Department of Transportation jobs can include transportation dispatcher jobs as well as other transportation experts like truckers. However, these transportation dispatcher jobs all require as a matter of course that streets, highways, and other travel services remain safe to travel on even during the winter months.
Among the transportation jobs that are most important for the industry of transportation as a whole is that of the traffic engineer. Traffic engineers design and maintain safe roads and highways for all who use them, including private citizens and transportation employees. They also make sure the traffic flows most smoothly by determining how roads should be laid out. Finally, they also determine the best and most economical ways to build highways and other routes of travel, and then to maintain them once built so that they stay safe.
Working as a traffic engineer
Most traffic engineers work in state or city highway or street departments. They may also work for the federal government or for a particular county. In some cases, they also work for private consulting firms, industries, or educational institutions.
If they work for state governments, this is one of the most common jobs traffic engineers do. They keep an eye on interstate highways, intrastate highways, and state roads, which helps to keep other employees and private citizens safe. One way they do this is to conduct what are called ''need studies,'' which determine how many cars, buses and trucks are likely to use new roads. Then, they work with highway engineers and other types of engineers such as location engineers to figure out the most economical and safest ways to build the highways and where they should go. Modern highway construction requires careful planning, including careful construction for ease of use, such as exits, overpasses, ''cloverleaf'' highway formations, and strategic placement of rest areas on interstate highways.
If they work for the city, traffic engineers also try to solve the city's parking problems and avoid traffic jams. They also work to direct the flow of traffic to avoid congestion in other ways and may also help determine public transportation routes. In some cities that are particularly large, a single traffic engineer or a group of traffic engineers may time traffic lights so as to make the flow of traffic the most efficient possible.
Predicting for the future
When traffic engineers are determining what highway construction and placement should be, they not only have to consider the weather especially as it relates to areas that are particular to extreme changes in temperature, but they must also determine what the best layout is for the future. Because development is constantly undergoing flux in regard to housing, commercial development, and changes in population, they have to determine what future patterns are likely to be, too. This is so that once they establish highway and roadway layouts, these particular roadway setups will be good for the foreseeable future and for years to come.
One of the most important jobs that a traffic engineer has to be concerned about is the incidence of accidents. Therefore, when they're establishing particular traffic patterns and new construction layouts, they look at past patterns of possible causes, and may design new intersections in existing streets and highways. They may also put up traffic signs or traffic lights to help direct flow, or remove trees or other obstructions that block motorists' vision.
Working with the government to get the job done
Regardless of where they work, traffic engineers must work with the government at their particular level to get plans approved. That means that traffic engineers who work for the city, county, state or federal government must actually present their plans to those levels of government and get them approved. This is because their work is paid for by tax money, so what they do has to benefit the public and transportation workers such as truckers as well. They also impact the transportation industry indirectly because the way they do their jobs affects how officials in the transportation industry can do their jobs.
Background and education
In general, traffic engineers first obtain bachelor's degrees in civil engineering. Some colleges may offer degrees that are specifically geared toward traffic engineering. Within the coursework, these undergraduates study systems analysis, physics, highway economics, city planning, statistics, computer-aided design, and transportation.
In most cases, traffic engineers go on to graduate school to study things like traffic flow and the design of freeway exits. If a particular engineering employee works for a large transportation or highway department, they may be sent on for graduate education at the expense of the employer, providing they have already completed undergraduate degrees and are working for the employer.
Working as a transportation engineer
Once you graduate from school, your school placement office should be able to help you find a job. Most of these positions are going to require that you take civil-service examinations at the particular government level you're going to work for. You can contact the Civil Service Commission to find out about the test requirements for the particular job you're applying for. The Internet is also a good place to look for these types of jobs; perusing them may also help you find out what you need to know before you apply for a particular job so as to give you a clearer idea of the types of testing and other qualifications you'll need to complete before you do so.
Public transportation companies and automobile manufacturers are also other places to find work as a transportation engineer.
Job outlook and compensation
The transportation industry is undergoing changes because of new technologies like fiber optics and electronic toll collection; this means that new engineers are going to be needed to implement these technologies on new or existing roadway systems. Job outlook, therefore, will be good for this type of work for the foreseeable future.
On average and across all sectors, transportation engineers made about $65,000 a year as of 2004.
