Civil Engineering Technician Career Assessment
The hands-on two-year job behind every road and water project
Welcome
Civil engineering technicians help engineers plan and build roads, bridges, water lines, and buildings. They test materials, inspect work, survey, and draw plans.
This is the other true two-year, hands-on door in this group, and it has the most openings of the four. You will explore whether it fits you.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Civil Engineering Technician?
A civil engineering technician does the practical work that turns an engineer's design into a finished road, pipe, or building. That means testing concrete, asphalt, and soil to make sure they meet the spec. It means measuring and surveying on site. It means watching a contractor's work and writing down what was actually built. It means drawing plans on a computer and doing quantity takeoffs, which is counting up how much material a job needs. The engineer makes the design decisions. The technician makes sure the design is followed on the ground.
The Reality: This is the two-year, hands-on door with the most openings in this group: about 40 a year in North Dakota. A two-year AAS degree gets you in. No license, no state exam, no calculus at a university. The middle North Dakota technician earns about $31.27 an hour, or about $65,030 a year. Now the honest parts. The summer construction season is the busy season, and it is long days outside. Road work means standing near live traffic, wearing a vest, in heat and dust. Spring and fall mean mud and cold rain. You drive to job sites, sometimes across the state, and in western North Dakota that can mean staying overnight during the building season. Field work can also be seasonal, so ask an employer how winter works before you take a job. And notice one number: North Dakota's top tenth, about $40.76 an hour, is well under the national $47.59. The ceiling here is real. Technicians who want to go higher usually add a surveyor license, move into inspection or project management, or go back for the four-year engineering degree.
Your Responsibilities:
- Test concrete, asphalt, and soil to see if they meet the spec
- Survey and measure at job sites
- Inspect a contractor's work against the plans
- Draw plans and details on a computer
- Do quantity takeoffs, counting up how much material a job needs
- Keep daily field records of what was built and how much
- Collect samples and run lab tests
- Help the engineer put together reports and cost estimates
You are the one who makes sure what gets built matches what was designed.
A Day in the Life
6:30 AM — Load the truck with test gear and safety vests. Check today's job list.
7:00 AM — Drive to a highway job. Traffic control is already set up.
7:30 AM — Take asphalt samples as the trucks dump. Record the temperature.
9:30 AM — Measure how much was laid so far and write it in the field book.
12:00 PM — Lunch in the truck. It is dusty and 90 degrees.
1:00 PM — Drive to a city job and run a concrete test on a new curb pour.
3:00 PM — Back at the office. Run the lab test and enter the day's numbers.
4:30 PM — Write the daily report for the engineer and log your hours.
A real mix of outdoor field work and indoor lab and computer work.
Training in North Dakota
A two-year AAS degree is the standard way in. No license required. Most civil engineering technicians have a two-year AAS in civil engineering technology or a combined surveying and civil technology degree. There is no state license for this job. Some employers will hire you with a high school diploma and train you, but the degree gets you hired faster and paid more.
Training Pathways:
- Two-year AAS degree (2 years): The normal road. You come out able to survey, draft, and run material tests, and you can apply for technician jobs right away.
- Certificate first, then finish (start sooner): BSC says its Civil Engineering Technology certificate stacks toward the AAS, so you can get to work and finish the degree while employed.
- Technician now, engineer later: Work as a technician and take the four-year engineering degree over time. Ask an employer whether they help pay tuition; many engineering firms do.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Civil Engineering Technology, AAS or program certificate, on campus. BSC says it prepares students to work as "civil engineering technicians, CAD technicians, materials testing technicians, or related entry-level technician positions" and lists government agencies, engineering firms, surveying companies, utilities, and construction firms as employers. The certificate stacks toward the AAS — bismarckstate.edu/academics/programs/CivilEngineeringTechnology
- North Dakota State College of Science (Wahpeton) — Land Surveying and Civil Engineering Technology, AAS, 70 credits. NDSCS says it prepares students for work as engineering and surveying technicians and covers surveying, civil drafting, and material testing. Graduates work for state, county, and city engineering offices and for consulting engineers, land surveyors, and construction contractors — catalog.ndscs.edu/land-surveying-and-civil-engineering-technology
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Land Surveying Technology, AAS or certificate. BSC says this one also meets the ND board's education requirement for Land Surveyor Intern status, so it can lead to a surveyor license later — bismarckstate.edu/academics/programs/LandSurveying Technology
- United Tribes Technical College (Bismarck) — Pre-Engineering, AS. UTTC says graduates can "begin a career as an engineering technician and start earning immediately," or transfer into ABET accredited bachelor's programs at UND, NDSU, South Dakota School of Mines, and Navajo Technical University — uttc.edu/academics/programs/pre-engineering
- North Dakota State College of Science (Wahpeton) — UAS Civil Engineering Technology, AAS. The same degree with drone courses added — ndscs.edu/academics/programs/
Before You Start: High school diploma or GED. You need solid algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. That is high school math, not calculus. A valid driver's license, because you drive to job sites. Be ready to buy a laptop; NDSCS requires a ZBOOK or equivalent for these programs.
Tip: Start with financial aid and scholarships. Fill out the FAFSA, ask the school’s financial aid office what you qualify for, and ask an employer whether they help pay for school. That is where the money starts. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like tuition, books, a laptop, or exam fees. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you enroll rather than after. Worth asking about specifically: two-year degrees that train you for a job, like civil engineering technology, land surveying, mechatronics, electronics, or instrumentation. North Dakota two-year colleges also cost far less than a university. Ask about paid summer internships too — engineering firms, plants, and survey crews hire students while they are still in school.
Certification & Licensing
No state license is required, but several optional certifications raise your pay. North Dakota does not license civil engineering technicians. What does move your pay is a set of hands-on testing certifications that employers and highway agencies ask for. Many employers pay for these once you are hired.
Certifications That Help in This Field:
- NDDOT technician certifications — the North Dakota Department of Transportation requires certified technicians for testing on its projects. Ask employers which ones they want and whether they pay for the training
- ACI concrete field testing — the American Concrete Institute certification for testing fresh concrete. Widely asked for on construction jobs
- Asphalt and soils testing certifications — offered through state and regional training programs for highway work
- OSHA 10 or OSHA 30 safety cards — basic construction safety training. Many job sites require one before you can walk on
- Flagger and work zone safety training — required on many road jobs where you work near live traffic
- Land Surveyor Intern (LSI) — optional and a real step up. If your two-year degree qualifies, the ND board requires 2 years of experience plus the FS exam. That opens the surveyor license ladder (ndpelsboard.org)
The Exams: There is no required state exam for this job in North Dakota. The testing certifications above each have their own short exams, usually a written test plus a hands-on demonstration. They are much shorter than a licensing exam.
Cost: Your two-year degree and your laptop are the main costs. Testing certifications cost far less, and many employers pay for them as part of the job.
Keeping It Current: The testing certifications expire and have to be renewed, usually every few years. Employers normally track and pay for that. Ask about it in an interview.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Civil Engineering Technician Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $23.60–$28.28/hour ($49,080–$58,820/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $31.27/hour ($65,030/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $37.00–$40.76/hour ($76,970–$84,790/year)
What that means: North Dakota wage data for this job was published, so these are real ND numbers. The middle ND technician earns about $31.27 an hour, or about $65,030 a year, essentially the same as the national middle of $31.23. That is strong pay for a two-year degree. But look at the top of the table honestly: ND's 90th percentile is $40.76 an hour, while the national 90th is $47.59. The ceiling in North Dakota is lower than in big metro areas. To go past it here, most people add a surveyor license, move into inspection or project management, or finish the four-year engineering degree. One more caution: field work follows the construction season, so annual pay can include summer overtime and slower winter months. Ask any employer directly how they staff the winter.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 440 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 470 (about 6% growth). Expect about 40 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is about 2% growth — slower than average.
Outlook: Good, and clearly better in North Dakota than nationally. About 40 openings a year here, the most of the four careers in this set. ND is projected to grow about 6% while the country grows about 2%. Road, bridge, water, and flood control work keeps coming, and much of it is publicly funded, which makes it steadier than private construction.
Who Hires in ND: Private engineering and consulting firms, the North Dakota Department of Transportation, county and city engineering offices, water resource districts, materials testing labs, utilities and pipeline companies, and construction contractors.
Work Setting: A real split between job sites and the office or lab. Summer means long days outside, often near live traffic in a safety vest, in heat and dust. Spring and fall mean mud and cold rain. You drive to sites, and western ND work can mean overnight stays during the building season. Winter shifts more to office, lab, and drafting work.
Physical Demands: Medium to high. Walking rough construction sites, carrying test gear and sample buckets, kneeling, bending, and standing for long periods. Concrete and soil samples are heavy. You need to be alert around moving equipment and traffic. Lab and drafting roles within the same firms are much less physical, so ask about those if heavy field work is a problem.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 17-3022); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Field Technician — You take samples and record what gets built.
Path 2: Materials Testing Technician — You run the concrete, asphalt, and soil tests.
Path 3: Survey or CAD Technician — You move toward surveying or drafting work.
Path 4: Construction Inspector — You represent the owner and check the contractor's work.
Path 5: Project or Construction Manager — You run schedules, budgets, and crews.
Path 6: Surveyor or Engineer (with more school) — Your experience and credits count toward a license.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- Two-year degree, no license needed
- The most openings of these four careers
- Middle ND pay near $65,030
- ND growing three times the national rate
- Mix of outdoor and indoor work
- Steady public projects, not just private building
What's Hard:
- ND weather: heat, dust, mud, cold
- Long days in the summer construction season
- Working near live traffic on road jobs
- Lifting heavy samples and gear
- ND pay ceiling lower than the national one
- Field work can be seasonal
Be Honest: Are you OK spending summer days outside in heat and dust, sometimes right beside live traffic? Can you lift and carry heavy samples and gear? Are you comfortable with a pay ceiling around $84,790 in North Dakota unless you add a license or more school?