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

What is a site engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Karen Panetta Ph.D.,

Dr. Hugh Jack Ph.D.

Site engineers contribute most of their time to the construction site, compared with other managers or designers. They are updated daily about the coming day's design and activities, and they implement them based on the updates. A site engineer's responsibilities are vast, as they provide sound advice and supervision when there are any technical problems or for proper management and the preparation of daily reports of the construction works.

The majority of employers recruit candidates who have a degree in a relevant engineering subject, such as civil or structural engineering, but having a degree in another related topic, like construction, can also be beneficial.

The reported average annual salary for a site engineer is approximately $62,000. However, this figure can vary significantly depending upon academic qualification, having previous experience, and possession of the aforementioned skills.

What general advice would you give to a site engineer?

Karen Panetta Ph.D.

Dean of Graduate Education, School of Engineering, Tufts University

This is a different generation of graduates, and many employers are going to want to know how you dealt with and responded to the COVID crisis. The response to this tells so much about an individual's ability to deal with and overcome adversity. They seek innovative, upbeat, and definite answers that show that students are prepared for anything and will be resourceful.

They are also looking to see what personal actions and community involvement students participated in. For instance, online tutoring for kids whose parents needed help homeschooling their kids while they worked, or using their engineering skills to 3D print PPE for local nursing homes and other at-risk populations.

Every engineering student comes out with technical skills, but the ones that used them, and showed their compassion for humanity, will be the ones that companies will want to hire.

ScoreSite EngineerUS Average

Salary

5.9

Avg. Salary $75,719

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.3

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.30%

Asian 17.40%

Black or African American 3.50%

Hispanic or Latino 10.32%

Unknown 4.56%

White 63.94%

Gender

female 7.00%

male 93.00%

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 site engineer

Explore site engineer education requirements

Most common site engineer degrees

Bachelor's

76.8 %

Master's

8.4 %

Diploma

7.1 %

Start to develop specific site engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	17.13%
Infrastructure	15.23%
Site Safety	6.72%
RF	6.44%
CAD	4.10%

Complete relevant site engineer training and internships

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

Research site engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage standard sub contract RFP package.
Manage production of full sets of contract documents (grading, drainage, water, sewer, paving and SWPPP).
Create a standardize ISO accept template for requisition and purchase order that are used across the organization.
Construct a SQL database to analyze all legacy network connections in order to access which ones need upgrading.

Prepare your site engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your site 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 site 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 site engineer resume templates

Build a professional site 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 site engineer resume.