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NewsroomShould You Become a Civil Engineer?

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Working in civil engineering can be incredibly rewarding. As engineers, we are responsible for ensuring that the infrastructure and buildings around our local communities are well-planned, well-constructed, and well-maintained. 

Civil engineering is a multi-faceted career that will have you involved in areas like wastewater, airports, transportation, and more. If math and physics were your best subjects in school, and if you’re meticulous and analytical to a fault, this could be the right career path for you. 

Let’s take a look at why the civil engineering field needs people like yourself more than ever. And what you can do to position yourself for a career in civil engineering now or down the road.

What It Takes to Become a Civil Engineer

You can have a career in civil engineering without becoming a civil engineer. That said, if this specific job is one you’re interested in pursuing (or someone else you know is), then here’s what you need to know about becoming one: 

Typically, a civil engineer has extensive education and training in math, physics, or other STEM subjects. They also possess the following skills: 

  • Attention to detail
  • Time management
  • Organization and planning
  • Analysis
  • Decisiveness
  • Meticulousness
  • Collaboration
  • Communication
  • Leadership
  • Teamwork
  • Eagerness to learn

If you want to get more specific about the technical requirements that employers look for, here are the requirements for the Water/Wastewater Engineer we’re looking to hire: 

  • 4-year Bachelor’s Degree from an ABET accredited school
  • 7-12 years of experience as project manager senior level or senior engineer (preferred water or wastewater experience)
  • Proficient in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook)
  • Proficient in AutoCAD
  • Familiar with engineering services concepts, terminology and construction project

That said, years of experience, software knowledge, and other technical requirements differ from job to job. For our design engineers, for instance, we require 5 to 10 years of project management experience vs. the 7 to 12 we look for in civil engineers. 

Bottom line: Civil engineers play a vital role in our communities. They are responsible for not only envisioning safe and well-thought-out infrastructure, but in ensuring their carefully laid plans are correctly executed. This is why a well-rounded education and ample background experience is so important.

The Benefits of a Career in Civil Engineering

There are many reasons why people pursue a career in civil engineering. 

Pay

According to the Brookings Institution, infrastructure jobs as a whole pay 30% more to workers on the lower end of the income scale. 

According to a survey recently done by ASCE, wages have gone way up for civil engineers specifically in recent years. 

To start, the median entry level salary is $77,100. On the other hand, the average salary is $148,000 in 2025, a 6.4% increase from the previous year. 

What’s more, annual salary increases trend better for civil engineers. While the general U.S. workforce got 3% to 5% annual raises between 2022 and 2025, engineers got 6% to 7%.

Job Satisfaction

ASCE’s survey also sought to learn more about how civil engineers feel about their work. Of those that responded, 86.2% reported feeling satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. 

Compared to the national average which is only 50%, this says a lot about civil engineering as a worthwhile career. 

Opportunities

One of the great things about civil engineering is that there are so many career opportunities. What you need to determine is what the right path is for you. 

Do you want to work for a public agency? Or how about strictly as a consultant? And would you prefer to generalize or specialize? 

Also, have you taken into consideration what kind of community you want to work in? For instance, EBH Engineering typically serves rural Kansas communities. If that’s something that interests you, it’s important to find a firm that aligns with your goals.

Versatility

Where you live will influence what kinds of infrastructure projects you get a chance to be involved with as well as the size and budgets of those projects. Regardless of where you end up, no two days will ever be the same. 

This job brings a lot of excitement and challenges along with versatility to it. AT EBH, for instance, you get to work on all types of projects — sidewalks, water and wastewater treatment plants, parks, trails, drainage, airports, and more. 

Job Stability

There’s a great need for civil engineers at the moment. If you’re worried about entering a career that’s going to be a dead end or that will leave you jumping from job to job, this is not it. Civil engineers tend to experience strong job security.

While some may be worried about artificial intelligence taking engineers’ jobs, humans will always be needed for this role. For starters, Also, civil engineers are needed to problem-solve unique and on-the-spot challenges. Also, engineers must be present on projects and to walk job sites. This isn’t something that can be outsourced to AI. 

Benefits

Talking more specifically, employers like EBH Engineering really take care of their employees. Here are some of the benefits our team enjoys: 

  • Paid time off
  • Holiday pay
  • 401(K)
  • Health insurance
  • Health savings account
  • Dental insurance
  • Life insurance

In addition, we provide a supportive environment. When you work for us, we’re not paying you to do a job. We’re helping you to gain valuable experience as well as to build a lifelong and rewarding career.

A Shortage of Infrastructure Workers

The Brookings Institution recently put out a report on the infrastructure workforce. In this report, they explain that:

“Investing in infrastructure can stimulate economic growth and unleash job creation nationally. Whether building roads, repairing pipes, or upgrading power plants, investments in the country’s transportation, water, energy, and broadband systems not only supports more economic output, but also drives the need for more workers.”

There’s even recent legislation in the U.S. that’s made hundreds of billions of dollars available to support infrastructure growth. 

The problem is, the industry is undergoing what the Bureau of Statistics has dubbed a silver tsunami. 

It’s estimated that an average of 1.7 million workers will retire from the infrastructure field every year until 2031. Many employers anticipate up to 10% of those workers retiring earlier than expected, too. 

Unfortunately, there aren’t enough mid-career and entry-level workers or future graduates to take their place. To make matters worse, the additional federal funding will create even more new jobs — to the sum of around 1.5 million.

It’s not just senior-level workers retiring that’s led to a crisis in the infrastructure industry. As the report notes: 

“[M]any other workers are also simply fed up, quitting their jobs in higher numbers to seek additional pay, workplace flexibility, and other benefits, similar to other ‘Great Resignation’ issues affecting the economy.”

So, while federal funds are available to support the growth of infrastructure across the country, the size of the workforce is not sufficient. 

Explore a Career with EBH Engineering 

Every part of our society, from the most rural to the metropolitan, needs civil engineers in order to survive and thrive. However, because of the silver tsunami rolling through the industry right now, we have a massive shortage of employees to fulfill the demand. 

If you’re interested in starting or continuing your career in civil engineering, check out our available job openings. EBH is always looking for the right people to join our growing team of engineers, surveyors, and construction observers!