Construction Engineering Degree

14 schools compared · Average earnings $76,543/yr

Students study the planning, design, and management of construction projects, including structural systems, project scheduling, cost estimation, and construction safety. Graduates typically pursue careers as construction engineers, project managers, site supervisors, and estimators for general contractors and engineering firms. The massive scale of U.S. infrastructure investment creates strong and growing demand for construction engineers.

What Construction Engineering Graduates Do

Your degree in Construction Engineering places you at the crucial intersection of design and reality. You’ll likely start as a field or project engineer, spending your days on-site, translating blueprints into tangible structures. This means troubleshooting when a steel shipment is delayed, interpreting soil reports, and coordinating with subcontractors to keep the project moving. Alternatively, you might begin as a cost estimator, diving deep into project plans to calculate the precise labor, material, and time required for a build.

As you gain experience, you’ll progress toward an engineering manager role, where your focus shifts from managing a single project to overseeing a portfolio of them, along with the teams and budgets involved. While some paths like cost estimation face headwinds, management and civil engineering roles are growing. AI is a significant factor here, automating routine tasks like initial scheduling and material take-offs. This doesn't eliminate your job, but it changes it. Your value will increasingly lie in managing the unpredictable physical world, making critical judgment calls on-site, and leading teams through complex challenges—skills that remain distinctly human.

Schools Offering
14
Avg Grad Earnings
$76,543/yr
Avg DegreeOutlook Score
68/100
AI Automation Risk
High
53% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where Construction Engineering graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 68,400 combined openings per year.

Career Path Salary Range Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Architectural and engineering managers
$167,740
$135K$207K
14,500 +3.8% 41%
Engineers, all other
$117,750
$86K$153K
9,300 +2.1% 46%
Engineering teachers, postsecondary
$106,120
$80K$136K
4,100 +8.1% 50%
Civil engineers
$99,590
$79K$128K
23,600 +5.0% 50%
Cost estimators
$77,070
$60K$100K
16,900 -4.2% 50%
Architectural and engineering managers
$167,740
$135K $207K
14,500 openings/yr +3.8% growth 41% AI risk
Engineers, all other
$117,750
$86K $153K
9,300 openings/yr +2.1% growth 46% AI risk
Engineering teachers, postsecondary
$106,120
$80K $136K
4,100 openings/yr +8.1% growth 50% AI risk
Civil engineers
$99,590
$79K $128K
23,600 openings/yr +5.0% growth 50% AI risk
Cost estimators
$77,070
$60K $100K
16,900 openings/yr -4.2% growth 50% AI risk

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Best Schools for Construction Engineering

14 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

# School DW Score Earnings ROI
1 California State University-Sacramento
Sacramento, CA
80
77–81
$90,836/yr 41.0x
2 Oregon State University-Cascades Campus
Bend, OR
77
74–78
$80,936/yr 20.1x
3 Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR
76
74–78
$80,936/yr 18.7x
4 Iowa State University
Ames, IA
76
74–78
$77,845/yr 21.7x
5 Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
76
74–78
$75,421/yr 20.6x
6 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, VA
74
71–76
$82,627/yr 14.6x
7 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus
Bowling Green, OH
71
70–73
$69,146/yr 15.1x
8 North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC
65
62–66
$76,574/yr 20.5x
9 Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN
64
62–65
$76,966/yr 18.3x
10 Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Tempe, AZ
62
59–63
$74,445/yr 14.4x
11 Texas A & M University-Commerce
Commerce, TX
62
60–63
$70,457/yr 16.6x
12 The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, TX
61
59–63
$72,613/yr 14.5x
13 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
Cincinnati, OH
59
57–61
$71,751/yr 12.2x
14 Bradley University
Peoria, IL
52
50–53
$71,053/yr 3.5x

Highest Earning Construction Engineering Programs

Schools where Construction Engineering graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

Best ROI for Construction Engineering

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Construction Engineering.

School ROI Multiple Earnings DW Score
California State University-Sacramento 41.0x $90,836/yr 80
Iowa State University 21.7x $77,845/yr 76
Texas Tech University 20.6x $75,421/yr 76
North Carolina State University at Raleigh 20.5x $76,574/yr 65
Oregon State University-Cascades Campus 20.1x $80,936/yr 77
Oregon State University 18.7x $80,936/yr 76
Purdue University-Main Campus 18.3x $76,966/yr 64
Texas A & M University-Commerce 16.6x $70,457/yr 62
Bowling Green State University-Main Campus 15.1x $69,146/yr 71
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 14.6x $82,627/yr 74
Want to compare two Construction Engineering programs side by side? Use the comparison tool →

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Construction Engineering graduates earn?
Across 14 schools, Construction Engineering graduates earn an average of $76,543 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $69,146 to $90,836 depending on the school.
What is the AI automation risk for Construction Engineering?
Construction Engineering is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 53% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means most career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.
Which school has the best Construction Engineering program?
Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), California State University-Sacramento ranks #1 for Construction Engineering with a score of 80/100 and graduate earnings of $90,836/yr.
What's the outlook for a Construction Engineering degree?
On average, Construction Engineering graduates earn 18.0x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a strong return on investment.
Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →