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Engineering

Engineering | Civil Engineer

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 2320 Civil Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 66982 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 2015:

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 $96,739.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $95,268.

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 $81,320.

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 LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree72.05%
Master's Degree22.38%
Doctoral Degree3.83%
Other5.28%

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 ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years30.96%
3 to 5 years39.89%
6 to 8 years13.79%
9+ years15.36%

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 (34.26%)
  • Management (26.18%)
  • Planning (24.26%)
  • Coordinating (17.77%)
  • Leadership (17.32%)
  • Microsoft Office (16.58%)
  • Writing (15.55%)
  • Operations (14.49%)
  • Problem Solving (14.24%)
  • Research (12.2%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • AutoCAD Civil 3D (26.39%)
  • Hydrology (11.28%)
  • Geotechnical Engineering (11.9%)
  • AutoCAD (27.17%)
  • Civil Engineering (60.51%)
  • Structural Engineering (9.74%)
  • Stormwater Management (17.37%)
  • Grading (Landscape) (16.55%)
  • Project Management (40.49%)
  • MicroStation (CAD Design Software) (17.6%)
  • Land Development (14.61%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Project Engineering (11.89%)
  • Computer-Aided Design (11.64%)
  • Environmental Engineering (8.03%)
  • Hydraulics (8.7%)
  • Construction (25.8%)
  • Business Development (8.27%)
  • Geology (7.01%)
  • Construction Management (13.12%)
  • Engineering Design Process (14.28%)
  • Subcontracting (6.5%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

  • Roadway Design (5.19%)
  • Bridge Design (4.19%)
  • Engineering Statics (3.02%)
  • OpenRoads (Civil Design Software) (6%)
  • Civil Design (7.58%)
  • Erosion Control (3.98%)
  • Erosions (4.97%)
  • Integral Calculus (4%)
  • Civil Engineering Design (7.17%)
  • Optics (2.92%)
  • Municipal Or Urban Engineering (1.25%)
  • Geotechnical Investigation (1.52%)
  • Thermodynamics (4.04%)
  • Site Planning (2.22%)
  • Sediment Controls (3.72%)
  • Sanitary Sewer (3.85%)
  • Engineering Geology (1.84%)
  • Fluid Mechanics (4.13%)
  • Soil Mechanics (4.87%)
  • Transport Engineering (3.53%)
  • Slope Stability (1.6%)
  • Civil Site Design (3.9%)

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.

  • Thermodynamics (6.35%)
  • Civil Engineering (95.1%)
  • Fluid Mechanics (6.49%)
  • Integral Calculus (6.29%)

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
  • Civil Engineering Intern
  • Land Development Civil Engineer
  • Geotechnical Engineer
  • Lead Civil Engineer
  • Civil Engineer-in-Training
  • Roadway Engineer
  • Civil Transportation Engineer

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.

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 (3923)
  • Actalent (1835)
  • Jobot (1618)
  • WSP Global (1222)
  • Kimley-Horn (1175)
  • AECOM (1111)
  • HNTB (954)
  • Jacobs Solutions (747)
  • HDR (715)
  • Stantec (639)

North Carolina

  • GPAC (149)
  • Jobot (95)
  • WSP Global (75)
  • Stimmel Stimmel & Smith (61)
  • State of North Carolina (61)
  • Timmons Group (58)
  • Kimley-Horn (50)
  • Globallogic (47)
  • AECOM (44)
  • Actalent (43)

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!