Also called: Project Engineer, Design Engineer
Designs and builds roads, bridges, water systems, airports and other infrastructure.
You spend the morning designing how rainwater will drain off a new shopping center parking lot. In the afternoon you put on boots and a vest to check that a contractor is pouring a culvert correctly, and snap photos for your report.
BLS May 2024 median $99,590; percentiles approximate.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in civil engineering; PE license needed for senior roles.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Civil Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). BLS 2024-34 projection.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI drafts designs, quantities and reports, trimming junior desk work; site visits, permits and PE-stamped accountability stay human.
Classes: Physics, AP Calculus, Drafting or CAD, Earth science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2051.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.