# Transportation Engineers

> 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.

- **SOC code:** 17-2051.01
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2051-01
- **Also known as:** Engineer, Project Engineer, Traffic Engineer, Transportation Engineer, Rail Engineer, Roadway Designer, Roadway Engineer, State Roadway Design Engineer
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- 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.
- Check construction plans, design calculations, or cost estimations to ensure completeness, accuracy, or conformity to engineering standards or practices.
- Prepare administrative, technical, or statistical reports on traffic-operation matters, such as accidents, safety measures, or pedestrian volume or practices.
- Plan alteration or modification of existing transportation structures to improve safety or function.
- Present data, maps, or other information at construction-related public hearings or meetings.
- Confer with contractors, utility companies, or government agencies to discuss plans, specifications, or work schedules.
- Prepare final project layout drawings that include details such as stress calculations.
- Investigate traffic problems and recommend methods to improve traffic flow or safety.
- Estimate transportation project costs.
- Design or engineer drainage, erosion, or sedimentation control systems for transportation projects.
- Evaluate traffic control devices or lighting systems to determine need for modification or expansion.
- Prepare project budgets, schedules, or specifications for labor or materials.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Develop plans for integration of drone technology into transportation systems for purposes such as delivery of goods or traffic monitoring.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Engineering and Technology _(knowledge)_
- Design _(knowledge)_
- Transportation _(knowledge)_
- Building and Construction _(knowledge)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Writing _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Systems Analysis _(Specialized Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Autodesk AutoCAD _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Bentley MicroStation _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- ESRI ArcGIS software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Project _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management _(hot technology)_
- Python _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 85th percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 85th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 90th percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 69th percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 14th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 5.0% growth (About average); 23.6k annual openings; 368.9k → 387.5k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $99,590; 355,410 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** — automation, 23% augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.5 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** task iteration.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Prepare project budgets, schedules, or specifications for labor or materials. _(0.4% of measured AI use; task iteration)_
- 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. _(0.4% of measured AI use)_
- Investigate or test specific construction project materials to determine compliance to specifications or standards. _(0.3% of measured AI use)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me prepare project budgets, schedules, or specifications for labor or materials.
- Help me 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.
- Help me investigate or test specific construction project materials to determine compliance to specifications or standards.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-2051-01_