Civil Engineers

Nature of the Work
Employment
Job Outlook

(D.O.T. 005.061 except-042, .167-014 and -018; and 019.167-018)

• Nature of the Work

  Civil engineers work in the oldest branch of engineering, designing and supervising the construction of roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, bridges, and water supply and sewage systems. Major specialties within civil engineering are structural, water resources, environmental, construction, transportation, and geotechnical engineering.
  
  Many civil engineers hold supervisory or administrative positions, ranging from supervisor of a construction site to city engineer. Others may work in design, construction, research, and teaching.

• Employment

  Civil engineers held about 196,000 jobs in 1996. Almost 47 percent were in firms providing engineering consulting services, primarily developing designs for new construction projects. Another 39 percent of the jobs were in Federal, State, and local government agencies. The construction industry, public utilities, transportation, and manufacturing industries accounted for most of the rest. About 13,000 civil engineers were self-employed, many as consultants.
  
  Civil engineers usually work near major industrial and commercial centers, often at construction sites. Some projects are situated in remote areas or in foreign countries. In some jobs, civil engineers move from place to place to work on different projects.

• Job Outlook

  Employment of civil engineers is expected to increase about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2006. Graduates of civil engineering programs should find favorable opportunities. Spurred by general population growth and an expanding economy, more civil engineers will be needed to design and construct higher capacity transportation, water supply, and pollution control systems; large buildings and building complexes; and to repair or replace existing roads, bridges, and other public structures. Most job openings, however, will result from the need to replace civil engineers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.
  
  
  Because construction and related industries—including those providing design services—employ many civil engineers, employment opportunities will vary by geographic area and may decrease during economic slowdowns, when construction is often curtailed.
  
  
  (See introductory part of this section for information on training requirements, earnings, and sources of additional information.)
  
  

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