How does civil engineering work?

David told you of the study areas needed to become a Civil Engineer. From my perspective, a Civil Engineer is a person who designs and builds the nations infrastructure. The water and sewer pipes in the street in front of your residence are there because a Civil Engineer planned and supervised their installation. This is true of the roadway, those freeways, bridges, train tracks and any other physical facilities. Buildings while generally have an Architect in control, it is the Civil or Structural Engineer who makes the building so it will function and can be built. Civil Engineers are every where, they are in government working to maintain and improve the infrastructure and environment, they are in the private sector doing as David said. If you want a varied and interesting field of work - then Civil Engineering is for you. In my career, I designed power plants, smoke stacks, railroads, sewer and water lines, roads, sewer treatment facilities, buildings and other vfarious and sundry items. It was in interesting and varied experience which I loved. So I say go for it!

All civil engineers complete a varied program with courses in math, chemistry, physics, static and dynamics, soils, materials, thermodynamics, hydraulic, structural, environmental (water and wastewater), and transportation. One would be a general civil engineer and could work for a civil engineering consulting firm in say land development design using skills for the permitting, design and construction of required drainage, roads, water and wastewater design components to complete a subdivision for a housing project.

Many civil engineers will go on in grad school to take advanced courses in one of the above to become a specialized structural or geotechnical or transportation or environmental engineer. Their career path will be devoted to their selected field of concentration.

After completion of my general civil engineering degree, I went back to grad school to concentrate on environmental (water and wastewater). As a Project Engineer you must work with a team of advanced specialist engineers in structural, geotechnical (soils), and electrical all part of the final project.
The world needs all types and level of civil engineers to complete large projects.