Careers after Civil Engineer: 13 jobs where your skills transfer.
Every related role O*NET lists for civil engineers, scored by how closely the skill profile matches, what it pays and how much extra preparation it needs. Original analysis, sources below.
- Active Listening
- Complex Problem Solving
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Transportation Engineer
- Architect
- Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
The jobs closest to a Civil Engineer's skills are Transportation Engineer, Architect and Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers (92%, 89% and 87% skill match). 8 related roles pay more without needing more preparation, led by Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers (+$41,060 median).
Where your skills transfer
Data Skill match and pay change are our calculations from O*NET and BLS data (method below).
The three closest moves
Data Skills where the destination's O*NET level is at least half a point higher are listed as gaps.
Already strong: Mathematics, Complex Problem Solving, Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making.
To build: Troubleshooting, Operation and Control.
Already strong: Critical Thinking, Operations Analysis, Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making.
To build: Quality Control Analysis, Operation and Control, Negotiation.
Already strong: Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making, Mathematics, Critical Thinking.
To build: Equipment Selection, Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring.
How to make the move
Advice
- Weeks 1 to 2Pick one destination
Transportation Engineer is the closest match at 92%. Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers pays more without more preparation.
- Weeks 2 to 6Close the top gap
For Transportation Engineer, the biggest gap is troubleshooting. Build one piece of proof for it.
- Weeks 4 to 8Reframe your resume
Lead with mathematics, complex problem solving, written in the destination's language.
- From week 6Talk to people in the role
Ask three transportation engineers what they wish they had known before switching.
How this page is built
Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared. Pay change compares the BLS national median annual wages (May 2025) of the two occupations. Preparation change compares O*NET Job Zones (1 = little preparation, 5 = extensive preparation). Destinations without BLS wage data or O*NET skill ratings are left out.
- Licensing or degree rules for a specific destination.
- Whether employers in your area hire career changers.
- Your own skills: the scores compare occupations, not people.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
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