A transportation engineer devises new methods for transporting people and goods over long distances. Engineers are also working to improve existing technology and transportation methods in order to increase efficiency and safety. Many transportation engineers work for federal, state, or local governments, while others work for manufacturers or transportation companies. Transportation engineer jobs are available all over the world, but they are more plentiful in industrialized countries and major metropolitan areas.
A transport engineer typically holds a bachelor’s degree in civil or mechanical engineering. Students studying civil engineering learn about urban planning and civic infrastructure. Mechanical engineers study the design and operation of various types of machinery found on boats, planes, and trains. Some engineers start out as mechanics, but after a few years of working in less-skilled positions, they move up to basic engineering jobs.
Civil engineers collaborate with urban planners to create city roads. Engineers must design bridges and multi-level roads that can safely transport large volumes of traffic in congested metropolitan areas. Engineers build scale models of proposed road and bridge designs and calculate the amount of pressure that various structures can withstand. Civil engineers working for government agencies must try to keep costs down while maintaining safety.
Transport engineers are frequently employed by municipal governments to work on specific vehicles such as trains and buses. Regular safety inspections are required of a transport engineer to ensure that train tracks, roads, and waterways are in good working order. When structural issues are discovered, the transportation engineer must propose solutions that are both cost-effective and disruptive. Engineers assigned to specific vehicles are responsible for repairing mechanical issues, though mechanics are often the ones who deal with basic issues rather than transport engineers.
Transport engineers work for transportation companies and companies that manufacture planes, boats, and trains. They are in charge of developing new types of vehicles and transportation systems. In many cases, teams of engineers collaborate to create new vehicle prototypes. Only the most reliable and cost-effective vehicles are ever manufactured, so test vehicles are created and analyzed.
Some experienced transport engineers work independently or in small firms or partnerships with other engineers. These independent engineers frequently create new technologies that are then sold to manufacturing companies. Other private engineers are hired to work for municipal governments on a contract basis. In many cases, governments choose to hire freelance civil engineers rather than keeping full-time civil engineers on the payroll to save money.