Overview
Transportation careers play a significant role in protecting the residents of California and supporting the fourth largest economy in the world by making sure our roads are safe and bringing goods and services to California’s customers. From wildfire safety to driving healthy meals to elementary schools, these roles provide a direct impact on the safety and prosperity of communities of California.
What You Might Work On
In California state government, professionals in this field often:
- Operate complex specialized machinery or technical programs
- Manage or support large-scale infrastructure projects
- Research and perform technical analysis of data
- Work in large teams and coordinate across agencies, local partners and contractors
Is This a Good Fit?
While roles and responsibilities vary, you might enjoy this field if you:
- Can see yourself working on multimodal projects and engaging with multiple stakeholders
- Aim to support large programs that have direct safety implications for citizens
- Enjoy hands-on field experience and working with large teams in person
Job Classifications
What are job classifications?
Job classifications map to specific job titles found across California state government. A corresponding code maps to the required exam for that classification. For example, 00104768 is the code for Transportation Planner.
How to use them:
You can use the job classifications to search for positions on CalCareers in the classification section within the advanced search filter. You can also use key words to find roles in the search bar on the home page. Below is a list of common examples, but additional roles and classifications can be found on CalCareers.
| Exam Code | Classification Name | Common Keywords | Typical Responsibilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00104768 | Transportation Planner | Transportation Planner; Planner | In this entry level role, you may plan, develop, administer, evaluate and monitor transportation projects. You also may perform transportation studies, analyze policies and develop legislation related to transportation. |
| 00103029 | Transportation Surveyor | Transportation Surveyor; Surveyor | This entry level role determines and establishes boundaries of state-owned lands, provides photogrammetric mapping and topography and records maps. You may also conduct technical studies and investigations pertaining to land or engineering surveying, property titles, descriptions and deeds, and write memoranda and prepare reports. |
| 00106393 | Automotive Equipment Operator | Automotive Equipment Operator; Operator | This role operates, services, washes and makes minor adjustments and repairs to passenger vehicles, trucks, small-wheeled tractors and other automotive equipment. Another key duty is the transport of passengers or goods such as ice, food, furniture, freight, farm products, gravel or rubbish. |
| 00103189 | Rail Transportation Assistant | Rail Transportation Assistant | In this entry level role, you may conduct field surveys and investigations and assemble this data, such as ridership statistics, for the preparation of reports, documents and exhibits. This role may also evaluate operating and nonoperating practices and identify potential track and equipment problems. |
| 00106940 | Maintenance Mechanic | Maintenance Mechanic; Mechanic | After the completion of an apprenticeship in a mechanical trade, this role operates independent of supervision. In this role you may repair farm, shop and automotive equipment as well as minor building constructions. You may also inspect, maintain and repair plumbing, heating, water and electrical systems. |
| 00103175 | Transportation Engineering Technician | Transportation Engineering Technician; Technician; Engineer | In this role acts as an instrument person on highway or bridge location or construction stakeout surveys. Duties include keeping survey and construction notes, making inspections, performing field or laboratory physical tests of materials and compiling data for the design, construction, alteration, maintenance and operation of a wide variety of transportation engineering projects. |
Where You Could Work
State government is broad — so where do you start?
One approach is to focus on a type of role. Another is to focus on a mission area or the kind of impact you want to have (i.e., in public health, education, transportation or elsewhere).
Keep in mind: mission areas often span multiple agencies, so you may find relevant roles in places you wouldn’t expect!
Professionals in this field work across many state agencies depending on mission area, including:
- Aviation: California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection
- Construction & Management: California Department of Transportation
- Engineering: California Highway Patrol
- Maritime: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- Urban Planning & Architecture: California Department of Transportation
Examples of California Agencies with Transportation
Did you know you could have a Transportation career at one of these agencies? Note: This is not an exhaustive list of all the options in California state government, but a helpful starting place as you begin exploring your future Transportation career!
| Agency Name |
|---|
| California Board of Pilot Commissioners |
| California Department of Education |
| California Department of Fish and Wildlife |
| California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection |
| California Department of Transportation |
| California Department of Veterans Affairs |
| California Health Care Facility |
| California High-Speed Rail Authority |
| California Highway Patrol |
| California State Prisons and Correctional Facilities |
Sample Positions
Transportation Engineering Technician [00103175]
| Employer / agency | California Department of Transportation |
|---|---|
| Location(s) | Placer County |
| Mission context | The mission of CalTrans is to improve lives and communities through transportation. |
In this role, you may:
- Make field investigations and laboratory analysis of materials being used in construction projects and advise the resident engineer of problems or situations on project sites
- Check engineering calculations for accuracy, maintain office records for construction projects and assist in preparing contract change orders, contract estimates and other documents and reports involved in the construction of projects
- Use engineering and computer-oriented processes to compile data for the design, construction, alteration, maintenance and operation of a wide variety of transportation engineering projects
Transportation Surveyor [00103029]
| Employer / agency | California Department of Transportation |
|---|---|
| Location(s) | Orange County |
| Mission context | The mission of CalTrans is to improve lives and communities through transportation. |
In this role, you may:
- Perform survey research for in-house use, other agencies and the public
- Perform coordination and target setting of photogrammetry mapping project
- Lead project planning, logistics, scanning, post-processing and project delivery with specialized data mapping tools
Motor Carrier Specialist [00103930]
| Employer / agency | California Highway Patrol |
|---|---|
| Location(s) | Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Napa, Marin, Santa Clara counties |
| Mission context | The mission of the California Highway Patrol is to provide the highest level of safety, service and security. |
In this role, you may:
- Perform inspections and evaluations of school buses, general public paratransit vehicles, farm labor vehicles, buses, trucks, truck tractors, pull-trailers and semi-trailers
- Inspect motor carriers for compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements relating to safety, maintenance and operational practices
- Prepare comprehensive written reports of inspections conducted and make detailed investigations of vehicles involved in accidents
