OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Apply theory and principles of civil engineering in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of structures and facilities under the direction of engineering staff or physical scientists.
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Titles for this career often contain these words
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Responsibilities and activities
Civil engineering technicians typically do the following:
- Read and review project drawings and plans to determine the sizes of structures
- Confer with engineers about preparing plans
- Use computer aided design software under the charge of engineers
- Evaluate preconstruction field conditions
- Observe project sites and evaluate contractors’ work to detect problems with a design
- Test construction materials and soil samples in laboratories
- Help to ensure that project construction conforms to design specifications and applicable codes
- Develop plans and estimate costs for constructing systems and operating facilities
- Prepare reports and document project activities and data
- Set up and help maintain project files and records
Civil engineering technicians typically work under the charge of licensed civil engineers. These technicians generally help civil engineers by observing progress on a jobsite, collecting data, and completing routine reports to document project activities. Because they are not licensed, civil engineering technicians cannot approve designs or supervise the overall project.
Civil engineering technicians assume varied duties on the job. They sometimes estimate construction costs and develop specifications. Other times, they prepare drawings or survey land. They also may set up and monitor various instruments for traffic studies. These technicians’ duties often require familiarity with and use of various computer programs to design projects, collect and analyze data, prepare correspondence and reports, and manage file systems.
Salary
Median salary: $54,080 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $40,850 and $68,350.
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for engineering technologists and technicians
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
Number employed
About Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of civil engineering technologists and technicians who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
- Responsible for Others' Health (46%)
- Exposed to Contaminants (43%)
- Time Pressure (39%)
- Hazardous Equipment (31%)
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Critical-thinking skills
As assistants to <a href="/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/civil-engineers.htm" title="Civil Engineers">civil engineers</a>, civil engineering technicians must be able to help the engineers identify and solve problems; to develop infrastructure plans; and to help agencies avoid wasting time, effort, and funds.
Decisionmaking skills
Pressure from deadlines means that technicians must be able to quickly discern which types of information are most important for the work at hand, and which plan of action will help keep the project on schedule.
Math skills
Civil engineering technicians use math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work. For this reason, they need to be familiar with algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.
Observational skills
Civil engineering technicians sometimes have to go to jobsites and assess a project for the engineer. Therefore, they must know what to look for and how best to report back to the engineer who is overseeing the project.
Problem-solving skills
Like civil engineers, civil engineering technicians help design projects to solve a particular problem. Technicians must be able to understand and work with all the related systems involved in building a project.
Reading skills
Civil engineering technicians carry out plans and designs for projects that a civil engineer has approved. Thus, they must be able to understand all the reports, plans, and documents describing these designs.
Writing skills
Civil engineering technicians often are asked to relay their findings in writing. They must be able to write reports that are well organized and clearly written.
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by civil engineering technologists and technicians
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), civil engineering technologists and technicians typically hold a associate's degree.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as engineering technologists and technicians as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for civil engineering technologists and technicians
To prepare for programs in engineering technology after high school, prospective civil engineering technicians should take science and math courses, such as chemistry, physics, geometry, and trigonometry. They should also have basic knowledge of the use of computers.
Employers generally prefer engineering technicians to have an associate’s degree from a program accredited by ABET, although a degree is not always required. Engineering technology programs are also available at technical or vocational schools that award a postgraduate certificate or diploma.
Courses at technical or vocational schools may include engineering, design, and computer software. To complete an associate’s degree in civil engineering technology, students also usually need to take other courses in liberal arts and the sciences.
Details: Licensing and certification recommended for civil engineering technologists and technicians
Certification is not needed to enter this occupation, but it can help technicians advance their careers. The National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) is one of the primary organizations overseeing certification for civil engineering technicians.
Certification as a technician requires passing an exam and providing documentation, including a work history, recommendations, and for most programs, supervisor confirmation of specific experience. NICET requires technicians to update their skills and knowledge through a recertification process that encourages continuing professional development.
Education level of Engineering Technologists and Technicians
Only 20% of engineering technologists and technicians have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by engineering technologists and technicians
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
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Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click a program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Program
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
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Number of Engineering Technologists and Technicians per 1,000 workers (ACS)
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most civil engineering technologists and technicians? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as civil engineering technologists and technicians. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where civil engineering technologists and technicians earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
- In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for engineering technologists and technicians compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
- Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for engineering technologists and technicians.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which engineering technologists and technicians earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Engineering Technologists and Technicians (ACS for all specialties)
Employment
8% of Engineering technologists and technicians are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 8% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 64% of careers.
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of engineering technologists and technicians by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
Gender
Engineering technologists and technicians and gender
With 19% women, this occupation has a lower percentage of women than 67% of careers.
Gender of Engineering technologists and technicians
Men (81%)
Women (19%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
Context: Salary inequity
The median (middle) salary for all full-time male workers
in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women
by 19%, and the difference
for engineering technologists and technicians tops that, with the median salary for
men 26% higher than the median
salary for women.
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Engineering technologists and technicians
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Engineering technologists and technicians.
Race/origin of engineering technologists and technicians
White (75% )
Black (9% )
Asian (8% )
Other (3% )
Multiracial (3% )
Hispanic (1% )
American Indian (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
