A. INTRODUCTION Civil engineers typically earn a Bachelor of Science (B.S.

)
degree with a major in civil engineering, though some
Twenty greatest engineering achievements of the universities award a Bachelor of Engineering. Students
20th century in 2000. These are: usually pursue their studies for four or five years.

1. Electrification Degree should include units covering topics in three

major categories:
2. Automobile
Foundational — mathematics, natural sciences,
3. Airplane
humanities, and social sciences
4. Water Supply and Distribution
Technical — materials science, mechanics, experiments,
5. Electronics problem recognition and solving, design, sustainability,
contemporary issues/historical perspectives, risk and
6. Radio and Television uncertainties, project management, breadth in civil
7. Agricultural Mechanization engineering areas, and technical specialization

8. Computers Professional — communication, public policy, business

and public administration, globalization, leadership,
9. Telephone teamwork, attitudes, lifelong learning, and professional
10. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration and ethical responsibility

11. Highways After completing an accredited degree program, the civil

engineer must satisfy a range of requirements (including
12. Spacecraft work experience and exam requirements) before
becoming registered or licensed.
13. Internet
The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and
14. Imaging
Surveying (NCEES) in the United States administers the
15. Household Appliances civil engineering professional engineer (Civil PE) exam.
After passing the EIT (Engineer in Training) exam,
16. Health Technologies
the prospective engineer is tested with a:
17. Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies
∙ Breadth Exam (Morning Session): This exam contains
18. Laser and Fiber Optics questions from all six areas of civil
engineering: Construction, Geotechnical, Structural,
19. Nuclear Technologies Transportation, Water Resources, and Environmental
20. High-performance Materials ∙ Depth Exams (Afternoon Session): These exams focus
more closely on a single area of practice in civil
Among the twenty, clearly Number 4 and Number 11 are engineering. Examinees must choose one of the
the contributions of civil engineering. Even Number 1, following areas: Construction, Geotechnical, Structural,
Electrification, the generation and transportation of Transportation, Water Resources, and Environmental.
electrical power, cannot be achieved without the civil [NCEES]
engineering contribution to the designing and
Once licensed, the civil engineer is designated the title of
constructing power transmission towers and lines. Same Professional Engineer (in the United States, Canada, and
is true for Number 2 and Number 3. South Africa), Chartered Engineer (in most British
Commonwealth countries), Chartered Professional
B. CIVIL ENGINEERING EDUCATION Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand), European
Today’s civil engineering is linked to advances in Engineer (in much of the European Union), and
understanding of physics, mathematics, and the social Professional Engineer in many Asia countries. There are
and political forces of its time. some international engineering agreements between
relevant professional bodies that are designed to allow The three subjects were actually a combination of the
engineers to practice across international borders: different fields of Civil Engineering.

