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Highway engineer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

M. Stephen Enders Ph.D.,

Pooja Preetha Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical highway engineer skills. We ranked the top skills for highway engineers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 18.0% of highway engineer resumes contained autocad as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a highway engineer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 highway engineer skills for your resume and career

1. Autocad

Here's how highway engineers use autocad:

Prepared preliminary design reports, conducted various inspections and prepared AutoCAD Drawings for Projects.
Completed markups for slab details and building foundations using AutoCAD.

2. Highway Design

Highway design is an engineering field that branches from civil engineering. It includes design, planning, operation, construction, and maintenance of roads, tunnels, and bridges to ensure prudent and efficient transportation of goods and people. The linear design of a highway revolves around the dimensions and layout of visible features of the highway such as vertical and horizontal alignments along with sight distances and intersections.

Here's how highway engineers use highway design:

Prepared price and technical proposals for highway design projects.
Supervised 1 Intermediate Highway Designer and 3 drafters.

3. 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 highway engineers use civil 3d:

Water main alignment design in Civil 3D Sidewalk improvement/prioritization study Exhibit preparation and concept cost estimates in Civil 3D.
Created profiles for sewer lines, water lines, bore pits, and curb and gutter designs using Civil 3D.

4. CAD

Here's how highway engineers use cad:

Managed CAD software for Bentley Infrastructure products.
Use many computer and CAD programs to enter the info into the AS400 database.

5. Engineering Design

Engineering design is defined as the method that engineers use to recognize and solve problems. It is an extensive and flexible approach to problem-solving and provides the necessary information needed regarding every step of the process. An engineering design is a collaborative effort of the team to identify problems underlying a process and find out ways to solve them.

Here's how highway engineers use engineering design:

Supervised all types of survey in connection with highway detailed Engineering design and construction.
Gather data and prepare the detailed engineering design.

6. Roadway Design

Roadway design is the process of designing a road. Though the process may sound simple, roadway designers develop 2D and 3D renderings of the roadway to be constructed in addition to offering material recommendations, detailing the construction site, and outlining a general agenda for construction. This design must also abide by any federal and state roadway regulations.

Here's how highway engineers use roadway design:

Assisted with the planning and design of various roadway design projects throughout New York and Vermont.
Prepared construction and right-of-way plans for the bridge and roadway design.

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7. Highway Projects

Here's how highway engineers use highway projects:

Directed the drainage design of a MDDOT highway project in Columbus while work was performed by technicians in Baltimore.
Involve in designing large and complex highway project plans and worked on smaller scale as well.

8. Project Design

Here's how highway engineers use project design:

Project Design review of the Southern Transport Development Project funded by Japanese Bank for International Construction in Sri Lanka.
Project design was delivered by using Verizon's ICGS/IDDS/CMS/Vbuild/RAMSprogramming.

9. Preliminary Design

Here's how highway engineers use preliminary design:

Prepared opinion of Probable cost and involved in Preliminary design for Reconstruction of Harwinton Ave, Plymouth.
Prepared stability analyses, preliminary designs, details and sketches for landslide corrections.

10. Project Development

Project Development refers to the various steps and procedures completed to accomplish various goals within a specific project. These steps are used with the knowledge and skills of employees to accomplish the project, which may be a successful event, sales pitch, or product creation.

Here's how highway engineers use project development:

Represent the Engineering Division and the City at various technical and project development conferences/meetings.
Coordinated project development with other sections in agency.

11. Hec Ras

Here's how highway engineers use hec ras:

Assisted with a HEC RAS model analysis for existing and proposed culverts crossing on Pennsylvania Turnpike.

12. Plan Preparation

Here's how highway engineers use plan preparation:

Facilitated efficiency by developing and presenting methods for the execution of various plan preparation tasks.
Conferred with supervisor to determine project details, such as plan preparation, testing, and evaluation of field conditions.

13. Rehabilitation

Here's how highway engineers use rehabilitation:

Project involved the restoration and rehabilitation of existing storm sewer systems.
Planned and designed roadway reconstruction and rehabilitation projects.

14. Engineering Services

Here's how highway engineers use engineering services:

Provided traffic engineering services for the placement of no passing zones, speed zones and reviewed traffic impact analysis.
Marketed engineering services to TxDOT at informal meetings and at formal proposal interviews.

15. Inspection Reports

An inspection report is a written document provided after a thorough evaluation of a specific procedure/ process.

