Civil Engineering as an Occupation

Civil engineers may manage the maintenance of public or private buildings, oversee tasks to direct construction in an area, regulate buildings according to law, analyze the cost of building a structure, analyze environmental hazards that may be present, and test building materials that can be used in a specific project. Civil engineers need to have great decision making skills because they have to frequently work on multiple conflicting goals.

Also, they have to have proficient math skills so that they can design and analyze accurately. Additionally, they have to have great leadership skills because they have to take responsibility for the projects they are doing and must lead surveyors to execute their plans correctly. Furthermore, civil engineers need decent organization skills to make sure that they are evaluating their work at the job site. Lastly, civil engineers must have excellent writing skills because communication is valuable. They must write clear reports so that people without an engineering degree can follow the plan.2 Industrial fields that civil engineers may work in is transportation, construction, and energy. As far as specific subfields, civil engineers can work in structural, environmental, transportation, water resources, construction, or urban planning engineering. Civil engineering is a very broad major, so there are even more subfields that are not listed. Transportation engineers deal with designing and constructing highways, railroads, and mass transit systems.

Construction engineers operate and manage construction projects. They also design and progress building techniques and materials that are safer, more reliable, and more environmentally friendly. Environmental engineers are concerned with the disposal of certain wastes, which can include residential or industrial waste.4 Numerous civil engineers are hired by Delta Airport Consultants Incorporated, Bowers + Kubota Consulting, CRW Engineering Group LLC, and Simpson Gumpertz & Heger. Delta Airport Consultants Inc. is centralized in Richmond, Virginia with about fifty-six employees. Bowers + Kubota Consulting has about 120 employees and is located in Waipahu, Hawaii.

CRW Engineering Group LLC has fifty-eight employees and is centralized in Anchorage, Alaska. Simpson Gumpertz & Heger is located in Waltham, Massachusetts with about 409 employees. Simpson Gumpertz & Heger is the oldest of the companies listed. It was established in 1956.3 In 2013, civil engineers started at an average salary of $57,300. The twenty-fifth percentile showed that they make $46,500, and the seventy-fifth percentile shows that they make $67,800 when starting a new job.4 I chose civil engineering because when I did a lot of researching, it seemed like the best option of engineering that suited my interests and skills. Regarding interests, I was looking towards doing civil engineering because it would be interesting to learn how certain buildings have to meet all of these regulations.

Also, I was thinking of doing environmental engineering as a minor under civil engineering because I think it would be interesting to design projects that can protect the environment in some way or to see if certain companies are not meeting environmental standards. Additionally, I am interested in the biology and chemistry field, but I did not want to do a job that was completely centralized around biology and/or chemistry. Regarding skills, I have been proficient at math in high school and decent at writing. So, I assume that civil engineering is a realistic field to study. I did not want to try an unrealistic major and then have to switch later on. That could still happen, but at least I know that civil engineering is realistic concerning the skills need to be one.