Civil Engineeringat Northeastern University
Graduates earn $76,362/yr in their first year — about 11.0% above the national Civil Engineering average. Base-case 10-year earnings $858K; scenarios range from $743K to $902K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at Northeastern University
Your strong earnings potential from a Northeastern Civil Engineering degree largely stems from the university's acclaimed co-op program. This structured experiential learning model places you directly into professional roles with Boston's leading construction firms, infrastructure developers, and urban planning agencies, often before graduation. You'll build a robust professional network and gain invaluable practical skills, making you highly competitive in the regional labor market, which consistently has a high demand for civil engineers due to ongoing urban development and infrastructure projects.
However, the "high AI risk" score reflects the increasing automation in design, project management, and data analysis within the field. This isn't about job replacement, but transformation; you'll need to master new software and analytical tools. Your career will involve managing complex projects, designing sustainable urban solutions, and integrating smart technologies into infrastructure. Leverage your co-op experiences to specialize in areas like BIM, sustainable design, or project leadership, ensuring your skills remain at the forefront of the evolving industry.
Three scenarios, ten years out
Each scenario is a different assumption about how AI reshapes the career paths this major feeds into. Earnings projections stack the full 10-year cumulative trajectory; scores use the same 0–100 metric as the hero, recomputed under that scenario's assumptions.
10 year projection
Year-by-year earnings under each scenario. Base case reflects BLS growth patterns applied to Northeastern University's starting earnings; optimistic and pessimistic adjust for AI's effect on each career path this major feeds into.
Common career destinations for this program's graduates, weighted by the school's specific occupation mix. Salary is BLS national median; AI risk is per-role task-exposure research.
Peer schools offering Civil Engineering
How Northeastern University stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at Northeastern University
Other highest-scoring programs offered at Northeastern University, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Frequently asked about Civil Engineering at Northeastern University
What is the DegreeOutlook Score for Civil Engineering at Northeastern University?
This program scores 60/100 — a respectable number in isolation, but it ranks in the bottom half of Civil Engineering programs nationally. The field is competitive, and stronger options exist.
Will AI replace Civil Engineering careers?
With 49% of typical job tasks exposed to AI, this is one of the higher-risk fields. Our pessimistic scenario projects $742,619 in decade earnings vs $902,155 in the optimistic case — a meaningful gap.