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Civil designer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Ben Giudice Ph.D.,

Ben Giudice Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical civil designer skills. We ranked the top skills for civil designers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 17.8% of civil designer resumes contained civil 3d as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a civil designer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 civil designer skills for your resume and career

1. Civil 3D

Civil 3D is computer software that allows architects and engineers to plan and design structural engineering projects. An architectural design crafted through civil 3D software is also supported by Computer-Aided Designs (CAD) and Building Information Modelling (BIM). The software makes it easy for architects and engineers to correct any potential flaws and make changes in the structural design of a building quickly and efficiently.

Here's how civil designers use civil 3d:

Work with the CADD Committee to develop Civil 3D styles and templates following Wood/Patel, NCS, City and Municipality standards.
Implemented CAD standards as well as generated training materials for MicroStation/InRoads, AutoCAD/Civil 3D and LDD for CAD staff training.

2. Autocad

Here's how civil designers use autocad:

Worked directly with engineering teams, and received directions from engineers to generate three-dimensional models and drawings using AutoCAD software.
Designed and produced plans for single family development projects using AutoCAD Land Development under the supervision of engineers.

3. Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering is a term referring to the branch of the engineering industry which deals with the design, creation, and keep up of public spaces such as roads, dams, parks, railways, pipelines, and various other infrastructures. It is one of the oldest branches of this field, having been born with the first larger cities and civilizations; thus "civil" engineering. It is an industry generally used to solve the problems of the public, such as a lack of sheltering or low cleanliness.

Here's how civil designers use civil engineering:

Assisted engineers in planning/design of numerous civil engineering projects.
Stone Mountain, Ga. A company that makes precast concrete forms for the Civil Engineering firms in the Atlanta area.

4. Civil Design

Here's how civil designers use civil design:

Developed and directed multiple training programs for Civil design staff and helped maintained drafting standards between departments.EXPERIENCE
Facilitated information transition between the Land Surveying Department and the Civil Design Department.

5. Site Design

Here's how civil designers use site design:

Created preliminary site design and write-up for construction cost estimates.
Prepared Survey and Civil Site Design Plans in accordance with various Township Ordinance and in compliance with Bucks County Conservation District.

6. GIS

A geographic information system (GIS) is a tool for capturing, storing, manipulating, analyzing, managing and presenting various forms of geographic data.

Here's how civil designers use gis:

Generated GIS studies, conducted field verification, provided quality assurance and client and municipal interaction.
Research from county deed records, municipal GIS systems, HubTack Corner records, GLO notes and other research as needed.

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7. Design Drawings

Here's how civil designers use design drawings:

Prepared design drawings including excavation plans and sections for slope stabilization work.
Developed detailed design drawings for the construction of concrete and steel structures from sketches and record drawings.

8. Wastewater

Wastewater refers to the used water from any combination of industrial, commercial domestic, or agricultural activities. This also refers to stormwater, surface runoff water, and any water that goes into the sewer or sewer infiltration.

Here's how civil designers use wastewater:

Provided engineering, design, and technical support for multifaceted systems for water and wastewater facilities, both private and municipal.
Provided design work pertinent to all aspects of highways and water, wastewater treatment facilities and collection systems.

9. Erosion Control

Erosion control refers to preventing the movement of sediments from a construction site, and builders control erosion by building retaining structures, planting grass, and many more.

Here's how civil designers use erosion control:

Facilitated quick reference between Tennessee and Alabama erosion control measures and their Georgia equivalent.
Prepared plan and profiles, cross-sections, grading and drainage, erosion control plans, and habitat impact plans, etc.

10. Construction Drawings

Here's how civil designers use construction drawings:

Review construction drawings for accuracy, completeness and adherence to project specifications and engineering design.
Generated Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams to accompany construction drawings.

11. Survey Data

Survey Data is characterized as the resultant information that is gathered from an example of respondents that took a review. This information is complete data assembled from an intended interest group about a particular theme to lead research. There are numerous techniques utilized for overview information assortment and factual investigation.

