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Professional engineer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Charles Jenckes,

Pooja Preetha Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical professional engineer skills. We ranked the top skills for professional engineers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 11.1% of professional engineer resumes contained civil engineering as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a professional engineer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 professional engineer skills for your resume and career

1. Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering is a term referring to the branch of the engineering industry which deals with the design, creation, and keep up of public spaces such as roads, dams, parks, railways, pipelines, and various other infrastructures. It is one of the oldest branches of this field, having been born with the first larger cities and civilizations; thus "civil" engineering. It is an industry generally used to solve the problems of the public, such as a lack of sheltering or low cleanliness.

Here's how professional engineers use civil engineering:

Create various civil engineering drawings including site plans, certificates of survey, topographic drawings and highway development plans.
Provided real estate development and civil engineering services to developers and national retail clients including Home Depot and IKEA.

2. Project Management

Here's how professional engineers use project management:

Project management of civil and environmental projects including environmental permitting, and planning and zoning board approvals.
Project management including independent design, quality control, and client interaction.

3. PE

Here's how professional engineers use pe:

Assisted others including PE's with cost estimating and price negotiations.
Passed PE exam after one year of hands-on engineering experience.

4. Revit

Revit, also known as Autodesk Revit, is computer software used by architects, structural engineers, and designers to perform building modeling tasks. Revit was designed to facilitate users, draw building modeling structures in a 2D and 3D format. Creating such models allows architects and engineers to pre-planning, scheduling, estimating the life of the structure and the entire cost of construction.

Here's how professional engineers use revit:

Produce drawings in AutoCAD and Revit.
Use of AutoCAD 2007, Revit 2014, MS Excel, MS Project, MS Word.

5. 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 professional engineers use civil 3d:

Water main alignment design in Civil 3D Sidewalk improvement/prioritization study Exhibit preparation and concept cost estimates in Civil 3D.
Used Civil 3D 2007 to design a campus residential hall on the OU campus, including drainage design.

6. 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 professional engineers use engineering design:

Maintained a successful client base, providing annual engineering design and construction management opportunities throughout Northern Minnesota and Eastern North Dakota.
Worked within an engineering design team to create an internally refrigerated cooler powered by solar energy.

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7. Cost Estimates

Here's how professional engineers use cost estimates:

Calculated cost estimates for over budget projects
Issued permit requests and cost estimates.

8. Stormwater

Stormwater is water that came from rain and snow.

Here's how professional engineers use stormwater:

Use software such as ICPR3, PONDS and MODRET to evaluate performance of stormwater systems.
Performed site layout, grading and stormwater design for commercial projects.

9. Business Development

Business development is the ideas or initiatives that work to make business work better. Selling, advertising, product development, supply chain management, and vendor management are only a few of the divisions involved with it. There is still a lot of networking, negotiating, forming alliances, and trying to save money. The goals set for business development guide and coordinate with all of these various operations and sectors.

Here's how professional engineers use business development:

Managed the business development tasks.
Performed project planning, budgeting, economic analysis and business development.

10. CAD

Here's how professional engineers use cad:

Coordinate and Manage CAD models.
Produce 2D & 3D drawings using CAD software.

11. Technical Reports

Technical reports are a type of document that is used to indicate either the progress, result, or process of scientific research or the state of problems occurring within such research. A technical report may also showcase the report's overall conclusion and may also include recommendations. This kind of report does not require a peer review and isn't published officially but distributed within the organizations where it was formed.

Here's how professional engineers use technical reports:

Prepared all technical reports and permit applications.
Create technical reports about visit performed to the projects.

12. 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 professional engineers use construction projects:

Provided regulatory oversight at hazardous waste landfill construction projects.
Prepared periodic reports for local county governments on the progress of these construction projects.

13. Construction Management

Here's how professional engineers use construction management:

Performed design and construction management services public facilities.
Design and Construction management of municipality's water and wastewater systems

14. Geotechnical

Here's how professional engineers use geotechnical:

Perform geotechnical instrumentation monitoring and data collection
Conducted geotechnical and environmental subsurface investigations.

15. Plumbing

Here's how professional engineers use plumbing:

Hired to oversee ASSE testing of various plumbing devices.
Created site design RFDS and complete plumbing diagrams.

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What skills help Professional Engineers find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on professional engineer resumes?

Charles Jenckes

Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

For new graduates
1.Where the candidate went to school and what was studied
2.GPA
3.Any successful internships
4.Projects completed by the student

What soft skills should all professional 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 professional 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 professional 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 professional 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.

What technical skills for a professional engineer stand out to employers?

Martin Pietrucha Ph.D.

Program Coordinator and Professor, Pennsylvania State University

Given this trend, employers will be looking for the usual superior engineering knowledge and skill sets, but they will also be interested in those who can prove that they are excellent self-starters and time managers. Being able to demonstrate one's "flexibility" and an ability to think on one's feet will also be highly desirable.

Do you want to know more?

List of professional engineer skills to add to your resume

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

Civil Engineering
Project Management
PE
Revit
Civil 3D
Engineering Design
Cost Estimates
Stormwater
Business Development
CAD
Technical Reports
Construction Projects
Construction Management
Geotechnical
Plumbing
Control Systems

Construction Administration
PowerPoint
Rehabilitation
Hec Ras
Technical Assistance
Engineering Projects
HVAC
Engineering Disciplines
System Design
Fire Protection
Technical Support
Construction Drawings
Engineering Services
Technical Specifications
Structural Design
Solidworks

RF
Structural Analysis
Retaining Walls
Engineering Support
NFPA
GIS
Renewable Energy
Water Systems
PLC
Shop Drawings
Field Testing
OSHA
Conveyance
FDOT

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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