By Marsha D. Anderson Bomar, Ph.D., AICP, ENV SP, F.ITE, NAE, F.ASCE
Civil engineering is a profession built on tackling issues that impact people’s lives, strengthening communities, and shaping the world. As we look toward the future, ASCE must lead with intention to attract, inspire, prepare, and support the next generation of civil engineers. Growing the full talent pipeline is not simply an initiative, but rather our responsibility to the profession and to society.
Our work begins long before students understand what this thing called engineering means. Through ASCE’s PreCollege Outreach program, we provide members with training, ready-to-use activities, and structured pathways to engage young students. These tools help us show young learners that engineering is all about problem-solving, being a good detective, and then bringing novel ideas to solve future problems. By working with community organizations as well as our sections and branches, we concentrate on our impact at the local level, ensuring a steady stream of community contact, which allows us to share our interesting stories or offer activities that spark curiosity and sustain interest.
As college students graduate, leave their ASCE student chapters, and get their first jobs, our role as a professional association becomes even more critical. We make it easy for early-career engineers to earn credentials, whether on the way to becoming a P.E. or at any point when they’re just starting out. Our continuing education offerings include live online courses, on-demand training, exam preparation, certificate programs, and the All-Access Pass, which provides unlimited access to more than 400 webinars. These resources ensure that young professionals can build the skills they need when they need them. Sections and branches provide additional opportunities at the local level to grow.
Certification plays a vital role in elevating civil engineering excellence and reinforcing public trust. ASCE’s Civil Engineering Certification program is the only board certification created by us and for us. It recognizes advanced expertise across specialties and validates essential professional skills aligned with the Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge. Yet credentials alone are not enough; trust is also built through communication. When an engineer knows the technical details and can express them in conversational language, the public gains confidence in the message and the messenger.
As society evolves, civil engineering workforce development must evolve with it. ASCE’s Committee on Workforce and Education has been streamlined and empowered to guide these efforts, with the goal of ensuring our programs keep pace with emerging technologies, new standards, and societal needs. The committee must also address a critical demographic challenge: With a shrinking population, the pool of people available to choose engineering is shrinking, and by 2030, 1 in 3 positions will remain unfilled if we do not act boldly now. We must be more consistent in initiatives that broaden pathways, strengthen retention, improve curricula, and modernize teaching methods. We need to make engineering more relevant, exciting, and accessible to the diverse talent our future requires.
Transforming education and attracting talent are long-term commitments that will shape the strength and resilience of civil engineering for decades to come. Together, by investing our time, knowledge, and resources, we are building a thriving pipeline of engineers ready to solve the challenges of tomorrow.
Marsha D. Anderson Bomar, Ph.D., AICP, ENV SP, F.ITE, NAE, F.ASCE, is the commissioner emeritus for the City of Atlanta Department of Transportation. She is the 2025-26 ASCE president.
This article first appeared in the July/August 2026 issue of Civil Engineering.
