Civil Engineers

What Civil Engineers Do

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.

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience

None

On-the-job training

None

Self-employed

1.3%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

• Designimportance 4.7/5
• Engineering and Technologyimportance 4.7/5
• Building and Constructionimportance 4.5/5
• Mathematicsimportance 4.5/5
• English Languageimportance 4.0/5
• Physicsimportance 3.7/5
• Administration and Managementimportance 3.6/5
• Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.4/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

• E-Mail5.0/5
• Telephone Conversations4.9/5
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.8/5
• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.4/5
• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.4/5
• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.4/5

Related Careers

• Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians
• Construction Managers
• Construction and Building Inspectors
• Environmental Engineers
• Architectural and Civil Drafters
• Architectural and Engineering Managers
• Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
• Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

• Urban and Regional Planners94% skill match
• Logisticians94% skill match
• Natural Sciences Managers92% skill match
• Art Directors92% skill match
• Marketing Managers92% skill match
• Medical and Health Services Managers92% skill match
• Financial Managers92% skill match
• Architects, Except Landscape and Naval91% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

• Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.9/5
• Systems Analysisimportance 3.8/5
• Time Managementimportance 3.8/5
• Operations Analysisimportance 3.6/5
• Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.4/5
• Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
• Systems Evaluationimportance 3.1/5
• Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.0/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

• Dependability
• Attention to Detail
• Cautiousness
• Integrity
• Intellectual Curiosity
• Achievement Orientation
• Leadership Orientation

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

• RealisticHigh
• InvestigativeHigh
• ConventionalMedium
• EnterprisingLow
• ArtisticLow
• SocialLow

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where civil engineers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1. 1Carson City, NV4.15× national avg
2. 2Yuba City, CA3.84× national avg
3. 3Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC3.65× national avg
4. 4Helena, MT3.40× national avg
5. 5Walla Walla, WA3.18× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

• Architects, Except Landscape and NavalLateral Move
• ActuariesCareer Change
• Financial ManagersCareer Change
• Marketing ManagersCareer Change

See the full career path from Civil Engineers →

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.