What's Causing a Growth Explosion in the Civil Engineering Industry?

San_Francisco_Oakland_Bay_Bridge_between_the_spans.jpg

The field of civil engineering took a sizable hit during the Great Recession. Projects were put on hold, municipalities were slashing budgets, and in general, construction tapered off. Experts are suggesting that the industry is finally staging a comeback, and statistics say the next few years will be better for the civil engineering field.

Some studies indicate that employment in the civil engineering field is expected to grow over 20% between 2012 and 2022. Economists estimate that non-residential construction is rising at a clip of over 10% a year, and though levels aren’t quite where they were back in the early 2000s, they’re far outpacing other sectors of the construction industry. Since 2007, completed civil engineering degrees have increased over 33% nationwide to 144,000.

What’s driving all the new civil engineering jobs?

Experts agree the biggest opportunities in the civil engineering field lie in the aging infrastructure of American municipalities. Water, sewer, bridges, and roadways are in dire need of updating from the rust belt to the greater southeast, and highly-trained civil engineers will be required for years to come. In some cases, civil and environmental engineers will be needed to address dangerous conditions associated with everything from hazardous waste, to erosion, to collapsing retaining walls. Publicly-funded sectors such as water and wastewater treatment, highways, education, and transportation are expected to be among the fastest-growing in the industry for several more years.

In addition to municipal projects, civil engineers are seeing increased demand in the energy sector. Petroleum engineering and mining/geological engineering are seeing a huge jump as private sector investors seek new sources of energy for public consumption. An increasing number of energy-related engineering jobs are now based in the U.S. as drilling, pipelines, and offshore oil reserves are further being utilized.

What does the growth in civil engineering mean for Shield? Our team will continue to stay up-to-date on new techniques and best practices within their respective sectors and seek out opportunities to learn more about emerging technologies. It’s an exciting time to be in engineering and things are only looking up.

Shield Engineering provides outstanding opportunities for career growth and advancement. If you are interested in applying for position, please email a resume and cover letter to hr@shieldengineering.com.

View All Blogs

Contact us for additional information

Navigate

Contact Us

Call us at (800) 395-5220