Career Explorer Engineering and architecture
Changing shape
Civil engineering technologists and technicians
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.
Among the careers AI is changing fastest: more resilient than 17% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it very high), and US jobs are projected to change by +3.2% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on creative vision.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $64,950
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.2%
- Openings a year
- 6,100
- People doing it (2025)
- 70,900
- Usual route in
- Associate's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Determine resource needs of projects or operations
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- Plan work activities
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Prepare reports of operational or procedural activities
- Inspect facilities or equipment
- Estimate project development or operational costs
What the work looks like
- Calculate dimensions, square footage, profile and component specifications, and material quantities, using calculator or computer.
- Inspect project site and evaluate contractor work to detect design malfunctions and ensure conformance to design specifications and applicable codes.
- Read and review project blueprints and structural specifications to determine dimensions of structure or system and material requirements.
- Draft detailed dimensional drawings and design layouts for projects to ensure conformance to specifications.
- Conduct materials test and analysis, using tools and equipment and applying engineering knowledge.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as fewer civil engineering technicians are needed due to improved drafting software, such as CAD, which increases their productivity.
- More of these jobs, as demand for new infrastructure projects leads to more demand for civil engineering technicians, which will be partially offset by productivity gains from improved drafting software, such as CAD.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Cartographers and photogrammetristsGrows with AI, Index 32, +7.4%
- Architectural and civil draftersGrows with AI, Index 46, +5.2%
- Environmental engineering technologists and techniciansChanging shape, Index 26, +3.1%
- Information security analystsGrows with AI, Index 24, +21.0%
Also known as: Civil Engineering Technician, Engineer Technician, Engineering Assistant, Engineering Technician, Civil Designer, Civil Engineering Assistant, Design Technician, Transportation Engineering Technician.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.