What does a civil engineering technician do?
A civil engineering technician assists civil engineers in planning, designing, and constructing bridges, highways, and other infrastructure projects. Civil engineering technicians typically work under the leadership of licensed civil engineers. They focus on construction projects for industrial, development, residential, and commercial infrastructure. It is imperative for them to have a better understanding and work with systems associated with construction projects. They should be equipped with knowledge of engineering, construction, and reading skills.
Civil engineering technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real civil engineering technician resumes:
- Manage and distribute cad standards to contributing design consultants and assist with any design issues as necessary.
- Develop detailed MEP AutoCAD layouts and details and Revit families drawings of complex products.
- Generate coordination sections for MEP meetings.
- DOT experience as an inspector for several road striping projects.
- Install and decom equipment for all sprint t- mobile sits.
- Perform multiple functions while with this mechanical engineering firm, including HVAC and plumbing calculations and design.
- Design and draft locations for underground and overhead utilities using blueprints, WiDOT GIS mapping and specifications as a guideline.
- Assist technicians in compiling data for Geotechnical engineering reports.
- Collaborate with coworkers to develop company standards for Revit implementation.
- Convert construction as-built drawings into digitized format, vital to GIS implementation.
- Schedule different inspections relate to soil testing with a designate geotechnical lab.
- Perform tests on RF and digital electronic assemblies and systems to characterize performance, uncover specification deficiencies and repair damage circuitry.
- Process and maintain casework, issue summons, subpoenas, writs & notices; calculate and collect fees.
- Create various alignment, profile, plan, cross-section, and quantities in Geopak and Microstation.
- Implement AutoTurn analysis and simulations to determine vehicle wheel tracking and turn radii requirements.
Civil engineering technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Civil Engineering Technicians are proficient in Civil 3D, Asphalt, and Construction Sites. They’re also known for soft skills such as Reading skills, Observational skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Civil Engineering Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Civil 3D, 10%
Helped to design the new company template, including the integration of all the company standards to the Civil 3D format.
- Asphalt, 9%
Calculate dimensions, profile specifications, and quantities of material such as cut and fill, concrete, and asphalt.
- Construction Sites, 8%
Accompanied civil engineer to construction sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to engineering plans, specifications and construction safety standards.
- Construction Projects, 6%
Performed on-site compliance inspection, quality assurance and progress monitoring at various construction projects for conformance to specifications and codes.
- GPS, 5%
Conducted traverse, topographic, level circuit, construction and GPS surveying in support of engineering design programs and in-house operations.
- GIS, 4%
Designed and drafted locations for underground and overhead utilities using blueprints, WiDOT GIS mapping and specifications as a guideline.
Common skills that a civil engineering technician uses to do their job include "civil 3d," "asphalt," and "construction sites." You can find details on the most important civil engineering technician responsibilities below.
Observational skills. Many civil engineering technician duties rely on observational skills. "civil engineering technologists and technicians sometimes visit jobsites to assess a project and report back to the engineer.," so a civil engineering technician will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways civil engineering technician responsibilities rely on observational skills: "recorded valuable test data and pointed out deviations that resulted from equipment malfunctions, or observational errors. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of civil engineering technicians is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday civil engineering technician duties, as "as assistants to civil engineers, these technologists and technicians must be able to help engineers identify problems and design projects to solve them." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "assisted civil engineers on several government projects involving roadway design and improvements, solutions easing traffic congestion and renovations. "
Writing skills. A big part of what civil engineering technicians do relies on "writing skills." You can see how essential it is to civil engineering technician responsibilities because "civil engineering technologists and technicians must be able to prepare reports that are well organized and clearly convey information." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical civil engineering technician tasks: "develop test stations and writing test procedures for product, per engineer's specifications. "
Math skills. Another common skill required for civil engineering technician responsibilities is "math skills." This skill comes up in the duties of civil engineering technicians all the time, as "civil engineering technologists and technicians use math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting." An excerpt from a real civil engineering technician resume shows how this skill is central to what a civil engineering technician does: "reached the regional level in sports, literary intensive competition, math intensive competition and speaking competition. "
The three companies that hire the most civil engineering technicians are:
- Black & Veatch71 civil engineering technicians jobs
- Stantec12 civil engineering technicians jobs
- Bolton & Menk9 civil engineering technicians jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable civil engineering technician resume templates
Build a professional civil engineering technician resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your civil engineering technician resume.
Compare different civil engineering technicians
Civil engineering technician vs. Autocad drafter
An Autocad Drafter develops drawings and plans for the construction and manufacturing industries. They use various types of computer-aided design and drafting software.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a civil engineering technician are more likely to require skills like "civil 3d," "asphalt," "data collection," and "field testing." On the other hand, a job as an autocad drafter requires skills like "layout drawings," "revit," "solidworks," and "fabrication drawings." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Autocad drafters earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $45,111. On the other hand, civil engineering technicians are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $59,227.The education levels that autocad drafters earn slightly differ from civil engineering technicians. In particular, autocad drafters are 1.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a civil engineering technician. Additionally, they're 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Civil engineering technician vs. Draftsman/designer
A Structural Designer designs, develops, and supervises the construction of new buildings and bridges, or extensions to existing properties or other structures. They review and update construction drawings as well as communicate project problems and flaws to managers.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real civil engineering technician resumes. While civil engineering technician responsibilities can utilize skills like "civil 3d," "asphalt," "construction sites," and "construction projects," draftsman/designers use skills like "design layouts," "solidworks," "r," and "customer specifications."
On average, draftsman/designers earn a lower salary than civil engineering technicians. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, draftsman/designers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $56,766. Whereas civil engineering technicians have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $59,227.In general, draftsman/designers achieve similar levels of education than civil engineering technicians. They're 1.1% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for civil engineering technicians in the next 3-5 years?
Alan Hancock
Civil Engineering Technology Instructor, Dakota County Technical College
Civil engineering technician vs. Structural designer
The job of architectural interns is to assist an architect with all aspects of architectural work. Their duties and responsibilities may include maintaining project files, conducting research on construction sites such as zoning laws and regulations, and preparing presentations for clients. They are also expected to create 3D models and do drafting. The skills and qualifications required for this role include a degree in architecture or a related field, in-depth knowledge of 3D modeling software such as Autodesk and AutoCAD, and hand drafting skills.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a civil engineering technician is likely to be skilled in "asphalt," "construction sites," "construction projects," and "gps," while a typical structural designer is skilled in "revit," "structural design," "bim," and "navisworks."
Structural designers earn the highest salary when working in the construction industry, where they receive an average salary of $69,802. Comparatively, civil engineering technicians have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $59,227.Most structural designers achieve a similar degree level compared to civil engineering technicians. For example, they're 3.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Civil engineering technician vs. Architectural internship
Types of civil engineering technician
Updated January 8, 2025