Here's how highway engineers use inspection reports:

Write daily inspection reports regarding type and amount of work performed by contractor.
Record inspection reports and daily quantities.

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What skills help Highway Engineers find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on highway engineer resumes?

M. Stephen Enders Ph.D.

Professor & Department Head, Colorado School of Mines

The most important thing that stands out in resumes is past job experiences, particularly student internships in relevant companies. This demonstrates a student's ability to work safely and effectively in the workplace. The companies that employ our students expect them to have a fundamental proficiency in the basic sciences and mathematics as well as in the principles of engineering. Although this is necessary, it is not sufficient for most companies. They prefer graduates with demonstrated strong interpersonal, communication, teamwork, problem solving and critical thinking skills. They also want to see evidence that graduates can integrate and analyze multidisciplinary datasets, and they would really like to see computer coding and modeling expertise. On top of all of these attributes, companies also want to hire leaders and those who have a fundamental understanding or societal issues that impact their industry. This is a lot to expect. Students can get some of this from coursework and active participation in student clubs and other organizations.

Additionally: Presentation skills - written and oral. Management skills - CSM mining engineers have 3 to 4 courses focusing on management (mine operations, safety, construction and project mgt.), plus opportunities to work as crew fore(wo)men at the Edgar mine, where they get to lead small teams of junior classmates and assume responsibility for safety and job completion.

What soft skills should all highway engineers possess?

Pooja Preetha Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Alabama A&M University

I would say communication skills, creativity, the ability to mold yourself and work under pressure, keeping the cool at any condition, a few leadership initiatives, and being fast-paced.

What hard/technical skills are most important for highway engineers?

Pooja Preetha Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Alabama A&M University

Hard skills serve as the most important, in my opinion. If you are technically sound, have reasonable computer skills and good Microsoft office suite adaptability, and have strong presentation skills, you should be able to make it.

What highway engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Galen Duree

Head of the Department of Physics and Optical Engineering and Professor, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

It again depends on what the graduate sees as their next step - graduate school or a job with a company or lab. If the next step is graduate school, the graduate should investigate what they are interested in pursuing and then where the best school is to get the experience that the graduate thinks he or she wants.

General reading about technologies or reading available articles about subjects the graduate is interested in will help generate questions they can ask potential graduate schools. This time would also be a chance to improve areas where the graduate may feel weak while an undergraduate. Many online resources can help them brush up on week background topics. Do not worry about transfer credits because that is usually not helpful in graduate school, but improve knowledge and experience in areas where the graduate feels weak. If the graduate has identified a graduate school and program to study in, the graduate school might have some recommendations about what to review. All of this will help improve success in graduate school.

If the next step is a job with a company or lab, taking courses to improve communication will help. Many technically competent or even technically brilliant people struggle with effective communication. Techniques about writing reports, making oral presentations, or communicating technical information will help improve success. The gap year also provides time to investigate technologies that the graduate wants to be involved in and the companies or labs in those areas.

Once the graduate has identified areas of interest and companies or labs that the graduate might want to work for, they can be contacted to either answer questions or point the graduate in a direction for further investigation.

In either case, a gap year can provide a chance to refine the graduate's choice for the next steps and help them prepare other skills overlooked during the undergraduate years.

What type of skills will young highway engineers need?

Andy Gerrick

Associate Professor and Chair, Embry-Riddle, Prescott

Most important is the ability to pull together the problem-solving skills learned in the different engineering courses to solve real-world, multidisciplinary, engineering problems. This requires a clear understanding of the problem and the requirements, and it requires a thorough understanding of engineering concepts. Memorizing problem solutions is of no value because no one will pay you to solve a problem that has already been solved. An engineer's ability to communicate is also extremely important. Engineering is a collaborative endeavor, so if you are not able to communicate your ideas, you are not contributing.

Do you want to know more?

List of highway engineer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a highway engineer resume and required skills for a highway engineer to have include:

Autocad
Highway Design
Civil 3D
CAD
Engineering Design
Roadway Design
Highway Projects
Project Design
Preliminary Design
Project Development
Hec Ras
Plan Preparation

Rehabilitation
Engineering Services
Inspection Reports
FDOT
Traffic Control
Geotechnical
Construction Cost Estimates
HEC-RAS
Shop Drawings
GIS
Highway Construction
Construction Projects

Calculation
Design Drawings
Typical Sections
FHWA
Retaining Walls
Construction Supervision
I-95
Construction Drawings
Contract Drawings
RFI

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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