Civil Engineer
Also known as: Structural Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer
Design and supervise construction of roads, bridges, dams, and the infrastructure that keeps society running.
Salary Range
The highest-paid specialization or seniority level for civil engineers.
About 1 in 667 reaches this level
Of ~368,900 civil engineers per BLS (SOC 17-2051, May 2024), SVP at $245K means the top engineering firms; likely around 550 hold SVP titles at that pay — about 0.15% of the field.
Salary data based on 2025 BLS, Glassdoor, and industry reports. Actual compensation varies by location, experience, and employer.
How to Become One
This career typically requires a bachelor's degree. Here are the top colleges for it:
AI Risk Assessment
AI is automating structural analysis, drainage design, traffic flow modeling, cost estimation, and regulatory compliance checking — the work junior civil engineers spend years learning. AI surrogate models allow rapid screening of design alternatives. PE licensure and physical site visits remain firmly human, but the entry-level analysis pipeline is narrowing as AI handles the computational work experienced engineers once delegated down.
Sources
Ratings reflect a 10-year outlook based on 2025-2026 research, weighted toward entry-level impact. Individual outcomes will vary.
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