Civil Engineer vs DevOps Engineer: Career Comparison
Choosing between Civil Engineer and DevOps Engineer? This side-by-side compares salary, outlook, education, skills, and what the work actually looks like day-to-day. DevOps Engineer typically pays more at the median. Both are research-backed Qoollege career guides — read either in full below.
Side-by-side
Higher salary ceiling: DevOps Engineer. Faster projected growth: DevOps Engineer. Same education level: yes.
| Attribute | Civil Engineer | DevOps Engineer |
|---|---|---|
| Salary range | $60k – $118k | $76k – $168k |
| Outlook & demand | High · +5% by 2034 | Very high · +29.2% by 2034 |
| Education level | Bachelor | Bachelor |
| Top skills | Problem-solving, Math, Design, Teamwork, Attention to detail | Coding, Cloud Platforms, CI/CD Automation, Problem Solving, Teamwork |
| Where they work | engineering firms, construction companies, government agencies, transportation, water resources, public works, consulting services | tech companies, cloud services, software teams, IT operations, startups, enterprise technology departments |
| Day-to-day work | Daily work in civil engineering is a mix of design, analysis, coordination, and field checks. Some hours are spent at a desk reviewing plans, writing documents, and running calculations, while other hours may be on construction sites checking progress, safety, and compliance. | Daily work is usually a mix of coding, systems troubleshooting, and teamwork. A DevOps Engineer may spend part of the day improving automation and part of the day helping teams respond to reliability or deployment issues. |
| Education routes | Bachelor's in civil engineering; Bachelor's in related engineering field; Work after degree + PE licensure; Specialized master's after the bachelor's | 4-year computer science or software engineering degree; IT support or junior software path into DevOps; Self-taught projects plus certifications; Bootcamp or intensive training with portfolio work |
| Projected growth | +5% | +29.2% |