Engineer Assistant

The Marine Corps 1361 Engineer Assistant is the surveyor, drafter, and civil engineering technician inside Marine engineer units. 1361s run topographic and construction surveys with total stations, GPS receivers, and theodolites; produce site plans, vertical and horizontal construction drawings, and as-builts in AutoCAD and Civil 3D; perform soils and materials testing; and support geometric design for roads, airfields, base camps, and forward operating sites built by Marine Wing Support Squadrons (MWSS), Combat Engineer Battalions, and Naval Construction Force units when attached.

Training pipeline: 13 weeks of Marine Corps Recruit Training, then approximately 12 weeks of MOS-specific training at the Marine Combat Engineer School aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The 1361 course covers plane surveying, leveling, traverse computation, AutoCAD drafting, blueprint reading, materials testing fundamentals, and project drawing production. Common duty stations include Camp Lejeune, Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Okinawa, and 29 Palms, with deployments supporting MEU and MEB-level engineer projects worldwide.

What civilian employers value in this background is the rare combination of field survey work, drafting and CAD production, and project-level construction coordination in one resume. Most civilian survey crew members do not draft. Most CAD operators have never set up a total station. 1361s do both, plus the materials testing and construction inspection that ties survey data to finished work — a profile that maps cleanly to civil engineering technician, survey technician, drafter, and construction inspector roles in private industry and federal facilities engineering programs.

For a wider view of where Marine engineering MOSes land, see the career translation hub, or compare with the 1371 Combat Engineer and 1345 Engineer Equipment Operator career paths.

I worked across federal engineering after the Navy, and 1361s have one of the most direct paths into federal engineering technician work the Marine Corps produces. Surveying, drafting, AutoCAD, and civil engineering tech experience plus Marine engineer unit deployment work maps cleanly to the GS-0809 Construction Control, GS-0802 Engineering Technician, and GS-0810 Civil Engineering series at NAVFAC, USACE, and federal facilities engineering programs. The trick is showing the project work in civilian construction language, not Marine engineer command language. — Brad Tachi, Navy Diver veteran & BMR founder

The civilian market for 1361s splits across three main lanes: civil engineering and surveying firms, large construction and infrastructure contractors, and federal facilities engineering through NAVFAC, USACE, and base public works. Salary ranges from roughly $50K for entry survey tech work to $100K+ for construction managers with 8-10 years post-service experience and the right credentials.

Direct Civilian Career Paths

• Civil Engineering Technician — BLS median $60,640 (17-3022.00). The closest one-to-one match. Civil engineering firms hire 1361s into site plan review, construction drawing production, and field engineering support roles.
• Surveying and Mapping Technician — BLS median $50,090 (17-3031.00). Land surveying companies, utility surveying, and construction layout work. Total station and GPS receiver experience translates without friction.
• Architectural and Civil Drafter — BLS median $60,290 (17-3011.00). AutoCAD and Civil 3D experience plus construction drawing production maps directly. Civil drafting is the stronger lane for 1361s; architectural drafting is reachable with additional Revit work.
• CAD Operator / Drafting Technician — BLS median $60,290 (17-3019.00). Engineering and construction firms hire CAD operators on project teams to produce design drawings, as-builts, and revisions.
• Construction and Building Inspector — BLS median $69,790 (47-4011.00). Materials testing background plus survey and drafting experience maps to municipal, state, and private inspection work. ICC certification accelerates entry.
• Construction Manager — BLS median $104,900 (11-9021.00). Senior 1361s with project oversight experience and 5-8 years post-service plus PMP or AGC credentialing reach construction management roles in commercial and federal contracting.

Industry conditions vary by region and sector. Surveying is in long-term shortage — the average licensed land surveyor is over 55 and the field has not been filling pipeline at replacement rate, which means 1361s with field experience and a path toward licensure (LSIT then PLS) have unusually strong leverage. Civil engineering technician demand correlates with infrastructure spending, which has been elevated under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Construction inspection roles concentrate around metro areas with active building markets and around federal facilities.

For salary expectations across military-to-civilian paths, read Military to Civilian Salary: What You're Worth. 1361s share civilian destinations with the Army 12N Horizontal Construction Engineer and Navy EO Equipment Operator roles.

Build a tailored 1361 resume free in under 5 minutes — the AI handles the survey, drafting, and CAD translation automatically.

Federal engineering tech work is the strongest lane for 1361s by a wide margin. NAVFAC (Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command) and USACE (US Army Corps of Engineers) hire engineering technicians, construction control representatives, and survey-adjacent roles at every major installation, and Veterans' Preference plus directly relevant Marine engineer unit experience stacks well against civilian-only candidates. The catch is the federal resume — wrong format, wrong vocabulary, and the application sinks regardless of how strong the skill match looks.

GS Series Matches

• GS-0802 Engineering Technician — Strongest fit overall. Survey, drafting, materials testing, and construction support work all qualify under the 0802 standard. NAVFAC, USACE, GSA, NASA, and military installation public works hire 0802s in volume. Typical entry: GS-5 to GS-9 with progression to GS-11 and GS-12 with experience.
• GS-0809 Construction Control Technical — Direct match for 1361s with construction inspection or QA/QC experience on Marine Corps projects. NAVFAC ROICCs and USACE area offices use 0809s heavily for federal construction oversight. Typical: GS-7 to GS-11.
• GS-0810 Civil Engineering — For 1361s who have completed or are pursuing a civil engineering degree, the 0810 series opens the engineer career ladder. NAVFAC, USACE, FAA, and BLM hire 0810s for site design, construction drawings, and project engineering. Typical entry: GS-7 with degree, GS-9 to GS-13 with experience and PE.
• GS-1370 Cartography — Mapping, GIS, and geospatial work for federal agencies. USGS, NGA, USACE, and BLM hire 1370s. Total station, GPS, and topographic survey experience translates here. Typical: GS-7 to GS-11.
• GS-0150 Geography — Adjacent to 1370. Federal geospatial analysis, mapping, and land use work. Typical entry: GS-7 to GS-11.
• GS-1601 General Facilities and Equipment — Federal facilities management roles at every major installation. Construction support, project coordination, and base public works. Typical: GS-7 to GS-11.
• GS-1102 Contracting — A path many federal engineers don't initially consider. Veterans with construction project experience qualify for 1102 internships and entry-level contracting officer roles. Strong long-term lane with no degree required at entry. Typical entry: GS-7 to GS-9.
• GS-0301 Miscellaneous Administration and Program — Catch-all for senior NCO 1361s with program coordination, training, or admin experience that doesn't fit a single technical series. GS-7 to GS-11.

Veterans' Preference for 1361s

Most honorably discharged Marines qualify for 5-point preference, and disabled veterans qualify for 10-point preference (which can move applicants to the top of the cert for GS-9 and below). The preference is real but it works only if the resume gets you onto the cert in the first place. Federal HR specialists score against the qualification standard, and a strong skill match described in non-federal language frequently fails to score.

For the federal resume side, use the BMR federal resume builder or start your federal resume now.

If you're staying in surveying, civil engineering, or construction, your terminology translates directly — civil firms and survey companies use total stations, GPS receivers, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and materials testing in the same vocabulary the Marine Combat Engineer School taught you. This section is for 1361s targeting careers OUTSIDE direct field roles: project management, operations, GIS, manufacturing, or facilities work where the recruiter has never heard "MWSS" or "Combat Engineer Battalion."

Military-to-Civilian Language Translation

• Engineer Assistant (1361) → Civil Engineering Technician / Survey & Drafting Technician
• Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) Engineer Section → Field Engineering Project Team supporting expeditionary infrastructure construction
• Combat Engineer Battalion / 1361 Section → Engineering Support Unit conducting surveys, drafting, and project drawing production
• Total Station / Theodolite work → Precision Surveying Equipment Operations (electronic distance measurement, angular measurement)
• Plane Survey / Topographic Survey → Land Surveying / Topographic Mapping
• Geometric Design → Civil Site Geometric Design (roads, airfields, drainage)
• Construction Drawings / As-Builts → Project Drawings, Construction Documentation, Record Drawings
• Materials Testing → Construction Quality Assurance / Materials Quality Control Testing
• Project Drawing Production → CAD Production for Civil and Construction Projects
• Forward Operating Site Construction Support → Field Engineering Support for Remote Infrastructure Projects

Resume Bullet Examples

Before (Military): Conducted plane and topographic surveys for MWSS-372 forward operating site construction project using total station and GPS receiver. Produced project drawings and as-builts in AutoCAD.

After (Civilian Civil Engineering Technician): Performed topographic and construction layout surveys for $4.2M expeditionary infrastructure project using total station and GNSS GPS receivers. Produced site plans, grading plans, and as-built drawings in AutoCAD Civil 3D supporting design and construction teams.

Before (Military): Performed soils testing and concrete materials sampling in support of Combat Engineer Battalion vertical construction projects.

After (Civilian Construction Inspector): Conducted soils compaction testing and concrete materials sampling on commercial vertical construction projects valued at $2M+ to verify compliance with project specifications and applicable building codes.

Before (Military): Drafted geometric design drawings for an expeditionary airfield project supporting MEU operations.

After (Civilian Civil Drafter): Produced geometric design and grading drawings for a 5,000-foot airfield project including horizontal and vertical alignment, drainage layout, and pavement structure design in AutoCAD Civil 3D.

For the broader translation playbook, read 50 Military Terms Translated to Civilian Language and Convert NCOER, OER, or FITREP into Resume Bullets. Or skip ahead and let the military resume builder handle the translation.