Civil Engineer

Career Overview

Civil engineers plan, design, and oversee the construction, maintenance, and improvement of infrastructure such as buildings, bridges, roads, transportation systems, water and wastewater systems, airports, dams, and other public and private projects. They use engineering principles, mathematics, computer-aided design, and project planning to create safe, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure.

Education

A bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or a related engineering field is the typical educational pathway. University programs commonly include mathematics, physics, engineering science, structural engineering, materials, surveying, fluid mechanics, and computer-aided design. Practical experience through internships, co-op programs, or field placements can also be valuable. Professional licensing or registration may be required to practise as a professional engineer or approve engineering work.

Future Outlook

Civil engineering should continue to offer opportunities as communities expand and existing infrastructure requires construction, maintenance, repair, and modernization. Demand is supported by transportation projects, buildings, water and wastewater systems, bridges, renewable-energy infrastructure, and other large-scale development. Civil engineers with skills in sustainable design, infrastructure planning, CAD/BIM, data analysis, project management, and emerging engineering technologies can be well positioned for changing industry needs.

Work Environment

Civil engineers divide their time between offices and construction or project sites. Office work can include engineering design, calculations, technical drawings, modelling, project planning, and report writing. At project sites, engineers may inspect construction, solve technical problems, coordinate with contractors, and monitor progress. Some projects require travel or work outside regular hours to meet deadlines.

Recommended High School Courses

Chemistry
Computer Science
Physics
Communication
Computer-aided Design Competency
Advanced Functions
Mathematics

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Material Resources - Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Speed of Closure - The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Inspect facilities or sites to determine if they meet specifications or standards.
Estimate technical or resource requirements for development or production projects.
Recommend technical design or process changes to improve efficiency, quality, or performance.
Design systems to reduce harmful emissions.
Test characteristics of materials or structures.
Direct construction activities.
Estimate operational costs.
Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
Create graphical representations of civil structures.
Develop technical methods or processes.
Investigate the environmental impact of projects.
Explain project details to the general public.
Incorporate green features into the design of structures or facilities.
Prepare proposal documents.
Coordinate safety or regulatory compliance activities.
Evaluate technical data to determine effect on designs or plans.
Implement design or process improvements.
Analyze operational data to evaluate operations, processes or products.

Schools

Angelo State University

Arizona State University

Auburn University

Bob Jones University

Boise State University

Bradley University

Brigham Young University-...

Cal Poly Pomona

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Carnegie Mellon Universit...

City College Of New York

Clarkson University

Cleveland State Universit...

College Of New Jersey

Colorado Mesa University

Colorado School Of Mines

Colorado State University...

Columbus State Community...

Cooper Union

Delaware Technical And Co...

Drexel University

Duke University

Embry-riddle Aeronautical...

Florida Agricultural And...

Florida Atlantic Universi...

Florida Gulf Coast Univer...

Florida Institute Of Tech...

Florida International Uni...

Florida State University

George Washington Univers...

Georgia Institute Of Tech...

Georgia Southern Universi...

Hope College

Howard University

Illinois Institute Of Tec...

Kansas State University-...

Lafayette College

Lamar University

Lawrence Technological Un...

Lehigh University

Louisiana Tech University

Loyola Marymount Universi...

Manhattan College

Massachusetts Institute O...

Merrimack College

Michigan Technological Un...

Missisippi State Universi...

Missouri University Of Sc...

Montana State University-...

Montgomery College- Rockv...

New England Institute Of...

New Jersey Institute Of T...

New Mexico State Universi...

New York University

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Norwich University

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Olivet Nazarene Universit...

Oregon Institute Of Techn...

Oregon State University

Pennsylvania State Univer...

Portland State University

Princeton University

Purdue University- Northw...

Quinnipiac University

Rensselaer Polytechnic In...

Rose-hulman Institute Of...

Rowan University

San Francisco State Unive...

Santa Clara University

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Southern University And A...

Stevens Institute Of Tech...

Suny At Stony Brook

Suny Polytechnic Institut...

Tennessee Tech University

Texas A & M University- K...

Trine University

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United States Coast Guard...

United States Military Ac...

University Of Alabama - B...

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University Of Detroit Mer...

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University Of North Flori...

University Of Northwester...

University Of Rhode Islan...

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University Of Texas- El P...

University Of Texas- Tyle...

University Of Toledo

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Utah State University

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Virginia Tech

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Widener University

William Jewell College

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York College Of Pennsylva...

Dalhousie University

Lakehead University- O...

Lakehead University- T...

Mcmaster University

Memorial University

Metro College Of Techn...

Polytechnique Montréal

Red River College- Not...

Royal Military College...

St. Peter's College

University Of Alberta

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University Of Saskatch...

University Of Sherbroo...

University Of Toronto-...

University Of Victoria

University Of Windsor-...

Western University

Concordia University- L...

Toronto Metropolitan Univ...

USA

Canada

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Approx Salary Expectation

Low End:

$62,000.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$100,000.00 /yr

High End:

$150,000.00 /yr

Related Careers

Materials Engineering

Environmental Engineer

Carpenter

Environmental Engineer

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
WorkBC's Career Trek, http://www.careertrekbc.ca/.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.