Civil engineers design, plan and supervise the construction of our physical
environment. This environment may include roads, buildings, bridges, harbors,
water and waste systems, tunnels and airports.
"Civil engineers are responsible for planning, designing, building, operating
and maintaining infrastructure," says civil engineer Vic Perry.
"It's the infrastructure that provides the quality of life," says Perry.
"The water, the food, the movement of goods and people. And if you don't
have that quality infrastructure you can't provide the quality of life to
people. So by practicing civil engineering you're really helping people and
society raise its quality of life."
There's a big difference between the structure of an airport and a sewer
system, so civil engineers often specialize in certain areas.
Here are some of the main specialties in civil engineering:
- Environmental engineers design systems and structures to help humans
dispose of waste. Their projects might include recycling plants, water filtration
systems or garbage landfills.
- Geotechnical engineers use their geological knowledge to study
land sites. They look at the ground rock and layers of soil to decide if a
structure will be safe on a particular site. One of the main considerations
for people in this field is the effect of natural disasters on buildings and
roadways.
- Structural engineers plan and design all types of buildings, bridges
and industrial structures -- for example, power plants, nuclear reactors,
television towers and radar facilities.
- Hydraulic engineers design and plan structures like dams, reservoirs
or wells that harness and distribute water.
- Transportation engineers are responsible for the creation of highways
and mass-transit systems like subways or commuter trains.
- Construction engineers apply their engineering knowledge directly
to the construction business as contractors.
No matter what their specialty, civil engineers have fairly similar duties.
They discuss design issues with contractors, architects and manufacturers.
They create and research designs and plans on computers. They visit the sites
where structures will be built.
A civil engineer must have a complete understanding of the theory of civil
engineering, along with design and design standards. This is essential because
lives depend on their work.
"Once you're practicing, you see what you're doing, and it's very clear...
how it impacts society," says Perry. "You build a new water system, you're
designing a pipe system or a dam or a water treatment plant -- it's very clear.
You know what that's for and who it benefits and the impact it has on the
public.
"And as a structural engineer, if you design a bridge and if you don't
design that bridge to perform and it fails, you're affecting people's lives
directly," Perry adds. "People are killed when a bridge collapses. The same
if you're designing a stadium or any structure for that matter. People's lives
are at stake."
Civil engineers usually work a 35- to 40-hour week, although larger projects
may demand longer hours. Except for construction engineers, most people work
in an office environment doing non-manual work.
"It's mostly office work," says civil engineer Tina Adams. "[But] there
are opportunities in civil engineering if you want to be focused in construction
and be out in the field. All the big contractors need civil engineers on their
crews, helping them do the paperwork, helping them solve the logistical problems
of how to build something that has been designed by somebody else.
"So there is a large opportunity out there for people that want to be out
in the field or be more outdoors with what they're doing, but the large majority
of civil engineers are in the office the bulk of the time or in meetings a
lot of the time," says Adams. "You're not always just designing. That's where
a lot of the presenting and communication comes in -- all the different meetings
that you have to have with clients."
Civil engineers spend time on building sites because site assessments are
a necessary part of any project. This can mean traveling to the country or
region where the project is being done.
Civil engineers work for consulting firms, government agencies, universities,
construction firms, power companies and insurance agencies. Many civil engineers
are self-employed, working as engineering consultants or as construction contractors.
Civil engineers are a necessary part of modern society. The quality of
their work affects everyone who travels on roads, over bridges or on trains,
or anyone who disposes of waste, uses mining materials or likes clean water.
Basically, civil engineers improve the quality of life for everyone.
These days, engineers are very often managers of technology and team leaders.
This makes them "knowledge workers." So engineers must have business and interpersonal
skills along with technical skills.