 |
| New Jersey | $103,760 |
| New Mexico | $88,840 |
| New York | $102,250 |
| North Carolina | $86,270 |
| North Dakota | $83,460 |
| Ohio | $82,180 |
| Oklahoma | $91,090 |
| Oregon | $88,270 |
| Pennsylvania | $88,740 |
| Rhode Island | $87,220 |
| South Carolina | $84,660 |
| South Dakota | $77,030 |
| Tennessee | $93,810 |
| Texas | $102,990 |
| Utah | $80,690 |
| Vermont | $74,960 |
| Virginia | $94,780 |
| Washington | $93,120 |
| West Virginia | $82,210 |
| Wisconsin | $78,660 |
| Wyoming | $85,220 |
What Tools do Civil Engineers Use?
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Civil Engineers:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Web browser software
- Microsoft Access
- Data entry software
- Email software
- SAP
- Microsoft Project
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Spreadsheet software
- Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat
- The MathWorks MATLAB
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Microsoft Visual Basic
- Extensible markup language XML
- Geographic information system GIS software
- Minitab
How to Become a Civil Engineer
What kind of Civil Engineer requirements are there?
How many years of work experience do I need?
Who Employs Civil Engineers?
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
You May Also Be Interested In…
Career changers with experience as a Civil Engineer sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
References:
Image Credit: Master Sgt. Roger Parsons via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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