Here's how civil designers use survey data:

Integrated aerial survey data and engineering design criteria, and finalized access road profiles, road intersections, and grading plans.
Performed data research of existing facilities using site maps and comparing survey data to identify discrepancies prior to initiation of design.

12. Site Development

Site developments are the improvements made on a site in preparations for construction.

Here's how civil designers use site development:

Provided professional engineering consulting services, including highway design and site development.
Produced site development construction documents, designing landscape and utility documents.

13. Site Layout

Here's how civil designers use site layout:

Design and prepare civil improvement plans (Tentative map, grading, storm and sanitary lines, site layout etc.)
Planned and designed grading, utility infrastructure, roadways and site layout concepts for both commercial and residential development.

14. CAD Standards

Here's how civil designers use cad standards:

Direct involvement with development and implementation of Company CAD standards.
Maintained the project civil CAD standards and assured the proper design standards are followed on drawings.

15. Stormwater Management

Here's how civil designers use stormwater management:

Provided timely completions of water, sewer, road, site grading, hydrology, hydraulics, and stormwater management design.
Executed design and in-house reviews of erosion and sediment control and stormwater management plans.

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What skills help Civil Designers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What soft skills should all civil designers possess?

Ben Giudice Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, George Fox University

Soft skills are vital in civil engineering, and the ones that are most important at the early stages of people's careers include both written and oral communication. Writing memos and reports, emails, talking to people in the field or on the phone - all of these are incredibly important to civil engineering.

What civil designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Ben Giudice Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, George Fox University

If you like working with people and serving your community, being a civil engineer can be very rewarding. You can also contribute to a healthier environment by developing more environmentally friendly designs. There is a wide variety of different kinds of work that civil engineers do, as it is a very broad discipline. Because of this, it is likely that something within civil engineering will excite and interest you. I haven't known anyone who was a civil engineer that disliked it! Compared with other engineering disciplines, the pay is not quite as high on average, but there are generally more opportunities available on a more consistent basis, and there are jobs available everywhere in the world nearly all the time.

What type of skills will young civil designers need?

Shannon Bartelt-Hunt Ph.D.

Professor and Chair, Donald R. Voelte Jr. and Nancy A. Keegan Chair of Engineering, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Skills that are always needed for civil engineering graduates are communication and teamwork. Demand for civil engineers to work as part of interdisciplinary teams to solve our global infrastructure challenges will require excellent technical skills and a team player, and a good communicator.

What hard/technical skills are most important for civil designers?

James Albrecht

Professor of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security, retired NYPD Captain/Commanding Officer, Pace University

There are basic phenomena that all civil engineers have to understand and fully comprehend. These are the skills that you will learn in detail in books in college or at your training site. But a top-tier civil engineer must not only be acutely familiar with the project objectives but also must be exceptionally aware of the environment in which the building or structure has been or will be placed. As such, one must be cognizant of potential hazards posed by climate or people. There may be expressed concerns or mandates about building in hurricane, tornado or flooding prone areas, but a civil engineer must take into consideration population density, proximity to a high-value person, structure, or historic site (e.g., City Hall, electric company, Liberty Bell, etc.), and potential for mass casualty or extreme damage if attacked by radical elements or rioters. Unfortunately, this is the world that we live in today.

Do you want to know more?

List of civil designer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a civil designer resume and required skills for a civil designer to have include:

Civil 3D
Autocad
Civil Engineering
Civil Design
Site Design
GIS
Design Drawings
Wastewater
Erosion Control
Construction Drawings
Survey Data
Site Development
Site Layout
CAD Standards
Stormwater Management
Development Projects

Engineering Design
Autodesk
Aided Design
As-Built
Sanitary Sewer
Sediment Control
Utility Design
Storm Drainage
Roadway Design
Calculation
Engineering Drawings
Drainage Design
Project Design
DOT
ArcGIS
Hec Ras

Storm Sewer
Geopak
Traffic Control
Technical Reports
Plan Preparation
Geotechnical
Construction Management
Google Earth
Water Distribution
Autoturn
Government Agencies
Construction Cost Estimates
Civil Projects
Retaining Walls

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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