December 8, 2022

CIVIL ENGINEERING: CAREER TECHNICAL REPORT

Garrett Jensen

ABSTRACT engineering. As civil engineering is often done in the public

Engineering is a diverse field with many different sector, it often requires licensing to conduct business within the
applications, responsibilities and disciplines. In order to better field of civil engineering. [2] While not a requirement, soft skills
understand this wide-ranging field and what it entails for those are important within the workspace of a civil engineer as they
who may be interested in pursuing it, an exploration of civil often find themselves communicating with others within their
engineering will be conducted regarding the expectations and own team, as well as communicating with a wide range of other
specific qualities of the field. The field of civil engineering will
professionals for various projects.
be explored by means of a discussion of the requirements for the
field including degrees and licensure, as well as the day-to-day
life and career of a civil engineer including job responsibilities 2.1 Licensing
and what to expect from the occupation, followed by the work Civil engineering generally requires additional licensure
culture within the engineering space, including workplace after receiving a degree, as much of the work done is on public
culture, the ways that the position changes over time, and infrastructure and as such requires anyone working in the public
general communication expectations and requirements. This sector to be licensed, which applies to both individuals and
paper will explore these various aspects through various online companies. Licensing in the United States is done through the
sources and through the personal experience of a civil engineer National Society of Public Engineers (NSPE), with divisions for
who has been working in the field of civil engineering for many licensing in each state. The NSPE states that in order to be
years acquired by means of interview. Giving a better licensed one must have completed a four-year degree in
understanding of how the field of engineering and civil engineering, have four years of experience in the field, as well as
engineering specifically will give potential future engineers a pass discipline-specific examinations in order to be licensed as a
better idea of what they want to pursue, whether it be professional engineer as recognized by the United States.[3]
engineering or otherwise.
3. OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK
1. INTRODUCTION
Engineering has many different disciplines regarding the Civil engineers are tasked with designing infrastructure,
application of scientific principles to design many different much of it being within the public sector. This means that there
things in the world. Civil engineering is the field of engineering will always be a need for civil engineers as long as there is public
dedicated to designing infrastructure, including environmental, infrastructure to be developed, designed and maintained.
structural, and construction aspects of design. This includes Employment of civil engineers is projected by the U.S. Bureau
bridges, roads, buildings, as well as energy and water systems; of Labor Statistics to grow seven percent from 2021 to 2031,
these structures and systems designed by civil engineers shape stating it as fast as the average across all occupations. The mean
the public infrastructure providing the services necessary for the annual wage reported is $95,490, varying on location with the
places in which we live. Some notable structures that are highest mean annual wage by State reported in California at
considered monuments to accomplishments in civil engineering $109,890. [2] Civil engineering is a field with consistent growth
include: The Hoover Dam, The Golden Gate Bridge, and the due to its connection with infrastructure and design and this job
Eiffel Tower. [1] Through this report, a better understanding of growth can be found in other areas of engineering as technology
how civil, and other disciplines of engineers accomplish these continues to be developed in every sector of manufacturing and
tasks and go about their day-to-day life can better inform design. Among engineering disciplines, civil engineering had the
someone with an interest in pursuing engineering in what that highest projected growth in 2018 with the U.S. Bureau of Labor
means for their career and life on the job by means of exploring Statistics, followed by mechanical engineering and industrial
the requirements, occupational outlook through use of statistics, engineering. While civil engineering has a lower median salary
general day-to day life, and various aspects of communication in than fields such as petroleum engineering at $128,230, being the
the workplace as applied through the specific examination of field of engineering with the highest median salary, civil
civil engineering. engineering’s high projected growth and high overall median
salary make it an appealing option within the field. [4]
2. REQUIREMENTS
Civil engineering generally requires a bachelor’s degree in 4. DAY-TO-DAY
civil engineering or a related field, such as environmental

