Transportation Engineers
Develop plans for surface transportation projects, according to established engineering standards and state or federal construction policy. Prepare designs, specifications, or estimates for transportation facilities. Plan modifications of existing streets, highways, or freeways to improve traffic flow.
- O*NET-SOC code
17-2051.01 - Preparation Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Wages
BLS doesn't publish wages for Transportation Engineers separately. These are the figures for Civil Engineers (17-2051), its parent occupation.
Median annual wage, U.S.$100,840
Employment, U.S.367,840
Median hourly wage$48.48
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $68,240 | $79,930 | $100,840 | $129,680 | $163,220 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 5,370 | $99,010 | 1.07 |
| Alaska | 1,670 | $114,730 | 2.17 |
| Arizona | 5,940 | $89,660 | 0.77 |
| Arkansas | 1,870 | $85,020 | 0.60 |
| California | 55,180 | $122,500 | 1.28 |
| Colorado | 13,290 | $101,420 | 1.96 |
| Connecticut | 4,370 | $103,150 | 1.09 |
| Delaware | 920 | $100,220 | 0.80 |
| District of Columbia | 1,650 | $103,880 | 0.99 |
| Florida | 23,750 | $98,570 | 1.01 |
| Georgia | 9,400 | $84,240 | 0.81 |
| Hawaii | 2,640 | $94,280 | 1.78 |
| Idaho | 2,630 | $98,030 | 1.30 |
| Illinois | 13,910 | $99,760 | 0.96 |
| Indiana | 4,030 | $98,270 | 0.53 |
| Iowa | 2,500 | $96,430 | 0.68 |
| Kansas | 2,880 | $96,880 | 0.85 |
| Kentucky | 2,690 | $100,930 | 0.57 |
| Louisiana | 3,780 | $105,380 | 0.82 |
| Maine | 1,240 | $97,820 | 0.82 |
| Maryland | 5,240 | $100,680 | 0.80 |
| Massachusetts | 9,450 | $106,730 | 1.10 |
| Michigan | 7,760 | $92,100 | 0.74 |
| Minnesota | 4,710 | $101,480 | 0.68 |
| Mississippi | 1,770 | $100,170 | 0.64 |
| Missouri | 5,760 | $92,750 | 0.83 |
| Montana | 1,870 | $93,070 | 1.55 |
| Nebraska | 2,360 | $103,150 | 0.97 |
| Nevada | 3,560 | $104,310 | 0.97 |
| New Hampshire | 1,620 | $98,710 | 1.00 |
| New Jersey | 6,900 | $104,660 | 0.68 |
| New Mexico | 1,350 | $103,900 | 0.66 |
| New York | 17,500 | $103,760 | 0.76 |
| North Carolina | 12,810 | $100,730 | 1.10 |
| North Dakota | 1,380 | $98,190 | 1.35 |
| Ohio | 10,560 | $96,220 | 0.80 |
| Oklahoma | 2,180 | $98,760 | 0.54 |
| Oregon | 4,890 | $105,250 | 1.05 |
| Pennsylvania | 15,870 | $97,850 | 1.11 |
| Rhode Island | 1,270 | $99,300 | 1.07 |
| South Carolina | 7,180 | $101,600 | 1.32 |
| South Dakota | 1,440 | $98,700 | 1.33 |
| Tennessee | 5,790 | $95,910 | 0.75 |
| Texas | 34,870 | $96,860 | 1.05 |
| Utah | 5,670 | $96,830 | 1.38 |
| Vermont | 770 | $95,600 | 1.07 |
| Virginia | 11,350 | $97,120 | 1.17 |
| Washington | 12,590 | $110,000 | 1.50 |
| West Virginia | 1,300 | $86,930 | 0.78 |
| Wisconsin | 7,410 | $94,600 | 1.07 |
| Wyoming | 990 | $90,590 | 1.48 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Civil Engineers | 4 | 0.983 |
| 2 | Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians | 3 | 0.967 |
| 3 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | 5 | 0.967 |
| 4 | Wind Energy Engineers | 4 | 0.966 |
| 5 | Water/Wastewater Engineers | 4 | 0.966 |
| 6 | Architects, Except Landscape and Naval | 5 | 0.965 |
| 7 | Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers | 4 | 0.964 |
| 8 | Water Resource Specialists | 4 | 0.964 |
| 9 | Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers | 4 | 0.963 |
| 10 | Logistics Engineers | 4 | 0.962 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Transportation Engineers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers | Quality Control Analysis | 0.76 | 0.964 |
| Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers | Operations Monitoring | 1.38 | 0.963 |
| Logistics Engineers | Systems Analysis | 1.00 | 0.962 |
| Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar | Science | 1.37 | 0.957 |
| Agricultural Engineers | Operations Monitoring | 1.12 | 0.939 |
| Commercial and Industrial Designers | Technology Design | 0.87 | 0.934 |
| Energy Auditors | Operations Monitoring | 1.00 | 0.930 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | Operations Monitoring | 1.00 | 0.922 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Transportation Engineers, excluding software Transportation Engineers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Autodesk Revit | 10 of 20 | 11.5x |
| Dassault Systemes SolidWorks | 8 of 20 | 6.4x |
| ANSYS simulation software | 5 of 20 | 19.2x |
| Geographic information system GIS systems | 8 of 20 | 6.2x |
| Oracle Primavera Systems | 5 of 20 | 17.8x |
| The MathWorks MATLAB | 10 of 20 | 4.2x |
| PTC Creo Parametric | 7 of 20 | 7.5x |
| HEC-RAS | 4 of 20 | 20.5x |
| Trimble SketchUp Pro | 6 of 20 | 7.5x |
