What is a 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
- Plan and design transportation or hydraulic systems or structures using computer assisted design or drawing tools.
- Direct engineering activities ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations.
- Test soils or materials to determine the adequacy and strength of foundations, concrete, asphalt, or steel.
- Manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site.
- Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
- Prepare or present public reports on topics such as bid proposals, deeds, environmental impact statements, or property and right-of-way descriptions.
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What Every Civil Engineer Should Know
These are the skills Civil Engineers say are the most useful in their careers:
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.
Related Job Titles
- Structural Design Engineer
- Reclamation Engineer
- Asphalt Engineer
- Airport Engineer
- Track Production Engineer
Is There Job Demand 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.
Do Civil Engineers Make A Lot Of Money?
The average yearly salary of a Civil Engineer ranges between $54,780 and $142,560.
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
Education needed to be a Civil Engineer:
What work experience do I need to become a Civil Engineer?
Where Civil Engineers Are Employed
The table below shows the approximate number of Civil Engineers employed by various industries.
Other Jobs You May be Interested In
Those who work as a Civil Engineer sometimes switch careers to one of these choices:
References:
Image Credit: Master Sgt. Roger Parsons via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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