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Civil Engineering Major

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Civil Engineering

286 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
5 Master's Degrees Annually
#239 in Popularity
$54,670 Median Salary

Types of Degrees Civil Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many civil engineering technology graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Associate Degree 690
Bachelor’s Degree 286
Basic Certificate 150
Undergraduate Certificate 56
Master’s Degree 5

What Civil Engineering Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to civil engineering tech and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Civil Engineering Tech Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

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  • Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
  • Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  • Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Skills for Civil Engineering Tech Majors

When studying civil engineering tech, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • 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.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Civil Engineering Tech Majors

Civil Engineering Tech majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

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  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a Civil Engineering Major?

People with a civil engineering tech degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Civil Engineering Technicians 8.9% $52,580

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering?

286 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
17% Percent Women
29% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 286 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology in 2021, making it rank #239 in popularity. This major tends to be male dominated. About 83% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of civil engineering tech majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 9
Black or African American 25
Hispanic or Latino 40
White 177
International Students 21
Other Races/Ethnicities 14

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Civil Engineering Tech, too. About 7.3% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

  • Saudi Arabia
  • China
  • India
  • Nigeria
  • Kuwait

How Much Do Civil Engineering Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering tech have a median salary of $57,999 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $55,157 (25th percentile) and $59,155 (75th percentile).

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Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a civil engineering tech degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Civil Engineering Tech majors often go into careers with median salaries of $54,670. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for a Civil Engineering Major  54,670
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Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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250K
Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some careers associated with civil engineering tech require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to civil engineering tech have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 2.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 29.8%
Some College Courses 28.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 21.2%
Bachelor’s Degree 18.3%

Online Civil Engineering Programs

In 2020-2021, 160 schools offered a civil engineering tech program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 23 1
Certificate (2-4 Years) 3 0
Associate’s Degree 124 1
Bachelor’s Degree 1 0
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 1 0
Post-Master’s 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

Is a Degree in Civil Engineering Worth It?

The median salary for a civil engineering tech grad is $54,670 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 37% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $295,400 after 20 years!

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You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to civil engineering tech.

Major Number of Grads
Industrial Production Technology 11,906
Electromechanical Engineering Technology 10,593
Drafting & Design Engineering Technology 8,964
Environmental Control Technology 8,690
Electronics Engineering Technology 8,592
Engineering-Related Fields 6,736
Mechanical Engineering Technology 6,013
General Engineering Technology 4,676
Construction Engineering Technology 4,330
Quality Control Technology 3,824
Computer Engineering Technology 3,595
Engineering Technology (Other) 1,768
Architectural Engineering Technology 1,290
Energy Systems Technologies 1,256
Engineering-Related Technologies 989
Mining & Petroleum Technology 445
Nuclear Engineering Technology 220
Nanotechnology 114

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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