Match crashes to foot traffic
Lay crash records beside pedestrian counts for a problem intersection to learn what any change needs to fix.
Career profile
Transportation Engineer
Transportation engineers plan roads and wider transport networks to fit how people travel.
Would changing an intersection let walkers cross safely while traffic keeps moving? You study it, weigh options and turn the chosen fix into engineering plans.
A day in the life
Calibrate a traffic model
In modeling roles, you tune the simulation until its trip times match real ones before comparing designs.
Map traffic through a work zone
Draw the temporary traffic layout, signs and markings in design software so drivers can pass during construction.
Catch mismatches before construction
Cross-check drawings against calculations and cost estimates so the plan set is complete and consistent.
Explain the plan in public
Bring maps and traffic findings to a public meeting to explain a planned road change and take questions.
Quick facts
Bachelor’s degree typical
United States
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Pay depends on location and position; see the local salary ranges below.
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Public transportation work depends partly on project funding.
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Bachelor’s degree typicalCivil engineering is a common starting point.
Pay
Not displayedPay depends on location and position; see the local salary ranges below.
Outlook
Not displayedPublic transportation work depends partly on project funding.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You like using numbers to investigate something you can watch happen.
- You are willing to recheck an answer when observations disagree with it.
- You enjoy explaining a drawing to someone who has never read engineering plans.
Things to weigh
- Consulting work brings deadlines and budgets alongside the calculations. You may need to coordinate a change with several designers and the client.
- Some highway assignments take you outside in bad weather, near moving traffic, or onto uneven ground. Fieldwork can include nighttime hours.
Where AI may help
Traffic simulation software can test how vehicles move through a design. Automated routines can also help adjust a model to match observed conditions.
What people still lead
You choose meaningful observations, investigate unrealistic results, and decide whether the model is reliable enough for the question.
What we can’t predict yet
How much model adjustment can become automatic remains uncertain: traffic patterns change with weather, incidents, and local driving behavior.
Pay in context
Earnings
These national figures cover civil engineers, including transportation engineers; they are not transportation-specialty estimates. Your pay can vary with location, experience, and responsibility.
A national pay benchmark
In May 2025, U.S. civil engineers had median pay of $100,840 a year, or $48.48 an hour. Half earned more and half earned less; this is not a starting salary.
The national pay spread
Among civil engineers, the lowest-paid 10% earned less than $68,240 a year, while the highest-paid 10% earned more than $163,220. These thresholds describe the pay distribution, not stages in a career.
Pay across workplaces
Civil-engineer annual medians were $100,620 in engineering services, $102,440 in state government, and $113,640 in local government. Government figures exclude education and hospitals. These averages of the middle wage do not compare identical jobs.
Openings and project funding
Civil-engineer employment is projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 22,700 openings a year on average. Openings include replacing people who leave the occupation. Public-project hiring can fluctuate with funding.
Getting started
Study civil engineering
- What the route involves
- Complete a bachelor’s degree with mathematics, physics, engineering design, and laboratory work. An internship or cooperative education placement adds practical experience.
- What it can lead to
- This is the usual educational preparation for graduate engineering positions in transportation.
- What to check
- Check the specific program’s engineering accreditation and your intended state licensing board’s education rules before enrolling.
Enter a state engineering trainee position
Paid
- What the route involves
- In West Virginia’s trainee route, learn roadway calculations, drafting, and field checks with an engineer reviewing your work.
- What it can lead to
- Qualifying graduates can enter paid engineering work without prior experience.
- What to check
- This route accepts specified accredited engineering or engineering-technology degrees, or West Virginia Engineer Intern certification. It requires a driver’s license and West Virginia professional engineer licensure within ten years of employment.
Most students begin with an engineering degree, then learn the employer’s design methods on the job. Entry-level work generally does not require a professional engineering license.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization. This path also has a credential or licensing boundary; see the requirements and limits.
Get established
Learn the drawing standards and calculation checks. Use review comments to make your next roadway plan clearer and more accurate.
Own a design package
Develop a traffic-signal or signing package, including drawings, estimates, and field checks that help the project reach construction.
Lead or specialize
Move toward traffic project engineer work: coordinate designers, review their work, and manage the project’s schedule and budget.
- Build deeper expertise in traffic forecasting and simulation.
Where you can work
State highway design office
Your plans become construction contract documents. Office design work connects with field reviews along highways, sometimes in difficult weather or at night.
- Office
- Field work
- Outdoors
- Safety-sensitive
Transportation consulting firm
You work with other engineering specialties and a client’s project staff. The agreed scope, budget, and delivery date shape how you organize the work.
- Office
City traffic management center
The focus is an operating street network: signal timing, coordination with neighboring cities, and improvements to existing intersections. Senior engineers also work with city officials and manage operations staff.
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
From a safe sidewalk, watch one intersection for ten minutes. Sketch where people cross and vehicles turn, then mark one place where their paths interact. Propose one question you would need data to answer before changing the layout. Notice whether connecting observations to a design problem interests you.
Stay safe: Stay out of the roadway and leave all traffic equipment alone. This is an observation exercise, not a safety assessment.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Transportation Engineers — 17-2051.01. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Civil Engineers — Occupational Outlook Handbook. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- West Virginia Department of Transportation. Transportation Engineer Trainee 1 — Various Counties. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Washington State Department of Transportation. Transportation Engineer 2 (In-Training) — Multiple Positions. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- City of Irvine. Senior Transportation Engineer. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- HNTB. Traffic Project Engineer — Charlotte, North Carolina. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Federal Highway Administration. Traffic Analysis Toolbox Volume III, 2019 Update — Chapter 5: Model Calibration. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. Licensure. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. Exams. Accessed 2026-10-03.