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Transportation Engineers

Also called: Project Manager, Transportation Engineer, Traffic Operations Engineer

What they do:
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.
On the job, you would:
  • 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.
  • Investigate traffic problems and recommend methods to improve traffic flow or safety.
  • Check construction plans, design calculations, or cost estimations to ensure completeness, accuracy, or conformity to engineering standards or practices.

Knowledge

Engineering and Technology
  • product and service development
  • design
Transportation
  • movement of people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road
Math and Science
  • arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
  • physics
Arts and Humanities
  • English language

Skills

Basic Skills
  • talking to others
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
Problem Solving
  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Abilities

Verbal
  • listen and understand what people say
  • read and understand what is written
Ideas and Logic
  • notice when problems happen
  • order or arrange things
Math
  • choose the right type of math to solve a problem
  • add, subtract, multiply, or divide

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include
practical, hands-on problems and solutions.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Attention to Detail
  • Integrity
  • Initiative
  • Cooperation
  • Achievement/Effort

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Computer aided design CAD software
  • Bentley GEOPAK Civil Engineering Suite
  • Bentley Microstation
Analytical or scientific software
  • McTrans HCS+
  • Trafficware SynchroGreen
Map creation software
  • Bentley InRoads software
  • ESRI ArcGIS software

Education

Education: (rated 4 of 5)
bachelor's degree
usually needed

Get started on your career:

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Job Outlook

Bright Outlook
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
Salary
$77,990
per year, on average
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Green
This work is part of the green economy.

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See more details at O*NET OnLine about transportation engineers.