Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians

Low Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (4)

Lower estimated automation risk

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Why it fits

Civil design and construction support provide a base, but engineering licensure or degree completion may be needed.

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Why it fits

Project documents, field coordination, schedules, and contractor communication support construction management.

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Construction methods, specifications, codes, and field observation transfer well to inspection.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
5.2/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

30% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): This occupation has a lower risk of full replacement by AI, software, or robotic systems. Some tasks may be automated or assisted, but the role usually still relies on human judgement, communication, responsibility, physical adaptability, or practical decision-making.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Quite important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Communicating with people outside the organization

Quite important
Why this matters
Represents the organization to customers, the public, or government—handling questions, concerns, and relationship-building through conversations, writing, calls, or email.
Jobs that also use this strength

Consulting and advising others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide guidance and expert advice to managers or teams on technical, system, or process decisions—explaining options, tradeoffs, and recommended actions.
Jobs that also use this strength

Education and training expertise

Quite important
Why this matters
Designing and delivering instruction—adapting lessons to different learners and measuring whether training actually works.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 84 votes

39% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 30% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

View sentiment trend

Pay & outlook

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians was $64,200 ($31 per hour).

The median annual wage for Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians was 29.7% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Moderate growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians' job openings is expected to rise 2.1% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 62,130 people employed as 'Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 2 thousand people are employed as 'Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians'.

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What people are saying (3)

Leo (Low)
24 Oct 2025 16:03
Because Ai isn't good at creating stuff on it's own
Johannes (Low)
15 Jul 2025 17:04
Ethical concerns and human needs will probably hamper the use of AI in human spaces. Humans may prefer experts or other humans to develop such spaces and those people may rely on AI to help design such places, but the engineer will have to okay everything and it probably won't be automated in the traditional sense
Nemesio Gallardo Araujo (Low)
29 Mar 2022 04:15
Both the type of activities and the skills of a civil engineer involve complex automation. When referring to activities, I mean that the engineer must determine the necessary engineering actions and works to address specific needs. This requires analysis work (diagnosing the context, theoretical framework, and feasibility of possible solutions) and the final selection, which additionally requires increased interdisciplinary collaboration as the projects increase in magnitude. As for skills, I agree with those who believe that automation and artificial intelligence have not made significant advancements in the fields related to critical thinking, decision-making, and human creativity, which are essential parts of the civil engineering profession.
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Job description

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.

O*NET-SOC code: 17-3022.00