Traffic Technicians
Conduct field studies to determine traffic volume, speed, effectiveness of signals, adequacy of lighting, and other factors influencing traffic conditions, under direction of traffic engineer.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Writing
- Monitoring
Key knowledge
- Public Safety and Security
- Transportation
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Engineering and Technology
- Law and Government
- Mathematics
- Customer and Personal Service
What the work involves
- Interact with the public to answer traffic-related questions, respond to complaints or requests, or discuss traffic control ordinances, plans, policies, or procedures.
- Plan, design, and improve components of traffic control systems to accommodate current or projected traffic and to increase usability and efficiency.
- Analyze data related to traffic flow, accident rates, or proposed development to determine the most efficient methods to expedite traffic flow.
- Prepare work orders for repair, maintenance, or changes in traffic systems.
- Study factors affecting traffic conditions, such as lighting or sign and marking visibility, to assess their effectiveness.
- Visit development or work sites to determine projects' effect on traffic and the adequacy of traffic control and safety plans or to suggest traffic control measures.
- Operate counters and record data to assess the volume, type, and movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic at specified times.
- Gather and compile data from hand count sheets, machine count tapes, or radar speed checks and code data for computer input.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (42.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (43.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (39.6%)
- 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 Traffic 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 | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 54% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 75% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Higher on teamwork than 52% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 71% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 76% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 71% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 54% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 77% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: high
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: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Occasional contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Contact with others about half the time: 7.07%
- Contact with others most of the time: 51.71%
- Constant contact with others: 41.22%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 17.75%
- Important: 12.91%
- Very important: 18.25%
- Extremely important: 51.1%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Important: 7.07%
- Very important: 53.51%
- Extremely important: 39.42%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very little freedom: 11.18%
- Limited freedom: 17.56%
- Some freedom: 41.22%
- A lot of freedom: 30.04%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 7.07%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 41.33%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 45.76%
- Every day: 5.84%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 22.36%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 37.22%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 7.07%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 33.35%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 11.18%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 31.15%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 30.16%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.33%
- Every day: 11.18%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly serious: 7.07%
- Serious: 48.4%
- Very serious: 17.02%
- Extremely serious: 27.51%
n = 12, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 53-6041.00 · SOC 53-6041 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8