About This Career

Performs engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems.

This career is part of the Architecture and Construction cluster Design/Pre-Construction pathway.

A person in this career:

• Directs engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations.
• Manages and directs the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site.
• Inspects project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.
• Computes load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
• Plans and designs transportation or hydraulic systems or structures, using computer-assisted design or drawing tools.
• Provides technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs.
• Analyzes survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.
• Directs or participates in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.
• Estimates quantities and cost of materials, equipment, or labor to determine project feasibility.
• Prepares or presents public reports on topics such as bid proposals, deeds, environmental impact statements, or property and right-of-way descriptions.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 10 lbs., sometimes up to 20 lbs. You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Work in this occupation involves sitting more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Seeing clearly at a distance
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

• Regular working hours and limited travel