How many hours do civil engineers work?

There are also other factors that can contribute to variance in work schedules amongst civil engineers, including:

• Civil engineers in the private sector

Most civil engineers working in the private sector work for 40 hours per week, however, some have to put in overtime hours due to a project they are working on. This may also cause them to work outside of the traditional 9 am to 5 pm schedule. When working on tight deadlines or very important projects civil engineers can find themselves working extra early or extra late.

• Civil engineers in the public sector

Civil engineers who work in the public sector, like ones that work for government agencies, often have more stable and predictable work schedules. These also tend to be around 40 hours or slightly more per week. Emergency situations can see these engineers working outside of their normal schedule or committing to overtime work hours.

• Traveling civil engineers

Some civil engineers have to travel for their job and this can impact their daily work schedules and amount of hours they work in different ways. Sometimes civil engineers might be required to work long hours or weekends when traveling to work on a project. This is because many civil engineering projects have strict deadlines that must be met.

• Freelance civil engineers

Freelance civil engineers tend to have the most flexible work schedules of any civil engineer. These professionals take on different projects from clients and can choose their work schedules to a certain degree. But this also means they might have to work longer hours and more hours in general to meet a particular client's demands.