4 answers
Michael
Student
Lynn, Massachusetts
1
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What are some things you do as a civil engineer?
I am Junior in Kipp Academy and Im really interested in civil engineering because I want to be able to help improve our environment.
#civil-engineering #career-path # #engineering
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4 answers
Michael Colletti
3
Answers
Updated
Michael’s Answer
When I was in college, studying civil engineering, I was really interested in the projects we were studying - bridges, tunnels, stadiums, major public projects. I liked how the projects were large scale, and were things that were going to help the communities where they were being built (to provide better transportation, more efficient systems, etc.).
Nattakarn Alkire
52
Answers
Updated
Nattakarn’s Answer
Hello, Michael.
Please see the link below for more information about the Civil Engineer Job. There are a lot of good information on this page. You can also search for a different field of the engineering on this page as well. Please see below for more details.
Architecture and Engineering Occupations:
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/home.htm
Civil Engineers:
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/civil-engineers.htm#tab-2
What Civil Engineers Do:
Civil engineers design major transportation projects.
Civil engineers conceive, design, build, supervise, operate, construct and maintain infrastructure projects and systems in the public and private sector, including roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and systems for water supply and sewage treatment. Many civil engineers work in planning, design, construction, research, and education.
Duties
Civil engineers typically do the following:
Analyze long range plans, survey reports, maps, and other data to plan and design projects
Consider construction costs, government regulations, potential environmental hazards, and other factors during the planning and risk-analysis stages of a project
Compile and submit permit applications to local, state, and federal agencies, verifying that projects comply with various regulations
Oversee and analyze the results of soil testing to determine the adequacy and strength of foundations
Analyze the results of tests on building materials, such as concrete, wood, asphalt, or steel, for use in particular projects
Prepare cost estimates for materials, equipment, or labor to determine a project’s economic feasibility
Use design software to plan and design transportation systems, hydraulic systems, and structures in line with industry and government standards
Perform or oversee surveying operations to establish building locations, site layouts, reference points, grades, and elevations to guide construction
Manage the repair, maintenance, and replacement of public and private infrastructure
Civil engineers also must present their findings to the public on topics such as bid proposals, environmental impact statements, or property descriptions.
Many civil engineers hold supervisory or administrative positions ranging from supervisor of a construction site to city engineer, public works director, and city manager. As supervisors, they are tasked with ensuring that safe work practices are followed at construction sites.
Other civil engineers work in design, construction, research, and teaching. Civil engineers work with others on projects and may be assisted by civil engineering technicians.
Civil engineers prepare permit documents for work on projects in renewable energy. They verify that the projects will comply with federal, state, and local requirements. These engineers conduct structural analyses for large-scale photovoltaic, or solar energy, projects. They also evaluate the ability of solar array support structures and buildings to tolerate stresses from wind, seismic activity, and other sources. For large-scale wind projects, civil engineers often prepare roadbeds to handle large trucks that haul in the turbines.
Civil engineers work on complex projects, and they can achieve job satisfaction in seeing the project reach completion. They usually specialize in one of several areas.
Construction engineers manage construction projects, ensuring that they are scheduled and built in accordance with plans and specifications. These engineers typically are responsible for the design and safety of temporary structures used during construction. They may also oversee budgetary, time-management, and communications aspects of a project.
Geotechnical engineers work to make sure that foundations for built objects ranging from streets and buildings to runways and dams, are solid. They focus on how structures built by civil engineers, such as buildings and tunnels, interact with the earth (including soil and rock). In addition, they design and plan for slopes, retaining walls, and tunnels.
Structural engineers design and assess major projects, such as buildings, bridges, or dams, to ensure their strength and durability.
Transportation engineers plan, design, operate, and maintain everyday systems, such as streets and highways, but they also plan larger projects, such as airports, ship ports, mass transit systems, and harbors.
The work of civil engineers is closely related to the work of environmental engineers.
Please see the link below for more information about the Civil Engineer Job. There are a lot of good information on this page. You can also search for a different field of the engineering on this page as well. Please see below for more details.
Architecture and Engineering Occupations:
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/home.htm
Civil Engineers:
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/civil-engineers.htm#tab-2
What Civil Engineers Do:
Civil engineers design major transportation projects.
Civil engineers conceive, design, build, supervise, operate, construct and maintain infrastructure projects and systems in the public and private sector, including roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and systems for water supply and sewage treatment. Many civil engineers work in planning, design, construction, research, and education.
Duties
Civil engineers typically do the following:
Analyze long range plans, survey reports, maps, and other data to plan and design projects
Consider construction costs, government regulations, potential environmental hazards, and other factors during the planning and risk-analysis stages of a project
Compile and submit permit applications to local, state, and federal agencies, verifying that projects comply with various regulations
Oversee and analyze the results of soil testing to determine the adequacy and strength of foundations
Analyze the results of tests on building materials, such as concrete, wood, asphalt, or steel, for use in particular projects
Prepare cost estimates for materials, equipment, or labor to determine a project’s economic feasibility
Use design software to plan and design transportation systems, hydraulic systems, and structures in line with industry and government standards
Perform or oversee surveying operations to establish building locations, site layouts, reference points, grades, and elevations to guide construction
Manage the repair, maintenance, and replacement of public and private infrastructure
Civil engineers also must present their findings to the public on topics such as bid proposals, environmental impact statements, or property descriptions.
Many civil engineers hold supervisory or administrative positions ranging from supervisor of a construction site to city engineer, public works director, and city manager. As supervisors, they are tasked with ensuring that safe work practices are followed at construction sites.
Other civil engineers work in design, construction, research, and teaching. Civil engineers work with others on projects and may be assisted by civil engineering technicians.
Civil engineers prepare permit documents for work on projects in renewable energy. They verify that the projects will comply with federal, state, and local requirements. These engineers conduct structural analyses for large-scale photovoltaic, or solar energy, projects. They also evaluate the ability of solar array support structures and buildings to tolerate stresses from wind, seismic activity, and other sources. For large-scale wind projects, civil engineers often prepare roadbeds to handle large trucks that haul in the turbines.
Civil engineers work on complex projects, and they can achieve job satisfaction in seeing the project reach completion. They usually specialize in one of several areas.
Construction engineers manage construction projects, ensuring that they are scheduled and built in accordance with plans and specifications. These engineers typically are responsible for the design and safety of temporary structures used during construction. They may also oversee budgetary, time-management, and communications aspects of a project.
Geotechnical engineers work to make sure that foundations for built objects ranging from streets and buildings to runways and dams, are solid. They focus on how structures built by civil engineers, such as buildings and tunnels, interact with the earth (including soil and rock). In addition, they design and plan for slopes, retaining walls, and tunnels.
Structural engineers design and assess major projects, such as buildings, bridges, or dams, to ensure their strength and durability.
Transportation engineers plan, design, operate, and maintain everyday systems, such as streets and highways, but they also plan larger projects, such as airports, ship ports, mass transit systems, and harbors.
The work of civil engineers is closely related to the work of environmental engineers.
Wellington Chu, PE, ENV SP
5
Answers
Updated
Wellington’s Answer
As a civil engineer my emphasis is specifically in bridge engineering. As a young engineer i started off with smaller structural designs like retaining wall, culverts, etc. As i grew in my career my technical capabilities expanded and I started to design bridge components and worked my way up to designing bridges. Eventually i worked my way up the organization into management and operations. I have found this to be a very rewarding career and if thats something your interested in then i would strongly suggest looking at colleges that offer civil engineering with an emphasis in structural engineering.
Nick Carlson
structural engineer
8
Answers
Rockaway, New Jersey
Updated
Nick’s Answer
I'm a kind of civil engineer called a structural engineer. That means I design the skeletons of buildings -- other people have ideas for what they want a building to look like or contain or do, and I tell them what they need to do to build it and make sure it doesn't fall over.
These are the kinds of things I do at my job:
- I talk to people who want to build new buildings. Clients come to my company with ideas for new things they want to build. I sit down with them and look at their sketches and ideas, in order to understand what they want.
- I think of different ways to design the building's structure. Sometimes the client wants a building that looks like something I've designed in the past, so I'll look at my previous designs and adapt them to the new client's project. Sometimes the client wants something I've never done before, so I do research and see how other engineers have made similar things in the past.
- I do a lot of math to check my design. I calculate how much weight the building needs to support, and what forces like weather and earthquakes will do to the building. I figure out how the various parts of the structure will carry that weight. I pick members (beams, columns, etc.) that can carry the weight efficiently and aren't too heavy or expensive.
- I estimate how much the design will cost. I add up the prices of everything the structure will need and make a report about it for the client to read. Sometimes the client can't afford the design, and I'll go back and try to design something cheaper.
- I talk to other engineers working on the same project. Many engineers work on a building: geotechnical engineers design the foundation (what the building sits on), electrical engineers design the power system, mechanical engineers design the elevators and air conditioning, civil engineers design things like parking lots and rain drainage, architects design what the building looks like. I need to talk to all the other engineers so that we don't get in each other's way. Together, we build a big 3D model showing everything that all the engineers are doing.
- While it's being built, I visit the building (either in person, or virtually with a drone or someone carrying a camera) so I can make sure everything is being built correctly.
- Once the building is done, I answer any questions about the building. Sometimes problems happen, or the owner wants to modify the building later, so I need to be able to help the owner in the future.
- I do a lot of research and take classes so I can learn more about engineering, and learning about them will help me do my job better. There are new inventions and products and theories being developed by other structural engineers all the time. I finished college, but I still have a lot to learn about engineering, and I'm going to be learning until I retire.
These are the kinds of things I do at my job:
- I talk to people who want to build new buildings. Clients come to my company with ideas for new things they want to build. I sit down with them and look at their sketches and ideas, in order to understand what they want.
- I think of different ways to design the building's structure. Sometimes the client wants a building that looks like something I've designed in the past, so I'll look at my previous designs and adapt them to the new client's project. Sometimes the client wants something I've never done before, so I do research and see how other engineers have made similar things in the past.
- I do a lot of math to check my design. I calculate how much weight the building needs to support, and what forces like weather and earthquakes will do to the building. I figure out how the various parts of the structure will carry that weight. I pick members (beams, columns, etc.) that can carry the weight efficiently and aren't too heavy or expensive.
- I estimate how much the design will cost. I add up the prices of everything the structure will need and make a report about it for the client to read. Sometimes the client can't afford the design, and I'll go back and try to design something cheaper.
- I talk to other engineers working on the same project. Many engineers work on a building: geotechnical engineers design the foundation (what the building sits on), electrical engineers design the power system, mechanical engineers design the elevators and air conditioning, civil engineers design things like parking lots and rain drainage, architects design what the building looks like. I need to talk to all the other engineers so that we don't get in each other's way. Together, we build a big 3D model showing everything that all the engineers are doing.
- While it's being built, I visit the building (either in person, or virtually with a drone or someone carrying a camera) so I can make sure everything is being built correctly.
- Once the building is done, I answer any questions about the building. Sometimes problems happen, or the owner wants to modify the building later, so I need to be able to help the owner in the future.
- I do a lot of research and take classes so I can learn more about engineering, and learning about them will help me do my job better. There are new inventions and products and theories being developed by other structural engineers all the time. I finished college, but I still have a lot to learn about engineering, and I'm going to be learning until I retire.