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Civil Engineers

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.

How does this connect to your interests? →

A look at the work

  • Direct engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations.
  • Manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site.
  • Inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.
  • Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
  • Plan and design transportation or hydraulic systems or structures, using computer-assisted design or drawing tools.
  • Provide technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs.
  • Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.
  • Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.

A selection of source-listed tasks; duties vary by role and employer.

Interests involved in this work

These source scores describe occupational work activities. They are separate from your personal test results.

Hands-on

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

6.4 / 7

Investigative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

5.2 / 7

Creative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

2.2 / 7

Helping people

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.7 / 7

Enterprising

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

2.7 / 7

Organizing

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

4.6 / 7

Skills to explore

Source-reported importance on a 1–5 scale. Try a course, project or conversation to learn what these skills involve.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

2021-08

4.0 / 5

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

2021-08

3.9 / 5

Mathematics

Using mathematics to solve problems.

2021-08

3.9 / 5

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

2021-08

3.9 / 5

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

2021-08

3.9 / 5

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

2021-08

3.9 / 5

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

2021-08

3.8 / 5

Science

Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

2021-08

3.8 / 5

Systems Analysis

Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

2021-08

3.8 / 5

Operations Analysis

Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.

2021-08

3.6 / 5

Plan a small next step

Talk to someone doing this work, look for a supervised activity, and explore the subjects that interest you. Admission, licensing and current program requirements should be confirmed with the relevant institutions.

Source preparation category: Job Zone 4 of 5 · 2021-08. This category describes typical preparation, not your eligibility.

Related study fields

Source crosswalk connections are research leads, not required qualifications.

Civil Engineering, General →

Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering →

Structural Engineering →

Transportation and Highway Engineering →

Water Resources Engineering →

Civil Engineering, Other →

Construction Engineering →

Explore all related study fields →

Source & methodology

O*NET-SOC code 17-2051.00 · Database 31.0 · Retrieved Oct 14, 2026. Dates on individual observations describe their source periods.

How interest exploration matching works →

Data: O*NET® 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Used under CC BY 4.0. StudyIndex normalizes the presentation and adds exploration features; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions.