Careers

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you feel a responsibility to improve your community’s quality of life and protect the living environment at the same time?
• Do you want to do something with your life that makes a difference to others?
• Can you make tough choices and put in the hours preparing for a career in a technical or professional discipline?

If your answer is yes, there are many interesting choices and combinations to explore. Don’t box yourself in with arbitrary decisions right now. Before finalizing your education plans, take the time to do the research and talk things over with career counselors and people in the public works profession.

A career in public works provides many rewarding opportunities to earn the respect of others—and build self-respect as well—while keeping communities safe and healthy places for everybody.

Check out our "Public Works in Public Service!" PDF to learn about the benefits of working in public works, the opportunities available to you, and how this work directly impacts communities.

Possible Courses of Study:

Management and Administration

• Public administration
• Finance and business
• Accounting
• Computer sciences
• Business courses
• Personnel administration
• Speech
• English and humanities courses
• Government or political science
• Social sciences

Municipal Engineering

• Civil engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Electrical engineering
• Surveying mathematics
• Chemistry
• Business administration

Environmental Engineering

• Environmental sciences
• Civil engineering
• Chemistry/biology
• Mathematics
• Economics and business administration
• Urban ecology
• Ecological risk assessment
• Water resources

Transportation

• Civil engineering
• Structural engineering
• Mechanical and Industrial engineering
• Architecture
• Mathematics
• Chemistry
• Economics and business administration
• Transportation planning
• Fleet management
• Public buildings and grounds management
• Forestry/biology/landscape design
• Automotive mechanics; electronics
• Technical courses and apprenticeship programs
• Advanced studies in public administration, law, public works administration, finance, or marketing

Graduate Degree or Professional Certification

• City engineer
• City manager
• Financial manager
• Public works director

Bachelor’s Degree

• Accountant
• Electrical engineer
• Mechanical engineer
• Land surveyor
• Civil engineer
• Environmental engineer
• Environmental health specialist
• Landscape architect
• Marketing coordinator
• Photogrammetrist (aerial mapper)
• Structural designer
• Transportation engineer
• Waste reduction/recycling coordinator

Associate’s Degree

• Administrative, accounting technician
• CAD/Drafting technician
• Environmental compliance inspector
• Laboratory technician
• Marketing assistant
• Personnel administrator
• Environmental specialist
• Traffic signal and lighting technician

Vocational/Technical Schools

• Automotive mechanical
• Drafting
• Computer training, operation, and maintenance
• Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning operation and maintenance
• Heavy Equipment Operation, Maintenance, and Repair
• Horticulture and plant sciences
• Office Management

High School Diploma

• Account clerk
• Administrative assistant
• Billing coordinator
• Customer service
• Driller’s assistant
• Engineering/surveying aid or technician
• Engineering technician
• Equipment operator
• Equipment service worker
• Facilities maintenance
• Highway maintenance
• Library clerk
• Mechanical maintenance technician
• Office assistant
• Photo lab technician
• Plant and equipment mechanic
• Public works inspector
• Public works maintenance worker
• Street sweeper operator
• Treatment plant operator
• Underground construction/maintenance specialist
• Water/wastewater maintenance
• Welder/mechanic
• Word processor

APWA’s Workforce Development Committee is partnering with the US Department of Labor (DOL) Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) to provide an overview of the resources available through the VETS program and the opportunities that exist for hiring veterans in public works departments and local governments across the country.