Civil Engineers

Minimal Risk
15%
Where Would You Like to Go Next?
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Vote Comments (45)
Or, Explore This Profession in Greater Detail...
AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
0.0%
(Minimal Risk)
POLLING
30%
(Low Risk)
Average: 15%
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
6.5%
by year 2033
WAGES
$95,890
or $46.10 per hour
Volume
327,950
as of 2023
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
8.2/10

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Calculated automation risk

0.0% (Minimal Risk)

Minimal Risk (0-20%): Occupations in this category have a low probability of being automated, as they typically demand complex problem-solving, creativity, strong interpersonal skills, and a high degree of manual dexterity. These jobs often involve intricate hand movements and precise coordination, making it difficult for machines to replicate the required tasks.

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

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Originality

  • Negotiation

  • Persuasion

  • Social Perceptiveness

User poll

30% 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 0.0% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Civil Engineers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph is included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (quarterly)

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Civil Engineers' job openings is expected to rise 6.5% by 2033

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2024.

Wages

Very high paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Civil Engineers' was $95,890, or $46 per hour

'Civil Engineers' were paid 99.5% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2023 there were 327,950 people employed as 'Civil Engineers' within the United States.

This represents around 0.22% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 463 people are employed as 'Civil Engineers'.

Job description

Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems.

SOC Code: 17-2051.00

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Comments

Leave a comment

Brad 2 months ago
Physics engine and evolutionary algorithms and away goes civil engineering. Most engineering problems are now CS problems.
0 4 Reply
Blake (Low) 3 months ago
I voted low because, while technology definitely improves efficiency, civil engineering relies heavily on human insight and problem-solving. We face too many unique challenges and ethical considerations that AI just isn't equipped to handle yet. So far, I haven’t seen any solid evidence that machines can fully take over what we do.
0 0 Reply
Nerds 4 months ago
Yeah no, civil engineers have to go to the job site and actually talk to the specific client and know what questions to ask so there isn’t really any possibility I see them getting replaced
0 0 Reply
benny (Low) 6 months ago
It’s not something easy to make an ai do but it is definitely something they could do with hard work.
0 0 Reply
will (Highly likely) 8 months ago
Civil engineering has its problems but there are set solutions to each problem because each one has already been discovered and solved. A computer could easily design a building roadways and other infrastructure taking into account maximum efficiency
0 3 Reply
L 4 months ago
Will your wrong because of the creativity, need to talk with client, having to go on site, etc
0 0 Reply
The Superior Will 4 months ago
Lol no. AI would not know any specifics and client requirements. It also does not know any existing information of a site unless civil engineers provide that. A computer also cannot be liable for any failed design. Nice try buddy.
0 0 Reply
SIDNEY ROGERIO BENEDINI (No chance) 10 months ago
There´s no way to be replaced by a robot, because the occupation requires many kinds of solutions based on questions that depends on the cronogram, time, situation of construction, environment, chash flow, policy, etc.
0 0 Reply
Arpit (Uncertain) 1 year ago
3D Printers are reality, and automated design sheets are also available yet getting the understanding of the client requirement and handling the projects will need the specialised personells. And it also require Empathy towards the constantly changing demand of the clients.
0 0 Reply
Jimin (Low) 1 year ago
I think 20% of load will decrease due to automation like 3d printing and other ai,
But there is still dificult ,structural stand-point you can integrate with software and on site you can use 3d printing however current technology didn't have options to use reinforcement so there is always dought about onsite structural integrity.
0 0 Reply
kalpeshkumar (No chance) 1 year ago
cause field work is not a thing for the ai to handle and there is physical involvement so much .
0 0 Reply
dew (Highly likely) 1 year ago
3D print technology would make it cheaper and easier to build things prefabricated
0 0 Reply
Will 4 months ago
You're so funny. Plenty of things can't be just 3D printed. Do you think Civil Engineers only build small barns?
1 0 Reply
Yashir (No chance) 1 year ago
Civil Engineering is just because of Creativity. Man power places a Vital Role
0 0 Reply
Omar (Highly likely) 1 year ago
The robots will design the buildings without any common error like what happens with humans.
0 1 Reply
Nerds 4 months ago
Omar respectfully that isn’t true and not how it works, you have to work with clients and figure out what THEY want not just copy and paste buildings
1 0 Reply
D Lee (Moderate) 1 year ago
There's a lot of civil engineering processes that are redundant and repetitive. A lot of this can be replicated and automated by ML and AI.

The ultimate review/signing of plans will still require humans. (until the machines decide otherwise)
0 0 Reply
Emerson Mauricio (Low) 1 year ago
The commands will still be from the Engineer. Robots and AI will only make the work faster and more efficient.
0 0 Reply
Hari (Low) 2 years ago
This job is all about creativity and presence of mind.
0 0 Reply
RCE (Low) 2 years ago
Many engineers require a lot of human thinking, as well as considering other engineering projects and the type of work that will be done with the project.

The ability to plan ahead and the intelligence to consider different outcomes without failure is something most people want a human doing.
0 0 Reply
Javed (Low) 2 years ago
It depends on which particular divisions you are involved with. Engineering design, yes, we can already see some automation here. Construction, nah, not in this lifetime. Contract and Project Management, haha, good luck robots/AI's.
1 0 Reply
Moritz Mayr (Highly likely) 2 years ago
There is no creative process involved, at least to my knowledge. The architect designs the building and can give the constraints under which AI has to optimize the building, statics, material consumption and more. What an engineer does is highly mathematical and predictable and can be done better by computer than by humans.
0 1 Reply
Nerds (no chance) 4 months ago
Dude it’s pretty obvious what kind of specific things that ai can assist with but also they definitely can’t completely replace the field
1 0 Reply
Josh 4 months ago
AI can only assist civil engineers, not take the jobs.
0 0 Reply
Sameer 9 months ago
A computer can adhere to the constraints given by the architect but a civil engineer analyses them properly and I don’t think so there’s any chance AI can take over this profession. One more thing is negotiation and curation involved in this job…
0 0 Reply
Glenn (Low) 3 years ago
Civil engineers need high creativity and robots are just programmed to do a specific task again and again
0 0 Reply
Reily (Low) 3 years ago
It is expected that this activity of reasoning, execution and visual and instant supervision will not be replaced by teams that do not manage immediate reactions or alternative solutions to current problems.
0 0 Reply

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