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

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Transportation Planners

Transportation Planners prepare studies for proposed transportation projects. Gather, compile, and analyze data. Study the use and operation of transportation systems. Develop transportation models or simulations.

Salary
$79410
Becoming One
Hard
Education
Bachelor's degree
Job Satisfaction
Job Growth
Low

Personality



Job description

Transportation Planners prepare studies for proposed transportation projects. Gather, compile, and analyze data. Study the use and operation of transportation systems. Develop transportation models or simulations.

  • Recommend transportation system improvements or projects, based on economic, population, land-use, or traffic projections.
  • Define regional or local transportation planning problems or priorities.
  • Participate in public meetings or hearings to explain planning proposals, to gather feedback from those affected by projects, or to achieve consensus on project designs.
  • Design transportation surveys to identify areas of public concern.
Read more about what does a Transportation Planner really do at work and what is it like being and working as one.



Salary

Average salary
$85750 per year

Average hourly wage
$41 per hour


Transportation Planners with little to no experience tend to make between $50610 and $64090 while the more experienced ones can earn over $103880 per year.

Top 5 paying states Hourly Annual
VA $53 $110,090
DC $49 $102,300
MD $48 $98,920
HI $45 $94,440
MN $45 $94,380

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Transportation Planner is to move to a higher paying state like VA. Right now, the highest paying states for Transportation Planners are VA, DC, MD, HI and MN.

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

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Transportation Planner 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 Planners 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.

Learning Sciences
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services, Other
Gerontology
Behavioral Sciences
Education Policy Analysis
Read more about how to become a Transportation Planner and the degree, training and education you need.

Pros and Cons

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

PROS
Suitable for people who likes to solve problems mentally
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)
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.
Demand for this career is growing very slowly

What is the job like

Job satisfaction
69%

Is this job meaningful
65%


69% of Transportation Planners said they were satisfied with their job and 65% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.


Is this right for me

Best personality for this career
The Thinkers and The Organizers

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally..

They also like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas.



Learn more about Transportation Planners

Summary (You are here)
Job Description
Salary
Requirements
Quiz

Related career information

Transportation Planners job description, Transportation Planners salary, Transportation Planners information, what is the job of a Transportation Planner like, pros and cons about Transportation Planners, colleges and universities for Transportation Planners, is Transportation Planners the right career for me, careers in Social Science and Humanities

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Planner, Planning Director, Seaport Planning Manager, Transit Planner, Transit Planning Director, Transportation Analyst, Transportation Consultant, Transportation Modeler, Transportation Planner,

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