Professionals · code 2142
Civil engineers
Civil engineers conduct research, advise on, design, and direct construction; manage the operation and maintenance of civil engineering structures; or study and advise on technological aspects of particular materials. Tasks include - (a) conducting research and developing new or improved theories and methods related to civil engineering; (b) advising on and designing structures such as bridges, dams, docks, roads, airports, railways, canals, pipelines, waste-disposal and flood-control systems, and industrial and other large buildings; (c) determining and specifying construction methods, materials and quality standards, and directing construction work; (d) establishing control systems to ensure efficient functioning of structures as well as safety and environmental protection; (e) organizing and directing maintenance and repair of existing civil engineering structures; (f) analysing the behaviour of soil and rock when placed under pressure by proposed structures and designing structural foundations; (g) analysing the stability of structures and testing the behaviour and durability of materials used in their construction. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Civil engineer - Geotechnical engineer - Structural engineer Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Civil engineering project manager - 1323 - Geoscientist - 2114 - Metallurgist - 2146 - Mining engineer - 2146 - Town and traffic planners - 2164
None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count. It ranks 243 of 427 for holding up against AI.
Also known as
- civil engineer
Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.
against AI Not Exposed
AI could take on 30.2 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 30.2 = 69.8
That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.
out of 100
From O*NET, averaged across 3 US jobs
and cramped
finger skill 19.6 · hand skill 2.4 · cramped spaces 12.9 · averaged
Kind of hands-on work · hands-on under 50 Less than half hands-on
Less than half of this job is hands-on. Robots still matter, but for a smaller part of the work, so we don't sort it any further.
estimated O*NET 31.0 BLS occupational crosswalk chain ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC (Aug 2012, rev. Jun 2015); 2010 to 2018 SOC (Nov 2017); O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy data 0.7-work-setting measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement
What this number leaves out This job rates 20.1 out of 100 for how hands-on it is. The score above only looks at AI tools, not robots, but for work this far from the physical that matters less.
The tasks behind the score
The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.
The task AI could do most of scores 42, while the average is 30.2. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.
- 42
Conducting research and developing new or improved theories and methods related to civil engineering
Low - 31.5
Advising on and designing structures such as bridges, dams, docks, roads, airports, railways, canals, pipelines, waste-disposal and flood-control systems, and industrial and other large buildings
Low - 31
Determining and specifying construction methods, materials and quality standards, and directing construction work
Low - 29.5
Analysing the behaviour of soil and rock when placed under pressure by proposed structures and designing structural foundations
Low - 28.5
Analysing the stability of structures and testing the behaviour and durability of materials used in their construction.
Low - 26
Establishing control systems to ensure efficient functioning of structures as well as safety and environmental protection
Low - 23
Organising and directing maintenance and repair of existing civil engineering structures
Very Low
7 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's
from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.7-work-setting
Helped, or replaced?
The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.
2 Australian jobs match this one, and we've simply averaged them. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.
- AI helps you
- 72.5
- AI does it for you
- 33
Helping wins by 39.5 points.
estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 2332, 2339
Compared with similar jobs
There are 92 jobs in the “Professionals” group, averaging 61.2. This one is above that.
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- Optometrists and ophthalmic opticians 76.3
- Audiologists and speech therapists 76.2
- Nursing professionals 74.8
- Primary school teachers 73.9
- Specialist medical practitioners 72.9
- Environmental and occupational health… 72
- Musicians, singers and composers 72
- Social work and counselling professio… 71.7
- Physiotherapists 71.6
- Special needs teachers 71.6
- Farming, forestry and fisheries advis… 71.5
- Generalist medical practitioners 71.3
- Mining engineers, metallurgists and r… 70.7
- Secondary education teachers 70.2
- Midwifery professionals 70.1
- Engineering professionals not elsewhe… 69.5
- Judges 68.7
- Electrical engineers 68.6
- Actors 68.6
A closer look
There's a written profile for this job, with notes on what changes and what stays human.