Highway Design Engineer Overview

Required Education and Training To Become a Highway Design Engineer

Best Schools to become a Highway Design Engineer in U.S. 2024

University of California-Berkeley

Berkeley, CA

In-State Tuition:$11,564
Out-of-State Tuition:$41,636
Admission Rate:11%
Graduation Rate:94%
Total Enrollment:45,307

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, VA

In-State Tuition:$12,104
Out-of-State Tuition:$31,754
Admission Rate:57%
Graduation Rate:86%
Total Enrollment:38,170

Texas A & M University-College Station

College Station, TX

In-State Tuition:$8,815
Out-of-State Tuition:$36,239
Admission Rate:63%
Graduation Rate:84%
Total Enrollment:74,014

California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

Pomona, CA

In-State Tuition:$5,742
Out-of-State Tuition:$17,622
Admission Rate:55%
Graduation Rate:66%
Total Enrollment:27,503

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL

In-State Tuition:$14,542
Out-of-State Tuition:$35,122
Admission Rate:45%
Graduation Rate:85%
Total Enrollment:56,916

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Newark, NJ

In-State Tuition:$15,198
Out-of-State Tuition:$31,658
Admission Rate:66%
Graduation Rate:74%
Total Enrollment:12,332
Highway Design Engineer Job Description:
  • Develop plans for surface transportation projects, according to established engineering standards and state or federal construction policy.
  • Prepare designs, specifications, or estimates for transportation facilities.
  • Plan modifications of existing streets, highways, or freeways to improve traffic flow.

Required Skills and Competencies To Become a Highway Design Engineer

Job Duties for Highway Design Engineers

  • Check construction plans, design calculations, or cost estimations to ensure completeness, accuracy, or conformity to engineering standards or practices.

  • Design or prepare plans for new transportation systems or parts of systems, such as airports, commuter trains, highways, streets, bridges, drainage structures, or roadway lighting.

  • Prepare administrative, technical, or statistical reports on traffic-operation matters, such as accidents, safety measures, or pedestrian volume or practices.

Technologies and Skills Used by Highway Design Engineers

Analytical or scientific software

  • Citilabs Cube
  • Trafficware SynchroGreen

Computer aided design CAD software

  • Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
  • Bentley MicroStation

Presentation software

  • Microsoft PowerPoint

Basic Skills

  • Reading work related information
  • Talking to others

People and Technology Systems

  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Current Job Market and Opportunites for a Highway Design Engineer

Additional Resources To Help You Become a Highway Design Engineer

FAQs About Becoming a Highway Design Engineer