What is Civil Engineering?
Many civil engineers are employed in each of the areas listed below.
- Structural design and construction of buildings
- Structural design and construction of bridges
- Highway and street design and construction
- Airport design and construction
- Light and heavy railroad design and construction
- Water distribution system design,construction and operation
- Wastewater collection system design, construction and operation
- Earthen and concrete dam design and construction
- Storm water collection and treatment system design and construction
- Water resources design, construction and operation
- Foundation design and construction
- Retaining wall design and construction
- Water treatment plant design, construction and operation
- Wastewater treatment plant design, construction and operation
- Groundwater collection system design and construction
- Geographic information system (GIS) design and application
- Water quality management design and application
- Hazardous waste remediation system design and construction
- Solid waste disposal system design and construction
- Environmental management design and application
- Canal design and construction
- Hydrologic system design and application
- Residential development design and construction
Civil engineers collect field data, use the design process to find the best solution to a problem, prepare plans and specifications if a structural solution is chosen, supervise the construction of the structural solution, and sometimes collect data after a solution has been implemented to make sure the problem is solved.
Occasionally, someone asks why we are called "civil" engineers. We have been told that the original engineers designed forts, bridges, and roads for the military and were called "military" engineers. When engineers began using those skills for civilian purposes, we became known as "civil" engineers. Sometimes we are called "infrastructure" engineers because we design, build and operate most of the infrastructure you use every day.
Some civil engineers claim that the other major engineering disciplines, e.g. mechanical and electrical engineering, evolved from civil engineering. We are not sure about the truth of that claim, but the current structure and evolution pattern of civil engineering indicate the claim might be true. For example, structural engineers, environmental engineers, transportation engineers, water resource engineers, geotechnical engineers, hydraulic engineers, and many hydrologists are civil engineers; and some of those specialty areas are large enough to become engineering disciplines outside of civil engineering.
Some typical activities of civil engineers are listed below.
- Collect field data such as soil characteristics, traffic counts, water and wastewater quality and quantity, surveying, etc.
- Perform laboratory analyses
- Evaluate laboratory and field data
- Perform calculations
- Write reports presenting collected data and results
- Use the design process to find solutions to problems
- Write design reports
- Prepare drawings and specifications,
- Make written and oral presentations to the public and the owners
- Provide communication and liaison within the engineering team
- Provide communication and liaison between the engineering team, the owners and the public
- Investigate and write reports on structural and operational problems
Most civil engineering projects are developed by teams so being able to work well in a team environment is an important characteristic of a civil engineer.
Many civil engineers work outside and often in wild areas. Civil engineers also produce structural solutions such as buildings, bridges, treatment plants, etc., that will continue providing a better quality of life for many years after they are gone.
To learn more about civil engineering, visit the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) website at http://www.asce.org/.
You can find more information about civil engineering careers past/present/future here.