Takeover Tracker
28%medium risk
Civil Engineers
vs

43 shared · 50 different

core competencies

40%medium risk
Civil Engineering Technicians

Side-by-Side Comparison

MetricCivil EngineersCivil Engineering Technicians
Risk Score27.9%40.3%
Risk TierMedium RiskMedium Risk
Risk Percentile29th81th
Tasks at Risk (>50%)5 / 156 / 15
Median Salary$99,590$64,200
Employment355K62K

Skill Comparison

|

Sorted by largest difference

Monitoring and Controlling Resources
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others
Developing and Building Teams
Coaching and Developing Others
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material
Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates
Operations Analysis
Training and Teaching Others
Developing Objectives and Strategies
Thinking Creatively
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others

Protective Factors

Higher values indicate stronger protection against AI displacement

Civil Engineers

32%

total discount

Civil Engineering Technicians

28%

total discount

Task Risk Comparison

Tasks sorted by AI automation risk — higher means more automatable

Civil Engineers

5 of 15 at risk
86%Estimate quantities and cost of materials, equipment, or labor to determine project feasibility.
53%Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.
51%Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
51%Plan and design transportation or hydraulic systems or structures using computer assisted design or drawing tools.
50%Test soils or materials to determine the adequacy and strength of foundations, concrete, asphalt, or steel.

Civil Engineering Technicians

6 of 15 at risk
86%Calculate dimensions, square footage, profile and component specifications, and material quantities using calculator or computer.
84%Develop project budgets by estimating the cost of project activities.
83%Read and review project blueprints and structural specifications to determine dimensions of structure or system and material requirements.
74%Draft detailed dimensional drawings and design layouts for projects and to ensure conformance to specifications.
67%Prepare reports and document project activities and data.

Wage Comparison

Civil Engineering Technicians earns -$35,390(-36%) vs Civil Engineers
Civil EngineersCivil Engineering Technicians
10th
$65,920$43,550
25th
$78,790$51,730
Median
$99,590$64,200
75th
$128,290$79,550
90th
$160,990$97,840

Premium Head-to-Head Analysis

Displacement Timeline Comparison

Civil Engineers2028–2035
Civil Engineering Technicians2028–2035
20242030203520402045

Civil Engineers has a longer runway before significant displacement, projected 0 years later than Civil Engineering Technicians.

Risk-Adjusted Salary

Salary weighted by displacement risk: salary × (1 − risk%)

Civil Engineers

$71,834

from $99,590

Civil Engineering Technicians

$38,321

from $64,200

After adjusting for AI risk, Civil Engineers offers $33,513 more in risk-adjusted pay.

Transition Feasibility

1%

Skill Overlap

Low overlap — significant retraining needed for transition

0

Unique to Civil

0

Unique to Civil

Combined Protection Strategy

Regardless of which path you choose, focus on these protective factors

Creativity
Social Intelligence
Decision Complexity
Fine Manipulation
Civil EngineersCivil Engineering Technicians
Find transitions from Civil EngineersFind transitions from Civil Engineering Technicians