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What is a consulting engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Andrea Welker Ph.D.,
Brian Denton Ph.D.
introduction image

A consulting engineer is someone who provides expert advice and solutions to clients in various industries, such as construction, transportation, and energy. They use their technical knowledge to analyze complex problems and develop innovative solutions, often working in collaboration with other professionals. Consulting engineers may specialize in areas such as civil or environmental engineering. Consulting engineers play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and efficiency of infrastructure and systems that impact our daily lives.

What general advice would you give to a consulting engineer?

Andrea Welker Ph.D.Andrea Welker Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University

Be open to new experiences. Find a good mentor. Become a valued employee. Always remember that you are designing something for someone.
ScoreConsulting EngineerUS Average
Salary
7.5

Avg. Salary $97,746

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.4
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 13.81%

Black or African American 3.36%

Hispanic or Latino 9.14%

Unknown 4.59%

White 69.00%

Gender

female 10.34%

male 89.66%

Age - 39
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39
Stress level
7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a consulting engineer?

Pros

  • High earning potential

  • Autonomy in project management

  • Chance to work with a diverse group of people

  • Ability to make a tangible impact on society

  • Opportunity for career advancement

Cons

  • High stress environment

  • Limited job security due to project-based work

  • High expectations for technical expertise and problem-solving skills

  • Risk of burnout due to demanding workload

  • Potential for monotony or repetition in project work.

Consulting engineer career paths

Key steps to become a consulting engineer

  1. Explore consulting engineer education requirements

    Most common consulting engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    69.1 %

    Master's

    17.0 %

    Associate

    8.0 %
  2. Start to develop specific consulting engineer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Java10.11%
    C #5.34%
    Linux5.34%
    Project Management4.62%
    Azure4.48%
  3. Complete relevant consulting engineer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New consulting engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a consulting engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real consulting engineer resumes.
  4. Research consulting engineer duties and responsibilities

    • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
    • Implement a scanner in Perl to perform periodic data quality checks.
    • Plan for new install, migration with other equipments, or decommission networks and switches.
    • Design new mechanical concept for fixtures to interface existing and new products with existing customers PCB test boards.
  5. Prepare your consulting engineer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your consulting engineer resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a consulting engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable consulting engineer resume templates

    Build a professional consulting engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your consulting engineer resume.
    Consulting Engineer Resume
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    Consulting Engineer Resume
    Consulting Engineer Resume
  6. Apply for consulting engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a consulting engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first consulting engineer job

Zippi

Are you a consulting engineer?

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Average consulting engineer salary

The average consulting engineer salary in the United States is $97,746 per year or $47 per hour. Consulting engineer salaries range between $72,000 and $131,000 per year.

Average consulting engineer salary
$97,746 Yearly
$46.99 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do consulting engineers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Consulting engineer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

The Different employees i work with and what all i learn from them

Cons

very little


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019
Pros

Troubleshooting and commissioning

Cons

Undone job, when we're unable to discover certain fault on time.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019
Cons

HR compliance and accounting auditing , quarterly budgeting rather than Annual as previously accepted. Wallstreet insistence on more frequent projections

Pros

Challenge, satisfaction of problem resolution and working with team


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

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