AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 17-2051.00
Will AI replace Civil Engineers?
Civil Engineers: AI can already handle 2 of 16 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 16 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Civil Engineers, from most to least exposed. 2 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provide technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs. | Observed | Frontier | |
| Conduct studies of traffic patterns or environmental conditions to identify engineering problems and assess potential project impact. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Plan and design transportation or hydraulic systems or structures, using computer-assisted design or drawing tools. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Identify environmental risks and develop risk management strategies for civil engineering projects. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Design energy-efficient or environmentally sound civil structures. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Develop or implement engineering solutions to clean up industrial accidents or other contaminated sites. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Design or engineer systems to efficiently dispose of chemical, biological, or other toxic wastes. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Direct engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Test soils or materials to determine the adequacy and strength of foundations, concrete, asphalt, or steel. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Estimate quantities and cost of materials, equipment, or labor to determine project feasibility. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Prepare or present public reports on topics such as bid proposals, deeds, environmental impact statements, or property and right-of-way descriptions. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 1 of 16 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 15 of 16. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 93% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 93% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 7% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 367,840
- Median annual wage
- $100,840
- Middle half of earners
- $79,930 to $129,680
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +5.0%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034. BLS publishes these figures by SOC code, so O*NET occupations that share a SOC code show the same figures.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians 79% skill overlap, about 7 months to move Exposure58
- Transportation Engineers 76% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure51
- Environmental Engineers 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure60
- Water/Wastewater Engineers 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure57
- Agricultural Engineers 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure56
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Civil Engineers and AI
Will AI replace Civil Engineers?
AI already handles 2 of the 16 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 41 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +5.0% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Civil Engineers?
41 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 1 of the 16 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 15 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Civil Engineers tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Provide technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs; Conduct studies of traffic patterns or environmental conditions to identify engineering problems and assess potential project impact. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 93% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Civil Engineers, and what do they earn?
367,840 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $100,840 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +5.0% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Civil Engineers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/civil-engineers
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