Transportation PLANNER vs. ENGINEER: What's the Difference?

I explain the difference between transportation planners and transportation engineers. What is their typical responsibilities? What responsibilities can overlap? How are their career paths different?

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[gj]

I was recently hired as a public sector transportation planner in the U.S.

My tips for people who are interested in breaking into this field are as follows:

1.) Focus on Transportation - Most planning degree programs in the U.S. are focused on urban/land use planning. While there is some overlap between transportation planning and its sister disciplines, there are major differences. Transportation planning is more analytical, is tied to complex funding mechanisms, and requires a higher degree of cross-collaboration with engineers and regional organizations. When you are in your degree program, seek out cognate areas like GIS, statistics, and modeling if you can. Courses in project management may also help you stand out.

2.) Seek advanced education - Almost all of my colleagues have advanced degrees up to the PhD level, while this is not necessary, having a Masters Degree in Planning or Geography will help you to stand out from other applicants. Many really wonderful and excellent transportation planners do not have a graduate degree, but it is getting harder to break in with only an undergrad background.

3.) Be enthusiastic - Most of us are transportation enthusiasts. Don't be afraid to geek out about your favorite travel modes or models, it will help you to stand out from the pack.

4.) Get your foot in the door - Contact your local transportation planning office and let them know that you would be happy to volunteer or, if it is offered, that you would love to do an internship. This helped me get my foot in the door and has helped lots of other people I know as well.

5.) Consider your future - This is something that I am still doing. There are lots of very valuable certificates out there that can enhance your resume. The biggest is the AICP, but the GISP and PMP are also good ones. Engineers, of course, can get the PE. While you can't get most of these right away, you can let your employer know that you are interested in attaining them and even commit to a timeline. Agencies like go-getters, and it adds public legitimacy when their staff are credentialed.

[Donot]

You should make a video on the job progression for a traffic engineer.

[mileswittig]

Very straightforward and informative, thanks for the breakdown

[davidgarza]

Thanks Byron great breakdown of the overlaps and differences. Transportation Planner in the service firm space here and I would also add lots of collaboration between the two roles on report writing, documentation, and developing study purpose and need documents trying to answer the “why” for a planning engagement.

[kumadake-]

Hello, Thank you for making this video. I'm a Mech Engineering student looking to go into the transportation industry. Hearing the explanation on what transport planning/engineers are was very helpful.

[Earth]

Wow....What a brilliant explanation!!! Very clear, informative, well organized, no stupid jokes to interrupt the flow, yet very nice and interesting. Keep up the good work!!

[iannewman]

Hi Byron, thanks for such a great video! I work as a transportation planner in a suburban region and this is a great summary of what I've found to be a harder profession to explain to people. I'm wondering though, if you could offer some insight on induced demand and whether or not planning for the widening of roadways is really just an overall waste of time and resources due to this phenomena. It's an issue I've been struggling with in my planning career to date. Thanks so much!

[joshuahill]

Which occupation would research & develop public transport routes? E.G. See the viability and potential, and develops an efficient route based on the needs & budget?

I am looking at Urban Planning BA then Masters but Civil Engineering BA can then go onto a Transportation Engineering Masters.

[techwithtee]

Found this video helpful

What's the Title and the author of the transport textbook you used for the makeup of this video?

[matthewclarke]

Good discussion. But you left out an important aspect. Civil Engineering is a licensed profession preventing unlicensed individuals from practicing it. Planning isn't licensed. Civil Engineers can do transportation planning but not the other way around. Further, when a senior transportation engineer tackles high level / early stage planning, they bring a wealth of technical experience that can prevent problems down the road. Unlicensed planners are much more likely to plan for the impossible and cost a government agency a project that could have been avoided.

[blakemcnamara]

I like both the planning and the design but I'm terrible at math so I guess I'm going more in the planning direction.

[transportplanner]

Thanks for sharing the video related to traffic engineering, I'm really keen to learn traffic engineering, how can I contact you?

[mvershis]

Byron, What would be the difference between a Transportation planner who works for the Federal government vs state or private sector? Also same with Engineer. For those looking at job postings and wondering if that specific job, which has a vague description, is actually the right fit for their experience. Thanks for the video it was great!

[ME]

What is the name of the text book you were flipping through showing travel demand modeling ?

[soksahas]

woww this is really useful for me. I definitely incline more to transportation planning, looking at things in a big picture. However, as you mentioned about going from transportation engineer to planner, I am wondering if that applies to the master degree too. I meant if I want to go to grad school in transportation, should I choose transportation planning degree or transportation engineering degree given that I want to end up in transportation planning? I am not sure if you get my question.

[marpeletayt]

Wooow thank you very much for this video. It helped me a lot now that I need to choose my university degree!😄

[mohjaber]

Could please make a video about the difference between Environmental engineers and environmental scientists? Thanks in advance 🥇💙

[alexh.]

Hi Mr. Tang! I've always really enjoyed your videos and found them very helpful. I am currently a high school senior who was recently admitted into a UC for structural engineering and another UC for civil engineering. I'm currently trying to decide between the two and wanted to ask: would a degree in structural engineering prevent me from working in transportation and/or traffic engineering versus having a degree in civil engineering? I've always been interested in this field and would prefer to not cut off any options.

Thank you so much!

[dineshm]

What is the book you showed in your video

[Marc]

Hi Mr. Tang, hope you’re well. This is unrelated to today’s video but I was hoping to ask if you have any advice for me as a student who is starting their first traffic engineering internship. I know the company uses simulation modeling softwares such as VISSIM. Should I be honing my skills in the program mentioned above or should I wait to see the specific tasks that I will be assigned and then work from there? Also, how does one make a traffic engineering internship as fruitful of an experience as it can be? Thank you for your time, Mr. Tang.