Transportation engineers develop new ways to move people and goods, improve existing technology and transportation methods, and work for governments, manufacturing companies, and transportation providers. They hold degrees in civil or mechanical engineering and design roads, bridges, and vehicles while conducting safety inspections and solving problems. Some work for themselves or in small companies, developing new technologies sold to manufacturing companies.
A transportation engineer develops new ways to move people and goods over varying distances. Some engineers are also working to improve existing technology and transportation methods in order to improve efficiency and safety standards. Many transportation engineers are employed by national or local governments, while others work for manufacturing companies or transportation providers. Transport engineer jobs are found all over the world, although jobs in this field are more numerous in industrialized countries and major metropolitan areas.
Typically, a transportation engineer holds a degree in civil or mechanical engineering. Civil engineering students learn about urban planning and civic infrastructure. Mechanical engineers learn to create and operate the different types of machines found on boats, planes or trains. Some engineers start out working as mechanics, but take up entry-level engineering jobs after several years working in less-skilled jobs.
Civil engineers work alongside urban planners and design roads for urban areas. In congested metropolitan areas, engineers need to design multi-level bridges and roads strong enough to carry large volumes of traffic safely. Engineers make scale models of proposed road and bridge designs and calculate the pressure different types of structures can withstand. Civil engineers employed by government entities must try to keep costs to a minimum without compromising safety.
City governments often employ transportation engineers to work on specific vehicles such as trains and buses. A transportation engineer must conduct regular safety inspections to ensure that the tracks, roads and railways are working properly. When structural problems are detected, the transportation engineer needs to come up with solutions to solve the problems in the least expensive and least disruptive way. Engineers, who are assigned to specific vehicles, have to fix mechanical problems, although basic problems are often handled by mechanics rather than transportation engineers.
Transportation companies and companies that manufacture planes, boats, and trains employ transportation engineers who are responsible for developing new types of vehicles and transportation systems. In many cases, teams of engineers work together to develop prototypes of new vehicles. Test vehicles are created and analyzed, although only the most reliable and economical vehicles are ever manufactured.
Some experienced transportation engineers are self-employed or work alongside other engineers in small companies or partnerships. These freelance engineers often develop new technologies that are sold to manufacturing companies. Other private engineers are recruited under contract to work for municipal governments. In many cases, governments choose to cut overhead costs by hiring freelance engineers, rather than keeping full-time civil engineers on the city’s payroll.
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