How to become a Transportation Planner

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$76k $76k
35k 35k
-2.0% -2.0%
2.6/5 2.6/5
Bachelors Bachelors

Table of Contents

  1. How to become a Transportation Planner
  2. What are Transportation Planners like?
  3. Are Transportation Planners happy?
  4. Education history of Transportation Planners

Overview

Aspiring transportation planners can gain practical experience while still in school through an internship, where grant proposals and reports would have to be researched and written and maps drawn. A bachelor's degree in logistics, civil engineering, planning, economics, geography, public policy, or a related field is often necessary. For management or higher positions, a master's degree is usually preferred, and several years of relevant experience may be expected of applicants.

A knowledge of transportation-related laws is beneficial, as well as familiarity with the social and economic conditions of a location. Certification by a professional body is typically required for employment as a transportation planner, as well as extensive knowledge of best practices, cost and benefits in transportation. Excellent oral and written communication, analytical, interpersonal, negotiation, and organizational skills are also other requirements for the job.

In their day-to-day work, complex problems must be solved, which involves identifying priorities. Therefore, understanding and explaining models will be a key aspect in the job as a transportation planner. Transportation planners can expect little or no supervision so they must have the quality of being proactive. The need for teamwork involves facilitating collaboration between individuals from many different disciplines, some of whom are of expert stature such as city planners, engineers, and environmental managers. That is why there is a requirement for good leadership skills, self confidence, and the desire to achieve results. Because their job can be demanding, transportation planners must be emotionally mature and patient enough to handle the pressures of the job.

What are Transportation Planners like?

Investigative

Based on our pool of users, transportation planners tend to be predominately investigative people. Take our career test to see what career interest category best describes you.

Transportation Planners by Strongest Interest Archetype

Based on sample of 92 Sokanu users

Are Transportation Planners happy?

6%Happy

Transportation planners rank among the least happy careers. Overall they rank in the 6th percentile of careers for satisfaction scores.

Transportation Planner Career Satisfaction by Dimension

Percentile among all careers

Education History of Transportation Planners

The most common degree held by transportation planners is Business Management And Administration. 5% of transportation planners had a degree in business management and administration before becoming transportation planners. That is over 1 times the average across all careers. Civil Engineering graduates are the second most common among transportation planners, representing 4% of transportation planners in the Sokanu user base, which is 10.8 times the average.

Transportation Planner Education History

This table shows which degrees people earn before becoming a Transportation Planner, compared to how often those degrees are obtained by people who earn at least one post secondary degree.

Degree % of transportation planners % of population Multiple
Business Management And Administration 5.3% 5.6% 1.0×
Civil Engineering 4.3% 0.4% 10.8×
Transportation Science 4.3% 0.0% 217.2×
Geography 4.3% 0.5% 8.0×
English Literature 3.2% 4.1% 0.8×
Economics 3.2% 3.3% 1.0×

Transportation Planner Education Levels

71% of transportation planners have a bachelor's degree. 29% of transportation planners have a master's degree.

No education 0%
High school diploma 0%
Associate's degree 0%
Bachelor's degree 71%
Master's degree 29%
Doctorate degree 0%

How to Become a Transportation Planner

Think you might be interested in becoming a Transportation Planner? Here are your next steps.

  1. Take the Sokanu Career Test

    Would you make a good transportation planner? Sokanu's free assessment reveals how compatible you are with a career across 5 dimensions!

    Take the free career test
  2. Get the Education
    Mark Complete

    • Delaware Technical Community College-Terry | Dover, DE
      Offers: Associates
    • Delaware Technical Community College-Stanton/Wilmington | Wilmington, DE
      Offers: Certificate, Associates
    • Delaware State University | Dover, DE
      Offers: Bachelors
    • University of Delaware | Newark, DE
      Offers: Bachelors
    • Goldey-Beacom College | Wilmington, DE
      Offers: Bachelors
  3. Get Hired
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Find your perfect career

Would you make a good transportation planner? Sokanu's free assessment reveals how compatible you are with a career across 5 dimensions!

80% Match?
Take the free career test

Should I be a Transportation Planner?

Think you might be interested in becoming a Transportation Planner? Here are your next steps.

  1. Take the Sokanu Career Test

    Would you make a good transportation planner? Sokanu's free assessment reveals how compatible you are with a career across 5 dimensions!

    Take the free career test
  2. Get the Education
    Mark Complete

    • Delaware Technical Community College-Terry | Dover, DE
      Offers: Associates
    • Delaware Technical Community College-Stanton/Wilmington | Wilmington, DE
      Offers: Certificate, Associates
    • Delaware State University | Dover, DE
      Offers: Bachelors
    • University of Delaware | Newark, DE
      Offers: Bachelors
    • Goldey-Beacom College | Wilmington, DE
      Offers: Bachelors
  3. Get Hired
    • Loading jobs...
    View all jobs →