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caden
Student
Rock Hill, South Carolina
1
Question
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What is required for Civil Engineering?
How hard is it to get into civil engineering? What parts of it should I try? How many years in college will it take to get there?
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7 answers
Mark Albrecht
Mechanical Engineer
14
Answers
Stowe, Vermont
Updated
Mark’s Answer
Caden,
I don't think I can add very much to Shaye's response. I'm a mechanical engineer and everything she said would apply to most any engineering field of study. The first couple of years in college for most engineering majors has a similar course structure focusing on mathematics, physics, and beginning engineering courses but after that the courses become specialized in civil engineering. Try to expose yourself to as many opportunities that involve civil engineering as possible to reinforce to yourself that this is the course of study you truly want to pursue.
I don't think I can add very much to Shaye's response. I'm a mechanical engineer and everything she said would apply to most any engineering field of study. The first couple of years in college for most engineering majors has a similar course structure focusing on mathematics, physics, and beginning engineering courses but after that the courses become specialized in civil engineering. Try to expose yourself to as many opportunities that involve civil engineering as possible to reinforce to yourself that this is the course of study you truly want to pursue.
Luke Garrett
M&A Consulting
46
Answers
Chicago, Illinois
Updated
Luke’s Answer
Make sure that the university you attend has an ABET accredited civil engineering program. You'll eventually want to sit for the PE exam (professional engineering exam) after 4 years of experience and the only way to do this is to have a degree from an accredited program.
Gabrielle Lacqua
Consultant
2
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Gabrielle’s Answer
Hi Caden,
I will share a little bit about my experience studying civil engineering with the hopes of answering your questions. In high school I was very much interested in Math and Physics and enjoyed those courses so I decided to pursue engineering undecided when going to college. I attended one of the largest public universities that had many different types of engineering you could major in like civil, mechanical, electrical etc. During my freshman year I took the basic calc, physics, and chemistry courses. During my sophomore year I declared my major as Civil Engineering. In my school, we had to apply to the major and got accepted based on our GPA for the basic math and science courses you took freshman year. Not all colleges require you to "apply to the major" but it is a good question to ask if you are deciding between different engineering programs.
There are various fields within Civil Engineering you can pursue, but you will likely get exposure to all of them when you take the civil engineering courses your sophomore, junior and senior year of college so use that choose what type of internships to apply for.
Lastly, the program is likely 4-5 years depending on how many credits you take each semester.
I will share a little bit about my experience studying civil engineering with the hopes of answering your questions. In high school I was very much interested in Math and Physics and enjoyed those courses so I decided to pursue engineering undecided when going to college. I attended one of the largest public universities that had many different types of engineering you could major in like civil, mechanical, electrical etc. During my freshman year I took the basic calc, physics, and chemistry courses. During my sophomore year I declared my major as Civil Engineering. In my school, we had to apply to the major and got accepted based on our GPA for the basic math and science courses you took freshman year. Not all colleges require you to "apply to the major" but it is a good question to ask if you are deciding between different engineering programs.
There are various fields within Civil Engineering you can pursue, but you will likely get exposure to all of them when you take the civil engineering courses your sophomore, junior and senior year of college so use that choose what type of internships to apply for.
Lastly, the program is likely 4-5 years depending on how many credits you take each semester.
Frances Constantino, EIT
Civil Engineer
15
Answers
Ewa Beach, Hawaii
Updated
Frances’s Answer
I will answer your questions based on my personal experience and what I’ve observed from other students.
Q: How hard is it to get into civil engineering?
A: First, you need to make sure you are interested in this field to stay in engineering school. Many of my friends bailed out during the second year because they couldn’t handle calculus or physics. If you can handle those lower STEM courses, you can certainly head into the more advanced civil engineering classes with ease. If you lose interest early on, it’ll be much harder for you to focus in the advanced courses.
Q: What parts of it should I try?
A: All of it. If you can, try to get involved with as many after school activities and internships as possible. During my junior year, I did an independent study that was mainly focused on the geotechnical aspect of CE. Shortly after, I got hired as an intern with a structural engineering firm where I worked on load ratings for bridges. In the summertime, I obtained another internship where I mainly worked on stormwater design with a little bit of transportation concepts. Then, during my senior year, I co-managed the ASCE Concrete Canoe competition where I was involved with the planning, design, and construction phases of the project. Even though, my last two years were very busy and stressful, it allowed me learn about each sub-discipline of CE and determine which area I’m more passionate about, so I recommend you do the same.
Q: How many years in college will it take to get there?
A: Took me 5 years to obtain my Bachelor’s degree. If you want to shorten that timeline, you can take running start or early college classes if your high school offers it. That way, you can earn an Associate’s degree once you graduate HS and go straight to a university after that.
Q: How hard is it to get into civil engineering?
A: First, you need to make sure you are interested in this field to stay in engineering school. Many of my friends bailed out during the second year because they couldn’t handle calculus or physics. If you can handle those lower STEM courses, you can certainly head into the more advanced civil engineering classes with ease. If you lose interest early on, it’ll be much harder for you to focus in the advanced courses.
Q: What parts of it should I try?
