How To Become A Foundation Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a foundation engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Esber Andiroglu PhD, PE, LEED AP

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a foundation engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $36.63 an hour? That's $76,200 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 22,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a foundation engineer?

Esber Andiroglu PhD, PE, LEED AP

Associate Professor of Practice, Dept. of Civil & Architectural Engineering, Director of Construction Management Programs, University of Miami

Interdisciplinary and transformative design and construction approaches; integration of emerging technological innovations into practice; integration of software tools into everyday problem solving; solid knowledge about smart systems and AI applications; good understanding and ability to use data analytics

ScoreFoundation EngineerUS Average

Salary

6.0

Avg. Salary $76,200

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.29%

Asian 12.10%

Black or African American 2.90%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 4.39%

White 71.65%

Gender

female 8.00%

male 92.00%

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

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a foundation engineer

Explore foundation engineer education requirements

Most common foundation engineer degrees

Bachelor's

52.2 %

Associate

21.7 %

Master's

13.0 %

Start to develop specific foundation engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Geotechnical	66.24%
CSS	13.23%
Deep Foundations	10.36%
Foundation Drawings	10.17%

Complete relevant foundation engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New foundation 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 foundation engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real foundation engineer resumes.

Research foundation engineer duties and responsibilities

Calculate sub-contractors weekly accomplish work for payroll.
Prepare proposals, budgets, and geotechnical engineering reports.
Compile results and recommend design in a geotechnical design report.
Operate and troubleshoot vacuum deposition machinery used in the development of anodes vital to the design of novel lithium-sulfur battery technology.

Apply for foundation engineer jobs

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

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

How do foundation engineers rate their job?

-/5

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Foundation engineer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020

Cons

Less money in this civil engineering works

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019

Pros

The salary and the benefits that come with a job.