Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians
Apply theory and principles of civil engineering in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of structures and facilities under the direction of engineering staff or physical scientists.
Most important skills
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Mathematics
- Speaking
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Engineering and Technology
- Mathematics
- Building and Construction
- Design
- Administrative
- Administration and Management
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service
What the work involves
- Calculate dimensions, square footage, profile and component specifications, and material quantities, using calculator or computer.
- Draft detailed dimensional drawings and design layouts for projects to ensure conformance to specifications.
- Analyze proposed site factors and design maps, graphs, tracings, and diagrams to illustrate findings.
- Read and review project blueprints and structural specifications to determine dimensions of structure or system and material requirements.
- Prepare reports and document project activities and data.
- Confer with supervisor to determine project details such as plan preparation, acceptance testing, and evaluation of field conditions.
- Report maintenance problems occurring at project site to supervisor and negotiate changes to resolve system conflicts.
- Inspect project site and evaluate contractor work to detect design malfunctions and ensure conformance to design specifications and applicable codes.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Investigative, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Secondary Certificate (29.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 8 years, up to and including 10 years (31.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (23.4%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 62% of occupations compared | 83% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 74% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 66% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 69% of occupations compared | 55% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 82% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 50% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 53% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 76% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 1.16%
- Occasional contact with others: 12.97%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 2.38%
- Constant contact with others: 83.49%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2017
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 3.5%
- Important: 30.09%
- Very important: 28.35%
- Extremely important: 38.06%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2017
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 12.23%
- Very important: 30.08%
- Extremely important: 57.69%
n = 30, Incumbent 07/2017
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 1.21%
- Very little freedom: 15.62%
- Limited freedom: 0.48%
- Some freedom: 55.2%
- A lot of freedom: 27.48%
n = 28, Incumbent 07/2017
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 11.87%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 49.32%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 26.28%
- Every day: 12.53%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2017
Conflict situations
- Never: 29.36%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.56%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 39.74%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 9.1%
- Every day: 18.24%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2017
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 13.52%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 38.15%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 27.59%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.24%
- Every day: 15.5%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2017
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 27.75%
- Fairly serious: 37.41%
- Serious: 10.43%
- Very serious: 14.02%
- Extremely serious: 10.39%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2017
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O*NET-SOC 17-3022.00 · SOC 17-3022 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8