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Civil engineering assistant skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Ben Giudice Ph.D.,

Ben Giudice Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical civil engineering assistant skills. We ranked the top skills for civil engineering assistants based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.6% of civil engineering assistant resumes contained construction management as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a civil engineering assistant needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 civil engineering assistant skills for your resume and career

1. Construction Management

Here's how civil engineering assistants use construction management:

Provided engineering and construction management support for projects in support of counter drug and illegal immigration agencies operating in the Southwest.
Supervised development of the CWP Construction Management & Inspection Procedures Manual, owner-controlled insurance/safety program and emergency media communications plan.

2. Aided Design

Here's how civil engineering assistants use aided design:

Aided design and construction management for pipeline projects in Southern California
Utilized computer aided design and drafting system applications to display pipeline flow regimes.

3. Retaining Walls

Here's how civil engineering assistants use retaining walls:

Supervised earthworks and masonry retaining walls, sewage pipeline installation and manhole constructions.
Participated in stability and bearing analysis of retaining walls for residential projects.

4. Engineering Drawings

Engineering drawings are technical drawings that tell about the requirements for engineering components or equipment. Such drawings have standardized languages and symbols. There are multiple types of engineering drawings such as isometric drawing, orthographic or multiview drawing, schematic drawings, one view, and two view drawings, etc.

Here's how civil engineering assistants use engineering drawings:

Review /interpret engineering drawings, specifications and procedures for civil/structural activities.
Worked with and interpreted legal land descriptions, engineering drawings, complex engineering designs, and survey notes.

5. Construction Projects

A construction project is an organized process of constructing, redeveloping, renovating, or otherwise improving a building, or structure. The project phase begins usually as a broad criterion that is then made with the help of a brief, feasibility analysis, funding, and planning. The majority of construction projects are one-time jobs.

Here's how civil engineering assistants use construction projects:

Coordinate with local utilities for relocation or new installations of utility services to facilitate right-of-way and street construction projects.
Provided quality assurance evaluations and recommendations concerning the performance of third party contractors and construction projects.

6. Engineering Calculations

Here's how civil engineering assistants use engineering calculations:

Assisted with engineering calculations, management of office staff and was also Executive Assistant to the President of the company.
Perform engineering calculations and prepare CADD drawings as required.

7. Construction Materials

Construction materials are equipment and objects that are used to construct buildings. Naturally occurring elements like clay, wood, and sand also come under construction materials. Man-made construction materials include concrete, bricks, tiles, etc. Using good quality construction materials helps in reducing maintenance costs and reduces the chances of frequent maintenance. The properties of artificial and natural elements determine the quality of construction material.

Here's how civil engineering assistants use construction materials:

Monitored, inspected, documented, and tested construction materials and activity on site of commercial structures and facilities.
Sorted and stocked construction materials.

8. Auto CAD

Here's how civil engineering assistants use auto cad:

Developed working drawings from sketches (determines scales, layout, need for specific detail ) using Auto Cad.
Design (worked with Auto CAD R14) (Company moved to Florida).

9. GPS

GPS stands from Global Positioning System. It is a navigation system comprising of satellites that helps in determining the location, velocity, and synchronize time data for different modes of travel like air, sea, or land.

Here's how civil engineering assistants use gps:

Installed, configured and troubleshoot software, in addition to operating conventional surveying and GPS equipment.
Trained and utilized GPS (Global Positioning Systems).

10. Geotechnical

Here's how civil engineering assistants use geotechnical:

Performed preliminary structural and geotechnical engineering computations and analysis.
Gained extensive experience in conducting geotechnical laboratory tests and engineering materials analysis.

11. As-Built

As-Built refers to a series of drawings and sketches used to track how a construction project is changed while it is being built. As a construction project progresses, a project manager may come across various obstacles, such as material changes or limitations or zoning differences. By producing new drawings of the building, the construction manager is able to maintain an accurate record of the building actually constructed.

Here's how civil engineering assistants use as-built:

Handled and continuously updated project documentation as as-built records and construction record reports.
Created as-built drawings to reflect changes in the field during construction process.

12. FEMA

Here's how civil engineering assistants use fema:

Provided site and technical engineering support for Hydrologic and Hydraulic Study for FEMA floodplain mapping for Rio Cibuco, Vega Baja.

13. Project Design

Here's how civil engineering assistants use project design:

Ensured all project designs met government specifications under varying City and County laws and regulations
Coordinate with engineering consultant services, contractors, utility companies, and firms to develop project designs.

14. 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 engineering assistants use gis:

Performed required tasks related to basic engineering as well as research-related activities involved with tax map department and GIS requirements.
Utilized GIS (geographic information system) and database management tools to create new distribution component replacement strategy.

15. Construction Sites

A piece of land where constructional activities are to be conducted is termed as a construction site.

Here's how civil engineering assistants use construction sites:

Developed reports, specifications, and plans for construction sites.
Conducted inspections of construction sites, monitoring progress to ensure compliance with plans, and identifying/reporting safety and environmental violations.

What skills help Civil Engineering Assistants find jobs?

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

What soft skills should all civil engineering assistants 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 hard/technical skills are most important for civil engineering assistants?

Ben Giudice Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, George Fox University

Specific technical skills that are important will vary widely by what the employer is looking for. Civil engineering is an incredibly broad field with many specialties and subspecialties. Having technical skills like specific software capabilities in the area of civil engineering one is proposing to enter is definitely a plus. Moreso than specific technical skills, it is important to highlight any kind of project work that has been completed, whether those be major projects as part of the coursework, a senior capstone project, or extracurricular projects of relevance that have been completed.

What civil engineering assistant 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 engineering assistants need?

Nick Hudyma PhD PE

Professor and Chair, Boise State University

Civil engineering is a technical discipline that is founded in mathematics, physics, and the natural sciences. Technical skills have always been, and will continue to be, important. The coronavirus pandemic has shown us the importance of professional skills. Civil engineers must be able to communicate effectively, using a range of techniques to a wide variety of audiences.

In my opinion, visualization skills will begin to become very important. I can envision a coupled work environment, having technical analyses and designs working behind the scenes with visualizations being presented to clients. Civil engineers will need to present their work, not using traditional 2D blueprints and plan sets, but using 3D and 4D visualizations, which will include either virtual reality or augmented reality. This is especially important as our designs become more complex, and we continue in-fill development in dense urban areas.

Do you want to know more?

List of civil engineering assistant skills to add to your resume

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

Construction Management
Aided Design
Retaining Walls
Engineering Drawings
Construction Projects
Engineering Calculations
Construction Materials
Auto CAD
GPS
Geotechnical
As-Built
FEMA
Project Design
GIS

Construction Sites
Arbitration
Civil 3D
Project Site
Civil Engineering
Government Agencies
Data Collection
Construction Cost Estimates
Data Analysis
Civil Design
Revit
Front Desk
QC
Summonses

Legal Descriptions
RFI
Inspection Reports
Test Results
Subpoenas
Computer Software
ASTM
Computer System
State Regulations
Design Software
Shop Drawings
Inroads
Caltrans
Travel Arrangements

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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