| C++ | 9 of 20 | 3.8x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.38 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.62 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.38 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.25 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.62 | 3.75 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.88 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.62 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Science | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.25 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.75 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 2.12 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering and Technology | 4.90 | 6.45 |
| Design | 4.77 | 6.14 |
| Transportation | 4.55 | 5.14 |
| Building and Construction | 4.23 | 5.05 |
| Mathematics | 4.18 | 5.05 |
| English Language | 3.73 | 3.86 |
| Physics | 3.68 | 4.45 |
| Administration and Management | 3.50 | 4.45 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.50 | 4.41 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.45 | 4.55 |
| Law and Government | 3.38 | 4.00 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.32 | 3.68 |
| Education and Training | 3.00 | 4.27 |
| Communications and Media | 2.86 | 2.95 |
| Geography | 2.77 | 3.86 |
| Production and Processing | 2.68 | 3.18 |
| Economics and Accounting | 2.68 | 2.95 |
| Administrative | 2.55 | 3.41 |
| Mechanical | 2.50 | 3.14 |
| Sales and Marketing | 2.45 | 3.00 |
| Chemistry | 2.29 | 2.82 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.24 | 2.91 |
| Psychology | 2.18 | 2.32 |
| Telecommunications | 2.05 | 1.82 |
| Biology | 1.91 | 2.00 |
| History and Archeology | 1.82 | 2.23 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.77 | 1.68 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.50 | 0.91 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.32 | 0.82 |
| Foreign Language | 1.18 | not rated |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.14 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.09 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.09 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Oral Expression | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Written Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.00 | 4.62 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.38 |
| Written Expression | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Category Flexibility | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Information Ordering | 3.88 | 4.25 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 3.88 | 4.25 |
| Number Facility | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Near Vision | 3.75 | 4.12 |
| Visualization | 3.75 | 4.12 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.62 | 3.75 |
| Originality | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Far Vision | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.75 | 3.12 |
| Memorization | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.62 | 2.25 |
| Time Sharing | 2.50 | 2.25 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Depth Perception | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Trunk Strength | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Finger Dexterity | 1.75 | 1.25 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Control Precision | 1.50 | 0.88 |
| Manual Dexterity | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Rate Control | 1.00 | not rated |
| Reaction Time | 1.00 | not rated |
| Response Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.00 | not rated |
| Stamina | 1.00 | not rated |
| Static Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Autodesk AutoCAD in demand
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D in demand
- Bentley MicroStation in demand
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Microsoft PowerPoint in demand
- Cubic Synchro Studio in demand
- OpenRoads Designer in demand
- PTV Vissim in demand
- ESRI ArcGIS software hot
- Microsoft Outlook hot
- Microsoft Project hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management hot
- Python hot
- Structured query language SQL hot
- Autodesk Land Desktop
- Bentley GEOPAK Civil Engineering Suite
- Bentley InRoads Suite
- Citilabs Cube
- Computer aided design and drafting software CADD
- McTrans Center TSIS-CORSIM
- McTrans HCS+
- McTrans TRANSYT-7F
- SIDRA INTERSECTION
- Trafficware SimTraffic
- Trafficware SynchroGreen
- Transoft Solutions AutoTURN
- Visual Solutions VisSIM
- Warehouse management system WMS
All 31
- Web browser software
Where it concentrates
BLS doesn't publish wages for Transportation Engineers separately. These are the figures for Civil Engineers (17-2051), its parent occupation.
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carson City, NV | 310 | 4.15 | $95,260 |
| Yuba City, CA | 460 | 3.84 | $119,990 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 2,000 | 3.65 | $103,010 |
| Helena, MT | 360 | 3.40 | $100,710 |
| Walla Walla, WA | 190 | 3.18 | $123,030 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | 860 | 2.78 | $108,240 |
| Fairbanks-College, AK | 240 | 2.76 | $111,080 |
| Anchorage, AK | 1,110 | 2.66 | $112,740 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | 4,640 | 2.64 | $101,440 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 720 | 2.50 | $110,210 |