Being a Highway Engineer and Career Paths

November 24, 2021

Highway Engineers are responsible for the design and implementation of road network projects. They are responsible for ensuring that the thousands of miles of roads across the world are in good condition. They are involved in road network maintenance, local road schemes designing, supervising construction teams, preparing tender contract documents, and administering risk assessments.

You could complete a university degree or college course, an apprenticeship, or apply to an employer directly to become a highways engineer. Exploring the right routes to find out which is the right one for you is vital. Some of these options have certain qualification requirements such as willingness to learn and can follow instructions.

There are three main branches of highway engineering:

• Planning, research, and construction. Planning engineers work with the city and regional planners to figure out ways to relieve the traffic congestion in overcrowded areas.
• They analyze traffic patterns and keep conversant of the construction of new buildings that might cause future traffic problems.
• Highway engineers are usually employed by the city, state, and federal governments, and by consulting firms used by government agencies.

Research engineers are concerned with finding new ways and means for building highways by constantly investigating and learning new machines and technology for new pavement designs and improved maintenance operations. Research is usually conducted by engineering colleges and federal agencies that employ highway engineers and is the basis for well-planned highways.

Construction highway engineers work on the site to ensure the quality of the work and supervise the contractors. Contractors sometimes employ highway engineers for cost-effective processes in the project. A highway engineer works with building materials such as concrete, earth, steel, and asphalt and works with tools ranging from earth-moving equipment to computers.

To make better design choices and drive efficiencies through developing digital asset management techniques digital tools and data are being used to deliver intelligent infrastructure solutions that enable better investment, operation and maintenance decisions.

Highway engineers can work either outdoors or indoors which depends on the branch of highway engineering they completed. Engineers will often have to put in extra hours when deadlines have to be met. Advancement in this field completely depends on the ability of the worker and experienced highway engineers can become construction supervisors. Some engineers become project engineers or consulting engineers, while others become heads of construction firms. A highway engineering job is a great career in which to develop a knowledge of highways with an opportunity to work in an industry that is becoming increasingly diverse.