Work Environment

Civil engineering technologists and technicians held about 68,800 jobs in 2020. The largest employers of civil engineering technologists and technicians were as follows:

Engineering services - 44%
State government, excluding education and hospitals - 27%
Local government, excluding education and hospitals - 17%
Construction - 4%

Civil engineering technologists and technicians work in offices, helping civil engineers plan and design projects. They also visit construction jobsites to collect or test materials or to observe activities as a project inspector. They may work at several sites, using cars or trucks as a mobile office.

Civil engineering technologists and technicians frequently work on teams with civil engineers, surveyors and surveying technicians, construction workers, and others involved with projects.

Work Schedules

Civil engineering technologists and technicians usually work full time. When working at construction sites, their schedules may be subject to factors that affect construction, such as weather. Their schedules also may be tied to those of the construction projects they are involved with.

Job Outlook

Employment of civil engineering technologists and technicians is projected to grow 2 percent from 2020 to 2030, slower than the average for all occupations.

Despite limited employment growth, about 6,500 openings for civil engineering technologists and technicians are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

The need to preserve, repair, and upgrade the country’s infrastructure continues to increase. Bridges, roads, levees, airports, and dams will need to be rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced. Also, a growing population means that water systems must be maintained in order to reduce or eliminate loss of drinkable water. In addition, more waste treatment plants will be needed to help clean the nation’s waterways. Civil engineers must plan, design, and oversee this work, and civil engineering technologists and technicians will be needed to assist the engineers in these projects.

Civil engineering technologists and technicians also will find work assisting civil engineers with renewable-energy projects. For example, these technologists and technicians may assist in the development of a wind farm by helping engineers devise solutions to minimize project costs while accommodating the sizeable dimensions and weight of wind turbines.

Earnings

The median annual wage for civil engineering technologists and technicians was $58,320 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $36,550, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $79,650.

In May 2021, the median annual wages for civil engineering technologists and technicians in the top industries in which they worked were as follows: