A civil engineering technician assists licensed engineers in design and construction. These technician jobs are on the rise as the population increases. Prospective civil engineering technicians should learn ways to get training for these jobs.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected an increase in jobs for civil engineering technicians of 17% for the 10-year period beginning in 2018. While some construction and engineering industries my be going down or staying steady, civil engineering firms need technicians to assist in road and bridge construction. Because the nation’s infrastructure depends on this work, the number of job openings tends for civil engineering technicians tends to rise along with the population.
In 2008, there were around 91,000 such jobs. Although a May 2010 survey counted only about 77,000 jobs, BLS projects that there will be around 107,000 jobs for these technicians in 2018.
Although technicians are not licensed or certified as civil engineers (they are essentially assistants), they do some complex work and are rewarded pretty nicely with a decent salary. In the May 2010 survey, the median salary was $46,290.
However, to get one of these jobs, you generally need at least some level of college education. It is advisable to take classes in math and science that are typically offered in civil engineering degree courses. Ideally, you should even have a civil engineering degree, as many future engineers start out as technicians. This is because you normally have to get a few years of experience before becoming certified as a full-fledged professional civil engineer. Thus, you should be looking at the job of a civil engineering technician as a rite of passage to becoming an engineer.
You can find colleges with accredited engineering degree programs through ABET. In fact, there are over 50 degree programs specifically for civil engineering technology. There are also more than 300 accredited civil engineering program in the United States.
Civil engineering technicians find most of their jobs with architectural and engineering firms. The state and local governments also hire many technicians. For example, the highway department needs thousands of technicians throughout the country.
Resources:
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics: Engineering Technicians
BLS: Civil Engineering Technicians
ABET: Accredited Civil Engineering and Civil Engineering Technology Degree Programs Search