Civil Engineers
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.
- Median pay
- $100,840
- Doing it now
- 380,600
- By 2035
- Up 6.4%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
22,700 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
- Inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.
- Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.
- Estimate quantities and cost of materials, equipment, or labor to determine project feasibility.
- Prepare or present public reports on topics such as bid proposals, deeds, environmental impact statements, or property and right-of-way descriptions.
- Design energy-efficient or environmentally sound civil structures.
- Direct engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Civil EngineeringSee 313 colleges that teach it
- Construction EngineeringSee 36 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Analytical and curious
Organised and precise
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $100,840 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.