Civil Engineering Salary

Civil Engineering Education


Civil engineering has followed mankind throughout the ages. The first examples of it date back to Egypt and Mesopotamia, when man first shirked its nomadic tendencies and settled down into civilizations. The Great Pyramids, the Parthenon, the Appian Way, the Great Wall of China and the Roman Aqueducts still inspire the imaginations of people young and old all over the world today.

The term was initially coined to separate engineering of public works and architecture from military engineering, and many of the principles used and discovered thousands of years ago still influence our modern engineering today. In the third century BCE, Archimedes devised the principle (of the same name), setting the groundwork for the future design of bridges, boats, and anything pertaining to buoyancy.


Norwich University was the first college to formally teach civil engineering in 1819 and the first degree awarded in the field was given by Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute in 1835. The first woman to receive a degree in the field? Nora Blatch in 1905 by Cornell University.

Civil Engineering Universities

Every state in the Union has a college holding an accredited degree program for engineering in general as well as one for civil engineers. Most top-tier, national-level schools have them, such as MIT, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Cornell, Brown, Berkley, and Virginia Tech. But you don’t have to sell your kidneys to attend an accredited civil engineering program. Chances are pretty likely that your local state university has one. And if that wasn’t enough, USNews.com compiled a list of the top 11 colleges in the country for civil engineers receiving the best education:

College                                                in-state tuition            out-of-state tuition

                                                 (both rates are full-time, per year figures)

University of California – Berkley                  $9,400                         $15,000

University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign    $14,000                       $28,000

Georgia Institute of Technology                     $8,600                         $26,000

Purdue University – West Lafayette               $9,600                         $27,000

Stanford University                                         $41,000                       $41,000

University of Texas – Austin                           $8,800                         $16,000

Michigan Institute of Technology                   $38,900                       $38,900

University of Michigan                                   $20,000                       $38,100

Virginia Tech                                                   $8,700                         $17,000

Carnegie Melon University                             $36,000                       $36,000

Cornell University                                           $29,500                       $29,500

Career paths for civil engineers vary, but certain underlying requirements are found across the board:

  • The best place to start any career in engineering is in college. Civil Engineering is no exception. A Bachelor’s Degree (a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Engineering will do, depending on the school you attend) with a major in civil engineering is usually the first step in beginning your career. Typical coursework includes math, physics, and maybe some Computer Automated Design classes.
  • Usually in your junior or senior year at college, you will take your FE/EIT (engineering in training) exam. It tests your fundamental understanding of principles and concepts of civil engineering. It also happens to be a prerequisite of your next exam, taken after a few years in the field.
  • Most people will get internships with an engineering firm while they are in college, to garner insights, valuable work experience, and help pay their bills.
  • While not technically mandatory, a year or two after graduating, you should probably take the PE exam, granting you certification and the official title Professional Engineer. Many international statutes dictate that your certification will allow you to work just about anywhere on the planet as a competent and certified engineer.
  • NOTE: The exams listed above apply to the U.S. only. Exams for certification vary by country and region.


Civil Engineering Salary

Construction Engineering

  • The planning, design, and management of construction projects including skyscrapers, airports, highways and reservoirs. Typical duties include analysis of topographical information cross-referenced to building codes of the planned site, project management, and safety oversight.
  • Salaries start at $50k/year and range up to $68k/year. Senior Construction Engineers with 20+ years of experience can make $107k/year.
  • Turner Construction and The Clark Construction Group, LLC are two of the highest paying employers
  • Construction Engineers are generally paid highest in Houston, TX and New York City, NY.

 Environmental Engineering

  • From waste management to efficient design, Environmental Engineers build a better tomorrow by trying to clean the Earth today. Recycling processes and pollution control are of utmost importance.
  • Salaries start at $49k/year and range up to $74k/year. Senior Environmental Engineers with 20+ years of experience can make $102k/year.
  • URS Corporation and Environmental Resource Management Inc. are two of the highest paying employers in this discipline
  • Environmental Engineers are generally paid highest in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Florida.

 Geotechnical Engineering

  • The marriage of earth sciences like geology and engineering, Geotechnical Engineers investigate ground stability and earth material conditions at project sites that would hinder, damage, or outright destroy the project before or after completion. Other duties include the design of foundations for buildings and bridges, as well, as limiting the risks or damages caused by earthquakes, landslides, sinkholes, etc.
  • Salaries start at $49k/year and range up to $67k/year. Senior Geotechnical Engineers with 20+ years of experience can make $136k/year.
  • Kleinfelder Incorporated and URS Corporation Inc. are two of the highest paying employers
  • Geotechnical Engineers are generally paid highest in Houston, TX and Boston, Massachusetts.

 Materials Engineering

  • Materials Engineers take applied physics and chemistry and merge them with engineering principles to investigate material properties (to find suitable shell material for the space shuttle) or do forensic material research. This field also includes Nanotechnology, and recently universities’ materials engineering classes have been booked due to media attention.
  • Salaries start at $56k/year and range up to $81k/year. Senior Materials Engineers with 20+ years of experience can make $104k/year.
  • The Federal Government, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin are three of the highest paying employers in the field.
  • Materials Engineers are generally paid highest in Houston, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Arizona.

 Surveying

  • Determine boundaries and exact positions of objects and points for future construction sites or map-building.
  • Salaries start at $40k/year and range up to $66k/year. Senior Surveyors with 20+ years of experience can make $82k/year.
  • Surveyors are highest paid through self employment or through state and local governments.
  • Surveyors are generally paid highest in Los Angeles, Denver, and Illinois.