Civil Engineers
Science, Technology, Engineering and MathematicsO*NET 17-2051.00United States
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 annual earnings
- $100,722
- Projected change
- +9.1%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 399.9K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
90.5% of the workforce
Growing to 436.15K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What civil engineers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Direct engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations.
- Manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site.
- Inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.
- Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
- Plan and design transportation or hydraulic systems or structures, using computer-assisted design or drawing tools.
- Provide technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs.
- Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.
- 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.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $66,354
- 25th percentile
- $78,612
- 50th percentile
- $100,722
- 75th percentile
- $133,210
- 90th percentile
- $172,188
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $100,722 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+9.1%faster than average
2025399,897 jobs
2035 projected436,148 jobs
36,251 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 90.5%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 9.5%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- 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.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Project Engineers11,563 postings
- 02Civil Engineers7,425 postings
- 03Structural Engineers7,331 postings
- 04Bridge Engineers2,624 postings
- 05Building Engineers2,536 postings
- 06Construction Project Engineers2,038 postings
- 07Civil Project Engineers1,542 postings
- 08Construction Engineers1,351 postings
- 09Geotechnical Engineers1,311 postings
- 10Civil/Structural Engineers1,141 postings
- 11Land Development Civil Engineers1,035 postings
- 12Civil Engineering Interns900 postings
- 13Site Civil Engineers840 postings
- 14Engineers783 postings
- 15Civil Engineers-in-Training771 postings
- 16Structural Project Engineers769 postings
- 17Lead Civil Engineers652 postings
- 18Civil Transportation Engineers650 postings
- 19Civil/Environmental Engineers627 postings
- 20Heavy Civil Project Managers590 postings
Top employers
- 01GPAC3,850 postings
- 02Actalent2,262 postings
- 03Jobot1,352 postings
- 04Jacobs Solutions1,068 postings
- 05WSP Global960 postings
- 06Kimley-Horn924 postings
- 07CBRE791 postings
- 08Stantec711 postings
- 09AECOM643 postings
- 10Kiewit Corporation577 postings
- 11Lvi Associates552 postings
- 12Langan Engineering & Environmental Services444 postings
- 13Terracon Consultants388 postings
- 14CDM Smith356 postings
- 15HDR343 postings
- 16Kpff Consulting Engineers319 postings
- 17Northrop Grumman310 postings
- 18Colliers Engineering & Design301 postings
- 19Insight Global296 postings
- 20Parsons294 postings
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