GADSDEN, AL — Gadsden State Community College has become the only two‑year institution in Alabama to offer a program in civil engineering technology, giving students a direct path into one of the state’s most in‑demand technical careers. Housed on the East Broad Campus, the program supplies hands‑on training in AutoCAD design, surveying, highway layout and construction inspection — skills program instructor Marshall Bailey says employers need immediately.
“The Civil Engineering Technology Program is perfect for students who want to go straight into the workforce or transfer to a four‑year university,” Bailey said. “We focus on the training and skills that employers are looking for right now.”
Students may pursue an Associate in Applied Science degree requiring 76 credit hours, a long‑form certificate requiring 44 credit hours or a short‑term certificate that concentrates 26 hours entirely on technical courses. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, civil engineering technologists and technicians with an associate degree earn a median annual salary of $60,700, and graduates routinely secure positions as field survey technicians, CAD technicians and construction inspectors or move on to bachelor’s programs in civil engineering.
Bailey, a summa cum laude graduate of the same program before earning a bachelor’s degree at Troy University, joined the faculty in 2019 and has overseen enrollment growth of more than 150 percent since then. “Gadsden State gave me the foundation I needed academically and professionally,” he said. “Now I have the honor of doing the same for my students.”
The program also qualifies for Gadsden State’s Dual Enrollment initiative, which lets high school sophomores, juniors and seniors with at least a 2.0 grade‑point average earn college and high school credit simultaneously. Bailey called the option “a fantastic opportunity for students to get a head start on a meaningful, high‑paying career.”
Classes for the next cohort begin in August, and advising appointments are already open. Details on the Civil Engineering Technology curriculum are available on the college’s technical programs webpage; information on dual enrollment is listed separately on the college site.
