Transportation Engineers
Science, Technology, Engineering and MathematicsO*NET 17-2051.01United States
Develop plans for surface transportation projects, according to established engineering standards and state or federal construction policy. Prepare designs, specifications, or estimates for transportation facilities.
- 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
86.4% of the workforce
Growing to 436.15K by 2035
Explore this career by location
Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.
Showing United States
Loading available locations…
Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
Loading related ASU learning
The work
What transportation engineers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Design or prepare plans for new transportation systems or parts of systems, such as airports, commuter trains, highways, streets, bridges, drainage structures, or roadway lighting.
- Check construction plans, design calculations, or cost estimations to ensure completeness, accuracy, or conformity to engineering standards or practices.
- Prepare administrative, technical, or statistical reports on traffic-operation matters, such as accidents, safety measures, or pedestrian volume or practices.
- Plan alteration or modification of existing transportation structures to improve safety or function.
- Present data, maps, or other information at construction-related public hearings or meetings.
- Confer with contractors, utility companies, or government agencies to discuss plans, specifications, or work schedules.
- Prepare final project layout drawings that include details such as stress calculations.
- Investigate traffic problems and recommend methods to improve traffic flow or safety.
- Estimate transportation project costs.
- Design or engineer drainage, erosion, or sedimentation control systems for transportation projects.
- Evaluate traffic control devices or lighting systems to determine need for modification or expansion.
- Prepare project budgets, schedules, or specifications for labor or materials.
- Inspect completed transportation projects to ensure safety or compliance with applicable standards or regulations.
- Review development plans to determine potential traffic impact.
- Evaluate transportation systems or traffic control devices or lighting systems to determine need for modification or expansion.
- Analyze environmental impact statements for transportation projects.
- Supervise the maintenance or repair of transportation systems or system components.
- Model transportation scenarios to evaluate the impacts of activities such as new development or to identify possible solutions to transportation problems.
- Inspect completed transportation projects to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
- Participate in contract bidding, negotiation, or administration.
- Evaluate construction project materials for compliance with environmental standards.
- Direct the surveying, staking, or laying-out of construction projects.
- Design transportation systems or structures with sustainable materials or products, such as porous pavement or bioretention 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
- 86.4%
- Associate degree
- 9.1%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 4.6%
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.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- 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.
- 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.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Transportation Engineers1,887 postings
- 02Traffic Engineers1,197 postings
- 03Roadway Engineers841 postings
- 04Highway Engineers728 postings
- 05Transportation Project Managers695 postings
- 06Transportation Engineering Technicians317 postings
- 07Engineers262 postings
- 08Drainage Engineers199 postings
- 09Transportation Engineers/Project Managers192 postings
- 10Transportation/Traffic Engineers188 postings
- 11Highway Project Engineers181 postings
- 12Transportation Engineering Associates168 postings
- 13Roadway Project Engineers157 postings
- 14Transportation Engineering Managers153 postings
- 15Traffic Engineering Managers140 postings
- 16Traffic Engineers/Project Managers134 postings
- 17Engineers in Training112 postings
- 18Summer Interns112 postings
- 19Transportation Engineering Interns112 postings
- 20Continuous Improvement Engineers107 postings
Top employers
- 01HNTB408 postings
- 02AECOM398 postings
- 03Stantec318 postings
- 04Jacobs Solutions316 postings
- 05State of South Carolina316 postings
- 06GPAC306 postings
- 07Rk&K274 postings
- 08CDM Smith254 postings
- 09Parsons250 postings
- 10HDR242 postings
- 11WSP Global231 postings
- 12Ryder168 postings
- 13State Of Texas160 postings
- 14Kimley-Horn146 postings
- 15Olsson144 postings
- 16Actalent138 postings
- 17Greenman & Pedersen136 postings
- 18Lvi Associates131 postings
- 19STV129 postings
- 20State of Washington125 postings
Keep looking