Civil Engineering Salary in Nigeria (2023)

When you look around our environment and you see the physical design such as roads, railways, airports, bridges, harbours, dams, irrigation projects, power plants, and water and sewerage systems, the professional civil engineering comes to mind. The field of Civil engineering is popular in Nigeria and many students are still desirous to make a profession studying this course.

The salary of civil engineers in Nigeria begins from 120,000 Naira and can rise as high as 700,000 Naira per month.

What is Civil Engineer Salary in Nigeria?

Level Salary (Naira)
Entry Level 120,000
Experienced 700,000

Aside from the fun of designing and building, another prospect to consider before sailing your ship to voyage on this course is to consider if the salary paid monthly is worth it.

Civil Engineering Salary in Nigeria

Civil engineering is a field with many branches. To simply describe, it involves the design and building of the physical environment. These professionals are the brain behind every beautiful structure that we see in our environment.

To reiterate, they are responsible for designing and building the roads we travel on, the beautiful structures we live and work in, the bridges that connect different locations, stadiums, and every other beautiful edifice you see around us.

Because of the job description of this profession, it is an important field of study in Nigeria and it is expanding in recent times with diverse opportunities available for those interested to make the course a lifetime profession.

Aside from the prospect of civil engineering in Nigeria which of course is somewhat challenging because of the high number of students studying the course and the number of graduates yearly, the other possibility to consider is the salary.

The salary paid to civil engineers monthly is also another motivating factor to pursue this course. You will find out soon enough and then make your decision as to whether you still have an interest.

Salaries

Civil engineering is an amazing profession with diverse opportunities. However, you might be interested to know how much you can make as a civil engineer and to answer this question, the salary of civil engineers in Nigeria begins from 120,000 Naira and can rise as high as 700,000 Naira per month.

Although this is the typical salary range, the salary is subject to change because of different factors such as

  • Job levels
  • Years of work experience
  • The location of the organization you are employed
  • The organization you work
  • Academic qualification.

For instance, a civil engineer working in an oil and gas sector earns higher than those working in a building agency. Also, those with higher work experience earn higher than those with lesser or no work experience.

Putting this into consideration, your salary can be above the stated amount or can be lesser. So, you might want to put these factors into consideration when choosing the company, you wish to work.

Average Salary

Having provided you with information regarding the salary scale of civil engineers, you might also be interested to find out the average salary of this profession which is 200,000 Naira per month.

Entry Level Salary

The entry-level salary is the amount paid to new employees, especially graduates who just gained employment. The monthly salary paid to civil engineers in this category begins from 120,000 Naira to 150,000 Naira.

Additionally, the stated salary does not affect everyone correspondingly for the fact that some can earn lesser while some can earn higher considering the factors stated above.

Senior Level Salary

You are considered a senior-level staff if you have gained a considerable level of work experience, especially those who have gained gathered high work experience that is from 10-years and above.

Civil engineers’ senior-level salary is higher than the entry-level salary and average salary.

With that being said, the senior-level salary of civil engineers in Nigeria begins from 350,000 Naira. The senior-level salary tends to differ considering the above-mentioned factors.

That is to say, the salary can be higher than the stated amount or it can be lesser depending on which factor is considered in the organization where you are employed.

Where can they Work?

Civil engineering is a broad engineering field harbouring other sub-field. This means there are many branches such as material science and engineering, coastal engineering, construction engineering, structural engineering, and environmental engineering, among others.

Knowing these areas of specializations will help you make a wise choice of where you can work as a civil engineer as the area where you can best operate depends on your area of interest.

So, we have outlined below the several places where you can work as a civil engineer, and these include:

  • Construction companies
  • Manufacturing companies
  • Oil and gas sector
  • Research firms
  • Government agencies, etc.
  • Academic institutions.

These are some of the high profiled places where you can work and put your expertise to good use. So, look up the list and consider where you enjoy working and applying.

Types of Jobs available for Civil Engineer

In your journey to become a civil engineer, you also need to consider the job availability of this profession. It is not enough to conclude your study and you are unable to get a job because of the high demand.

To help you identify the types of jobs you can do, we have highlighted the list of job specializations that you can engage yourself in.

  • Architect
  • Building control surveyor
  • CAD technician
  • Civil Engineer
  • Civil Engineering Drafter
  • Civil Engineering Technologist
  • Consulting civil engineer
  • Contracting civil engineer
  • Design engineer
  • Engineering Inspectors and Regulatory Officers
  • Engineering Managers
  • Engineering Project Managers
  • Estimator
  • Senior Civil Engineer
  • Site engineer
  • Structural engineer
  • Water engineer

Typically, civil engineer specializes in a particular type of job or project so that they can give the maximum outcome. Now that you are aware of job specialization, you can also choose your specialised field.

Roles / Duties of Civil Engineer

Since the field of civil engineering is complex and broad, you might be wondering what is the role and duties of these professionals.

Considering the nature of civil engineering jobs, their role cannot be undermined. These professionals play an integral role in the design and building of a physical environment.

So, the role of civil engineers includes:

  • Create, improve and protect the environment
  • Plan, design and oversee construction projects
  • Maintenance of building structures and infrastructure
  • Conducting technical and feasibility studies
  • Developing detailed design using a range of computer software
  • Liaise with clients and a variety of professionals such as architects and subcontractors
  • Resolve design and development problems
  • Managing budgets and project resources
  • Evaluating project sustainability and environmental impact
  • Ensuring projects operate smoothly and that structures are built on time and within budget.

These are not all but the fundamental role a civil engineer plays

How to become a Civil Engineer

The civil engineering field is not one you become overnight. It takes hard work, dedication, and commitment. To become a civil engineer, you have to get formal training.

All, you need to do is to enrol in an academic institution that offers civil engineering courses for your training and as well get the necessary qualifications you need to become a certified civil engineer.

The essence of the training is to help you get the required knowledge and learn the skills you need. Also, during your training to become a qualified civil engineer, you are thought how to apply the needed techniques and other scientific fields to solve problems.

Required Skill to become a Civil Engineer

The field of civil engineering is an interesting profession. A degree in civil engineering can get a good job, but a degree is not all that is needed, you also need the skill to apply the knowledge you have learned.

So, through the learning of civil engineering, you are trained to have the necessary skills as well, these include:

  • Creative skill
  • Communication skills
  • Technical skill
  • Project management skill
  • Ability to pay attention to details
  • Ability to work with a team
  • Ability to design
  • Have an analytic mind
  • Time management skill
  • Possess management and leadership skills
  • Training and teaching skills

There you have the outlined required skills and possessing all of these skills will help you as a civil engineer attends to any problem related to design and construction.

More so, ensure that you hone your skills and remain up-to-date as well as continue to train yourself so that you’ll remain relevant in the field.

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Closing

The field of civil engineering is broad and further sub-divided into smaller fields. And from these fields, you can choose your specialization. Aside from the design and development ability of this profession, the monthly salary structure is another motivating attribute why you should opt to study this course. If you have an interest in designing and building, then civil engineering is your best shot and considering the salary payment for Civil Engineers in Nigeria, you have a stable career ahead of you.