Civil Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Civil Engineer designs and supervises large construction projects such as public buildings, roads, and waterways. Designs projects that meet the needs of users and the public and are structurally sound. Addresses environmental and land use issues in project design. May specialize in a particular aspect of design and construction, or a particular type of construction, such as transportation systems.
Job Outlook
There were 1319 Civil Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 39664 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Civil Engineer industry, which includes the Civil Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2016:
Salary
Many new Civil Engineer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $104,310.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $103,040.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Civil Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $90,242.
Education and Experience
Posted Civil Engineer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 78.27% |
| Master's Degree | 22.71% |
| Doctoral Degree | 2.69% |
| Other | 1.37% |
Posted Civil Engineer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 24.24% |
| 3 to 5 years | 45.2% |
| 6 to 8 years | 14.94% |
| 9+ years | 15.62% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Civil Engineer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (35.96%)
- Planning (25.87%)
- Management (23.07%)
- Leadership (19.35%)
- Coordinating (17.34%)
- Microsoft Office (16.14%)
- Writing (16.1%)
- Problem Solving (15.91%)
- Customer Service (15.52%)
- Detail Oriented (14.56%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Grading (Landscape) (23.47%)
- Structural Engineering (15.47%)
- Stormwater Management (24.06%)
- MicroStation (CAD Design Software) (21.32%)
- Project Management (40.89%)
- Land Development (23.17%)
- Hydrology (10.94%)
- Civil Design (9.99%)
- Civil Engineering (74.02%)
- AutoCAD (31.26%)
- Bridge Design (8.63%)
- AutoCAD Civil 3D (38.85%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Project Delivery (4.5%)
- Subcontracting (5.22%)
- Wastewater (9.68%)
- Rehabilitation (5.11%)
- Surveying (6.01%)
- Hydraulics (7.04%)
- Geotechnical Engineering (6.46%)
- Environmental Engineering (9.82%)
- Engineering Design Process (17.48%)
- Procurement (3.25%)
- Construction Management (10.99%)
- Construction (21.21%)
- Business Development (7.88%)
- Computer-Aided Design (13.88%)
- Project Engineering (11.84%)
- Design Software (8.74%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Drainage Design (2.83%)
- Structural Analysis (6.27%)
- Storm Drains (3.78%)
- SAP 2000 (1.84%)
- Sediment Controls (5.36%)
- Civil Site Design (5.87%)
- Site Planning (3.27%)
- Retaining Wall (4.46%)
- Sanitary Sewer (4.75%)
- Municipal Or Urban Engineering (1.71%)
- HEC-RAS (3.87%)
- Erosions (6.89%)
- Erosion Control (5.18%)
- Design Codes (1.76%)
- Civil Engineering Design (10.91%)
- Reinforced Concrete (1.28%)
- OpenRoads (Civil Design Software) (5.9%)
- Bridge Engineering (3.24%)
- Roadway Design (4.61%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Bridge Engineering (6.25%)
- OpenRoads (Civil Design Software) (11.39%)
- Drainage Design (5.46%)
- SAP 2000 (3.55%)
- Stormwater Management (46.44%)
- Structural Analysis (12.1%)
- Structural Engineering (29.86%)
- Grading (Landscape) (45.3%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Civil Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Bridge Engineer
- Civil Project Engineer
- Land Development Civil Engineer
- Civil Engineering Intern
- Civil/Structural Engineer
- Site Civil Engineer
- Lead Civil Engineer
- Civil/Environmental Engineer
- Civil Engineer-in-Training
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Civil Engineering Technician
- Civil Engineering Manager
- Transportation Engineer
- Land Development Project Manager
- Water / Wastewater Engineer
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Civil Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- GPAC (4911)
- Actalent (1448)
- Kimley-Horn (1108)
- Jobot (1079)
- AECOM (867)
- WSP Global (864)
- Stantec (549)
- HNTB (448)
- Jacobs Solutions (418)
- Langan Engineering & Environmental Services (364)
North Carolina
- GPAC (142)
- Jobot (67)
- Timmons Group (63)
- WSP Global (62)
- Actalent (60)
- Kimley-Horn (54)
- Stimmel Stimmel & Smith (54)
- AECOM (29)
- Dewberry Engineers (27)
- Black & Veatch (26)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Biological and Agricultural Engineering Master's Degrees
- Civil Engineering Master's Degrees
- Engineering Management Analytics Graduate Certificates
- Performance Based Earthquake Engineering Graduate Certificates
- Watershed Assessment and Restoration Graduate Certificates
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.