NOC 21300: Civil engineers
What civil engineers do
Civil engineers plan, design, develop and manage projects for the construction or repair of buildings, earth structures, powerhouses, roads, airports, railways, rapid transit facilities, bridges, tunnels, canals, dams, ports and coastal installations and systems related to highway and transportation services, water distribution and sanitation. Civil engineers may also specialize in foundation analysis, building and structural inspection, surveying, geomatics and municipal planning. They are employed by engineering consulting companies, in all levels of government, by construction firms and in many other industries, or they may be self-employed.
Main duties
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
- Confer with clients and other members of the engineering team and conduct research to determine project requirements
- Plan and design major civil projects such as buildings, roads, bridges, dams, water and waste management systems and structural steel fabrications
- Develop construction specifications and procedures
- Evaluate and recommend appropriate building and construction materials
- Interpret, review and approve survey and civil design work
- Conduct field services for civil works
- Ensure construction plans meet guidelines and specifications of building codes and other regulations
- Establish and monitor construction work schedules
- Conduct feasibility studies, economic analyses, municipal and regional traffic studies, environmental impact studies or other investigations
- Monitor air, water and soil quality and develop procedures to clean up contaminated sites
- Conduct technical analyses of survey and field data for development of topographic, soil, hydrological or other information and prepare reports
- Act as project or site supervisor for land survey or construction work
- Prepare contract documents and review and evaluate tenders for construction projects
- Supervise technicians, technologists and other engineers and review and approve designs, calculations and cost estimates.
Job titles under NOC 21300
73 job titles are classified here, including bridge engineer, civil engineer, construction engineer.
- airport engineer
- appraisal engineer
- architectural engineer
- asphalt engineer
- bridge engineer
- building envelope engineer
- buildings and bridge engineer
- cartographic engineer
- chief civil engineer
- civil engineer
- civil engineer project manager
- civil engineering project manager
- civil environmental engineer
- civil inspection engineer
- civil pipeline engineer
- civil structural engineer
- coastal engineer
- concrete engineer
- construction engineer
- construction project engineer
- consulting civil engineer
- county engineer
- dams engineer
- district engineer
Employment requirements
- A bachelor's degree in civil engineering or in a related engineering discipline is required.
- A master's degree or doctorate in a related engineering discipline may be required.
- Licensing by a provincial or territorial association of professional engineers is required to approve engineering drawings and reports and to practise as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.).
- Engineers are eligible for registration following graduation from an accredited educational program, and after three or four years of supervised work experience in engineering and passing a professional practice examination.
- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification is offered by the Canada Green Building Council and may be required by some employers.
Civil engineers wages in Canada
Low, median and high hourly wages from Job Bank’s 2025 wage data. Annual figures assume full-time work (1,950 hours a year).
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Canada | $32.00/hr | $48.56/hr | $72.12/hr |
Toronto ON | $27.00/hr | $51.28/hr | $72.12/hr |
Montréal QC | $36.06/hr | $52.00/hr | $69.23/hr |
Vancouver Lower Mainland region, BC | $33.88/hr | $49.74/hr | $78.11/hr |
Calgary AB | $36.00/hr | $51.92/hr | $76.92/hr |
Edmonton AB | $34.00/hr | $51.69/hr | $76.92/hr |
Ottawa ON | $30.05/hr | $47.69/hr | $60.10/hr |
Winnipeg MB | $24.76/hr | $48.08/hr | $72.82/hr |
Québec City Quebec region, QC | $33.65/hr | $49.74/hr | $69.23/hr |
Hamilton Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula region, ON | $30.50/hr | $48.08/hr | $72.12/hr |
Kitchener-Waterloo Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie region, ON | $32.50/hr | $45.00/hr | $72.08/hr |
London ON | $31.16/hr | $47.29/hr | $77.26/hr |
Halifax NS | $30.83/hr | $47.93/hr | $74.88/hr |
Victoria Vancouver Island and Coast region, BC | $34.34/hr | $50.38/hr | $76.10/hr |
Saskatoon Saskatoon–Biggar region, SK | $31.52/hr | $46.31/hr | $68.77/hr |
Regina Regina–Moose Mountain region, SK | $31.00/hr | $40.38/hr | $61.00/hr |
| Where | Low | Median | High |
|---|---|---|---|
Newfoundland and Labrador | $35.11/hr | $51.15/hr | $74.82/hr |
Nova Scotia | $30.14/hr | $47.34/hr | $77.14/hr |
New Brunswick | $30.00/hr | $44.36/hr | $73.56/hr |
Quebec | $33.65/hr | $49.74/hr | $69.23/hr |
Ontario | $30.50/hr | $48.08/hr | $72.12/hr |
Manitoba | $24.76/hr | $49.50/hr | $73.50/hr |
Saskatchewan | $28.85/hr | $42.00/hr | $62.00/hr |
Alberta | $34.00/hr | $51.69/hr | $76.92/hr |
British Columbia | $32.48/hr | $47.12/hr | $72.12/hr |
Using NOC 21300 for your resume or Express Entry profile
- IRCC asks you to make sure the main duties listed for your NOC match what you actually did at your job. If they don’t, look for another unit group whose duties do.
- Describe your own work in your own words. Recruiters and ATS software look for concrete tools, results and scope, not text copied from the NOC.
- Applying from outside Canada? Run your resume through the Canadian resume format checker to catch things Canadian employers don’t expect, like a photo or date of birth.
- Use the job title the employer’s posting uses. The 73 titles above are how the same work is named across employers.
Not in this group
Similar jobs classified under a different NOC code:
- Construction managers (NOC 70010)
- Engineering managers (NOC 20010)
- Environmental chemical engineer (NOC 21320)
- Geological engineers (NOC 21331)
- Managers in transportation (NOC 70020)
Frequently asked questions
What is the NOC code for civil engineers?
Civil engineers are NOC 2021 unit group 21300. Example job titles in this group include bridge engineer, civil engineer, construction engineer, construction project engineer.
What TEER is NOC 21300?
NOC 21300 is TEER 1 (University degree). Usually requires a university degree (bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate), or experience from a related TEER 2 occupation. TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3 work counts as skilled work experience for Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience Class programs.
How much do civil engineers earn in Canada?
Job Bank's 2025 wage data puts the median at $48.56/hr, about $95,000 a year full-time, with a range of $32.00/hr to $72.12/hr.
Related occupations
Sources: Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada, Job Bank wages (2025). Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada. OfferJetAI is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. Check IRCC’s NOC guidance before you apply.