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 Civil engineers often work in teams using Computer-Aided need to be made during a project and smaller aspects of a project
Design (CAD) programs to design various infrastructure need to be communicated to a group of professionals on the
systems. This varies based on project and company, as you may project. On some occasions, a civil engineer may have to present
often find yourself on sites where more direct supervision of a their plans to city planners, or other potential clients and give
site is necessary, so you will split time between working in an their expertise on the project; this requires a presentation, which
office and working on job sites. The day-to-day may change as needs to be able to get the attention of the audience while being
you gain experience within the field as well, as stated by an informational.
engineer who has been working this position for many years,
stated, your position within a team will often change from doing 5.2 Workplace Culture
much of the CAD work to managing a team and ensuring that the The culture of workplaces would reportedly vary from
processes are being done correctly to achieve greater success for company to company; the differences in these various company
a team, being consulted in situations where a newer engineer for cultures included aspects such as dress code, communication
guidance. structure, and events. As reported by a civil engineer who had
been in the workforce for many years had stated that it was
4.1 Locations of Work common for companies to host various events, such as company
Civil engineers can find themselves working in multiple sports teams and company dinners to get to know your co-
locations depending on the project and their position in a team or workers. The field of civil engineering commonly must
company. It is not uncommon for a civil engineer to present on a communicate with professionals in related fields, so there’s
construction site, to ensure that the process is being done usually much opportunity to make connections with co-workers
correctly, to make improvements on processes, or to give and those in related fields. Teams are largely dependent on one
additional instructions on how a project is to be carried out. This another, so the amount of freedom one has in their work is
means that if you were a civil engineer, you would likely be able dependent on the team, where it’s likely the specific tasks
to work outside of an office if that’s desired, if only some of the assigned and when they’re done are likely to be discussed within
time, depending on the team, company, and project. the team, as well as what’s common in the company itself.

5. COMMUNICATION 5.3 Making Connections

As your workplace will consist of a team, you will find As with any career, not only do the requirements for your
yourself in many meetings with your team, but it is not limited profession need to be met but it will often be necessary to make
to that. Civil engineers often find themselves in situations where connections and network to better establish oneself in the
they must communicate with a wide range of professionals for a workplace and secure a position. As one works, they will
project. This profession puts you in a position where you will be naturally communicate and make connections with professionals
communicating with professionals ranging from geologists to in a variety of different fields, but if someone does not have many
city planners. Being a good communicator is an often- connections there’s still resources available to make connections,
overlooked skill to have in this field, as you will be find research, or gain more knowledge about the field of
communicating using a number of methods with a wide range of engineering. For example, the ASCE (American Society of Civil
people for an often very large project affecting the infrastructure Engineers) provides an online hub for civil engineers to make
of a city. This position allows you to gain connections to people connections and get work published for others to find and
from a number of fields as a result of this. potentially reach out based on a project of interest. Within the
ASCE website, there are support resources for those who are as
5.1 Types of Communication new to the field as civil engineering majors who are still
Civil engineers use a variety of means of communication in completing college, to those who have been in the civil
their day-to-day work. This can include technical reports, engineering field for decades. [1] The ASCE, as well as other
memos, short messages and notes such as those on services like resources such as online forums can be a good way to reach out
Microsoft Teams, and even presentations, along with oral to others in the field and make connections to better establish
communication for any sort of project. Short form connections for a career in the field; it’s also beneficial to begin
communications are common among engineer teams, including making connections while in college, such as with an internship,
short messages and notes on changes as to update the rest of the as one can gain experience as well as the network of
team on the progress of a project, as well as lots of oral professionals that surround the field as to solidify a career and
communication among the team, especially conducted during potentially a position at a company from college.
regular meetings which are common in the day-to-day life of an
engineer. This is not all the communication a civil engineer does, 6. CONCLUSION
as a civil engineer will communicate with many different Civil engineering is a very promising career field. It is
professionals, in different forms depending on the situation. The responsible for designing and developing much of the world
most formal means of communication with other professionals around us in designing infrastructure. Civil engineering has a
will be in the writing of a technical report, which can have a very good job outlook for those interested in pursuing a career
number of different purposes, such as presenting clear ways in in that field and a high salary to match. This report hopefully
detail on how to solve problems and complete projects. Memos allowed for a better understanding of civil engineering as well
are also common within the workplace, as sometimes changes

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as other branches of engineering, to be reached in terms of
outlook, culture and day-to-day experience.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
John Barras, a civil engineer for Epic Engineering, was
interviewed for this report. His insights were instrumental in
gaining a better understanding of the workplace of a civil
engineer and understanding several aspects of the field, such as
communication, culture, and a better understanding of the day-
to-day of the life of a civil engineer.

REFERENCES
[1] “About Civil Engineering.” ASCE American Society of
Civil Engineers. Accessed October 27, 2022.
https://www.asce.org/about-civil-engineering.
[2] “Civil Engineers : Occupational Outlook Handbook.”
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
September 30, 2022. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-
engineering/civil-engineers.htm.
[3] “Licensure.” Licensure - Utah Society of Professional
Engineers. Accessed November 21, 2022. https://www.nspe-
ut.org/licensure#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20be%20licensed,
and%20then%20pass%20a%20second.
[4] “Engineers: Employment, Pay, and Outlook : Career
Outlook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Accessed November 21, 2022.
https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2018/article/engineers.htm.