A: All of it. If you can, try to get involved with as many after school activities and internships as possible. During my junior year, I did an independent study that was mainly focused on the geotechnical aspect of CE. Shortly after, I got hired as an intern with a structural engineering firm where I worked on load ratings for bridges. In the summertime, I obtained another internship where I mainly worked on stormwater design with a little bit of transportation concepts. Then, during my senior year, I co-managed the ASCE Concrete Canoe competition where I was involved with the planning, design, and construction phases of the project. Even though, my last two years were very busy and stressful, it allowed me learn about each sub-discipline of CE and determine which area I’m more passionate about, so I recommend you do the same.
Q: How many years in college will it take to get there?
A: Took me 5 years to obtain my Bachelor’s degree. If you want to shorten that timeline, you can take running start or early college classes if your high school offers it. That way, you can earn an Associate’s degree once you graduate HS and go straight to a university after that.
Eric Packer
Structural engineer
91
Answers
Boise, Idaho
Updated
Eric’s Answer
Caden,
Civil engineering is a broad program of study and professional practice in such sub-disciplines as site development and planning, geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, structural engineering, water resources engineering, and traffic engineering. Most universities have civil engineering colleges that provide the needed coursework to graduate with an emphasis in one of these disciplines. Some universities have specialty programs outside of civil engineering that address one or more disciplines. For example, structural engineering is sometimes taught through an architectural engineering program or environmental engineering is sometimes taught through an environmental science program. If you know which discipline you want to go into, I suggest looking into a program that specializes in that discipline. Otherwise, the civil engineering degree is a great option to get introduced to all of the fields of study and then emphasize in one by the time you are a junior. An undergraduate degree in civil engineering usually takes four years. For some disciplines it is a good idea to continue on with a masters degree which is usually an additional two years.
For many non-engineering programs at universities, you need to be accepted into the program after a year or two of university general studies. In the engineering program that I was in, there was no such application to get into the program, and I believe that is the case at most universities. In general, the entry level requirements of the program include rigorous math, science and introductory engineering courses that often weed out some students that choose not to continue, thus no application is essentially needed to get into the program.
If you have the opportunity to get an internship with a company in one of the fields of interest, I highly suggest taking it so that you can know whether you want to continue in that field. Many of the disciplines document their designs with a number of drafting programs. If your college offers those drafting programs I recommend taking them as early as possible since most companies that offer internships will utilize the interns as drafters.
I hope this helps. All the best.
Civil engineering is a broad program of study and professional practice in such sub-disciplines as site development and planning, geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, structural engineering, water resources engineering, and traffic engineering. Most universities have civil engineering colleges that provide the needed coursework to graduate with an emphasis in one of these disciplines. Some universities have specialty programs outside of civil engineering that address one or more disciplines. For example, structural engineering is sometimes taught through an architectural engineering program or environmental engineering is sometimes taught through an environmental science program. If you know which discipline you want to go into, I suggest looking into a program that specializes in that discipline. Otherwise, the civil engineering degree is a great option to get introduced to all of the fields of study and then emphasize in one by the time you are a junior. An undergraduate degree in civil engineering usually takes four years. For some disciplines it is a good idea to continue on with a masters degree which is usually an additional two years.
For many non-engineering programs at universities, you need to be accepted into the program after a year or two of university general studies. In the engineering program that I was in, there was no such application to get into the program, and I believe that is the case at most universities. In general, the entry level requirements of the program include rigorous math, science and introductory engineering courses that often weed out some students that choose not to continue, thus no application is essentially needed to get into the program.
If you have the opportunity to get an internship with a company in one of the fields of interest, I highly suggest taking it so that you can know whether you want to continue in that field. Many of the disciplines document their designs with a number of drafting programs. If your college offers those drafting programs I recommend taking them as early as possible since most companies that offer internships will utilize the interns as drafters.
I hope this helps. All the best.
Shaye Zhang, P.Eng.
Senior Consultant
23
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Shaye’s Answer
A good engineering school will require you to have really good high school grades. I recommend listing out the colleges you are interested to attend or target, then check out their admission requirements for engineering/civil engineering and set a target for yourself to achieve in high school. Something to relate to civil engineering from high school would be the science physics classes, where you'll learn types of forces, energy transformations and the forces that affect motion. Try taking the classes and see if you enjoy learning about it. It will take roughly 4-5 years of college to get a degree in civil engineering, depending on if you're taking internship opportunities.
Greg Hofmann
Market Intelligence Manager
2
Answers
Rochester, New York
Updated
Greg’s Answer
You will need to get a BS degree from an accredited program as noted above. I started at a community college and received a two-year degree in engineering science. This two-year degree enabled me to get the basic engineering courses completed and think more about what specific engineering degree I wanted to major in when I transferred to a four-year institution. I did an internship with the New York State Department of Transportation as a transportation construction inspector during the summer. That great experience enabled me to learn more about Civil engineering and that my desires matched Industrial Engineering better. I thus transferred to a college and graduated with an IE degree. My brother did the 2 year engineering science program and transferred to a college and became a civil engineer. The two-year community college engineering science option is a good choice to consider as the program enabled easy acceptance into four-year engineering college program. You should check with the college about those type of programs. If you become a Civil Engineer you should get your PE.