Civil Engineering Careers: Endless Possibilities

Many people assume that “Civil Engineer” is the only civil engineering job. However, they fail to understand that civil engineering consists of many different categories. Due to the variety of the types of infrastructure projects, distinct forms of civil engineering are necessary to make construction and design processes smoother and more efficient. 

What Education do All Types of Civil Engineers receive?

All types of civil engineers typically go to a 4-year school to get bachelor's degrees in civil engineering or specific forms of civil engineering. However, many pursue a master’s degree in specific civil engineering fields. All types of civil engineers get a license to be an official “Professional Engineer (PE).” There are also occupations that do not necessarily get a degree in a form of civil engineering but help out civil engineers. Among these include technicians, which usually get 2 year degrees, and technologists, which usually get 4 year degrees.

What Are Different Types of Civil Engineers?

The following table briefly outlines the details of different forms of civil engineering.

Structural	Create sustainable and strong structures Ex. buildings, dams, bridges, etc.
Environmental	Improve and maintain the environment to protect humans and the ecosystem
Geotechnical	Analyze soil/rock to determine engineering properties Ex. projects: tunnels, foundations, etc.
Water Resources	Design, supervise, and evaluate systems for controlling, storing, moving, and conserving water Ex. clean drinking water, irrigation, flood, etc.
Transportation	Design, supervise, and evaluate systems for moving people, goods, and materials safely and efficiently Ex. highways, ports, paths, etc.
Construction	Use technology and management skills to turn a design into reality on time and budget
Urban Planning	Coordinate the development of a community Ex. street patterns, packs, recreation centers, etc.

Significance of Public Awareness 

For future building structures, it is imperative that the public’s health and safety are maintained, and our current community strives for this purpose. Moreover, the public pursues energy conservation as well as environmental protection when it comes to new buildings. Because building code creators take all of these factors into account when outlining the rules and regulations for new building construction, the public should follow up on building codes. By paying attention to building codes, the public can efficiently demand change according to their own environmental, safety, economic, and sustainability values if current building codes misalign with public beliefs. Therefore, the public should attempt to push for their values by researching and inquiring about local building codes.