Transportation Engineers: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Stan T.Career, Overview

Transportation Engineers

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.

Salary
$95440
Becoming One
Hard
Education
Bachelor's degree
Job Satisfaction
Job Growth

Personality
Interest Match



Job description

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.

  • Check construction plans, design calculations, or cost estimations to ensure completeness, accuracy, or conformity to engineering standards or practices.
  • Design or prepare plans for new transportation systems or parts of systems, such as airports, commuter trains, highways, streets, bridges, drainage structures, or roadway lighting.
  • Confer with contractors, utility companies, or government agencies to discuss plans, specifications, or work schedules.
  • Design or engineer drainage, erosion, or sedimentation control systems for transportation projects.
Read more about what does a Transportation Engineer really do at work and what is it like being and working as one.



Salary

Average salary
$93720 per year

Average hourly wage
$45 per hour


Transportation Engineers with little to no experience tend to make between $54780 and $67430 while the more experienced ones can earn over $112850 per year.

Top 5 paying states Hourly Annual
AK $60 $125,470
CA $53 $109,680
NJ $50 $103,760
TX $50 $102,990
NY $49 $102,250

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Transportation Engineer is to move to a higher paying state like AK. Right now, the highest paying states for Transportation Engineers are AK, CA, NJ, TX and NY.

However, a higher pay at AK doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at AK might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Transportation Engineer is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.


Requirements

Recommended degree level
Bachelor’s degree

We asked other Transportation Engineers what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Bachelor’s Degree followed by a Master’s Degree.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Civil Engineering, General
Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Structural Engineering
Transportation and Highway Engineering
Water Resources Engineering
Read more about how to become a Transportation Engineer and the degree, training and education you need.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Transportation Engineer.

PROS
Suitable for people who likes practical and hands-on work
Suitable for people who values achievements and are results-oriented
This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors.
Very high salary (top 25% highest paid careers)
Normal working hours (40 hours per week)
CONS
Not suitable for people who likes to help and teach others
It is hard to get into this career. A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for this career.

What is the job like

Job satisfaction
70%

Is this job meaningful
60%


70% of Transportation Engineers said they were satisfied with their job and 60% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.


Is this right for me

Best personality for this career
The Builders and The Thinkers

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.



Learn more about Transportation Engineers

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Job Description
Salary
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Quiz

Related career information

Transportation Engineers job description, Transportation Engineers salary, Transportation Engineers information, what is the job of a Transportation Engineer like, pros and cons about Transportation Engineers, colleges and universities for Transportation Engineers, is Transportation Engineers the right career for me, careers in Architecture and Engineering

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