Civil Engineers

Civil Engineers held about 291,000 jobs in 2009, making this one of the largest segments of the engineering community. Nearly 70% of civil engineers were employed in the private sector. States that employed the largest number of civil engineers per capita included Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Washington and Wisconsin. Average civil engineer salary was highest in California, D.C., Delaware, Louisiana and Nevada. Employment of civil engineers is projected to grow by nearly 20% through 2016 – faster than average for all occupations.

Civil Engineering Employment Outlook

Driven by population growth, more civil engineers will be needed to design and manage construction of new, expanded and revitalized infrastructure. Concentrations will include roads, bridges and related transit facilities - in addition to public utility and energy delivery complexes.

Geographically, the western and southern U.S. regions will see a heavier emphasis on creation of new infrastructure as necessitated by population shift, while the northeast and midwest regions will focus more on rehabilitation of aged infrastructure. Environmental management will lift demand for civil engineers - particularly in more densely populated regions. Outgrowth of both private and government sponsored renewable and sustainable energy programs will generate significant upward demand for civil engineers across all U.S. regions.

Long-term job stability for civil engineers is projected to be much more favorable than their counterparts in other engineering disciplines, as the nature of their work is far less conducive to outsourcing.

Civil Engineering Salaries

Civil engineer salary trends place the middle 50% earning between $56,940 and $89,460. The lowest 10% earned less than $45,400, and the highest 10% earned more than $110,200.

Civil engineering salaries in the private sector are an average of 9% higher than those in government/public institutions.

Starting salaries in 2009 for new civil engineering graduates: B.S. degrees received offers averaging $49,330; M.S. degrees averaged $59,710; and new Ph.Ds $65,390. The number of employers seeking advanced degrees has accelerated in the past 5 years, and is projected to exceed 50% by 2012. On average, advanced degrees add over 21% to civil engineering salaries, and this percentage will increase as demand continues to grow.

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