Career
Civil engineering technologists and technicians
Help civil engineers plan and build infrastructure.
$64,950
Median pay
+3.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
6,100
Openings a year
Associate's degree
Typical education
2 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Calculate dimensions, square footage, profile and component specifications, and material quantities, using calculator or computer.
- Read and review project blueprints and structural specifications to determine dimensions of structure or system and material requirements.
- Draft detailed dimensional drawings and design layouts for projects to ensure conformance to specifications.
- Confer with supervisor to determine project details such as plan preparation, acceptance testing, and evaluation of field conditions.
- Analyze proposed site factors and design maps, graphs, tracings, and diagrams to illustrate findings.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Calculate dimensions, square footage, profile and component specifications, and material quantities, using calculator or computer.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
2 years of education after high school (associate's degree), for a median of $64,950 a year and 6,100 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Engineering Technologies/Technicians, GeneralCIP 15.0000
- Architectural Engineering Technologies/TechniciansCIP 15.0101
- Civil Engineering Technologies/TechniciansCIP 15.0201
- Construction Engineering Technology/TechnicianCIP 15.1001
- Building Construction Technology/TechnicianCIP 46.0415
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Architectural and Civil Drafters$66,150 · +5.2%
- Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians$74,510 · +1.3%
- Construction Managers$114,990 · +9.1%
- Construction and Building Inspectors$74,690 · +0.0%
- Electrical and Electronics Drafters$76,870 · -3.4%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.