∙ Civil Engineering Associations The first subject is Mathematics, Surveying and

Transportation Engineering which is usually taken
∙ American Society of Civil Engineers
during the first day of the examination from 8:00 AM to
∙ Canadian Society for Civil Engineering 1:00 PM for a total of 5 hours to answer seventy-five (75)
questions. After the first subject, the examiners will take
∙ Chi Epsilon, Civil Engineering honor society one hour break for lunch and for preparation for the
∙ Earthquake Engineering Research Institute second subject which is the Hydraulics and Geotechnical
Engineering that will start at 2:00 PM until 6:00 PM, a
∙ Engineers Australia four (4) hour exam for fifty problems. The third and last
∙ Institution of Civil Engineers (UK) subject Structural Engineering and Construction will be
taken on the second day of the examination with the
∙ Institute of Structural Engineers (UK) same time schedule and number of problems of the first
subject
∙ Institute of Transportation Engineers Royal Academy of
Engineering (UK) To pass the examination, examiners should get an
average of 70% rating and above. Another condition
∙ Transportation Research Board
is that for each subject, examiners should not get a score
∙ The Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors lower than 50% even if their average rating is higher than
70%. So if the first subject has 75 items, the examiners
The advantages of registration or licensure vary
should correctly answer 37.5 questions which will then
depending upon location. For example, in the United
be round up to 38 questions. Each subject also has a
States and Canada most licensing organizations use
corresponding percentage for the final rating of the
something like the following quote: ‘‘only a licensed
examiners. Mathematics, Surveying & Transportation
engineer may prepare, sign and seal, and submit
Engineering and Structural Engineering & Construction
engineering plans and drawings to a public authority for
each has a 35% for the final rating while Hydraulics &
approval, or seal engineering work for public and private
Geotechnical Engineering covers the remaining 30% of
clients.’’
the final rating for a total of 100%. Once the examiners
This requirement is enforced by state and provincial passed these conditions, they will then be given the title
legislation. In other countries, no such legislation exists. of Registered Civil Engineer (RCE) after they took their
Most professional associations of civil engineers, such as oath and receive their Professional License ID released by
the American Society of Civil Engineers, the British the PRC.
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the British Institute of
Even in countries where licensure has little or no legal
Structural Engineers (ISE), the Philippine Institute of Civil
bearing on work, engineers are subject to contract
Engineers (PICE) maintain a code of ethics by which
law. In cases where an engineer’s work fails he or she
members are expected to abide or risk expulsion. In this
may be subject to the tort of negligence and, in extreme
way, these organizations play an important role in
cases, the charge of criminal negligence. An engineer’s
maintaining ethical standards for the profession.
work must also comply with numerous other rules and
In the Philippines, the licensure examination for Civil regulations, such as building codes and legislation
Engineers were administered by the pertaining to environmental law.
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). The
licensure exam usually take place twice every year, C. CIVIL ENGINEERING CAREERS
usually during the month of May and November. The
There is no one typical career path for civil engineers.
current format of the examination is usually taken for
Most engineering graduates start with entry-
two consecutive days and the examiners need to answer
level positions, and as they prove their competence, they
three major subjects that they took up during their
gain more and more significant tasks. In some fields and
undergraduate studies.
firms, entry-level engineers are put to work primarily
monitoring construction in the field, serving as the ‘‘eyes
∙ Works closely with surveyors
and ears’’ of more senior design engineers. In other
and specialized civil engineers.
areas, entry-level engineers perform routine tasks of
analysis or design and interpretation. Senior engineers ∙ Designs grading plans, drainage,
can execute complex analysis or design work. They also pavement, water supply, sewer
can work in project management of design projects, or service, electric and
management of other engineers, or specialized communications supply, and land
consulting. Civil engineers are in high demand at financial divisions.
institutions and management consultancies because of
∙ Visits project sites, develops
their analytical skills. They can find many career
community consensus, and
opportunities in high technology for the same reason.
prepares construction plans and
Areas of civil engineering specialization have changed specifications
over time due to society’s needs and the complexities of
projects and technologies. Currently, the ASCE Coastal ∙ Helps manage coastal areas
incorporates the following Institutes:
∙ Defends against flooding and
∙ Architectural Engineering (AEI) erosion
∙ Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers (COPRI) ∙ Designs ports
∙ Construction (CI) ∙ Also works to reclaim land
∙ Engineering Mechanics (EMI)
Construction ∙ Plans and executes the designs
∙ Environmental and Water Resources (EWRI)
from transportation, site
∙ Geo (G-I) development, hydraulic,
environmental, structural and
∙ Structural Engineering (SEI) geotechnical engineers
∙ Transportation & Development (T&DI) ∙ Writes and/or reviews
The activities and responsibilities of civil engineers contracts
working in these various areas are included in Table B.1 ∙ Evaluates logistical operations.
Table B.1 - Civil Engineering Areas of Concentration ∙ Controls prices of necessary
materials, operations, and
Area Activities and Responsibilities
equipment

General Civil ∙ Focuses on the overall interface

Environmental ∙ Deals with the treatment of
of projects with their
chemical, biological, and/or
environments. ∙ Applies the
thermal waste, purification of
principles of geotechnical
water and air, and the
engineering, structural
remediation of contaminated
engineering, environmental
sites ∙ Works with pollution
engineering, transportation
reduction, green engineering,
engineering, and construction
and industrial ecology ∙ Reports
engineering to residential,
information on the
commercial, industrial, and
environmental consequences of
public works projects of all sizes
proposed actions and the
and levels of construction.
assessment of effects of
proposed actions for the purpose
 of assisting society and policy- measurement (EDM), total
makers in the decision-making stations, global
process, i.e.,
position system (GPS) surveying,
writes environmental impact
and laser scanning with
reports (EIRs)
computerization, have
supplemented (and to a large
extent supplanted) the
Geotechnical ∙ Deals with complex nature of
traditional optical instruments.
rock and soil, subsurface
investigation and testing,
foundations and earth structures Municipal or ∙ Involves specifying, designing,
(dams, levees, engineered fills, Urban constructing, and maintaining
etc.) ∙ Depends on knowledge municipal infrastructure, such as
Engineering
from the fields of geology, streets, sidewalks, water supply
material science and networks, sewers, street lighting,
testing, mechanics, and municipal solid waste
hydraulics to design foundations, management and disposal,
retaining structures, land storage depots for various bulk
fills and similar structures materials used for maintenance
and public works (salt,
∙ Can specialize further to use sand, etc.), public parks, and
biology and chemistry to devise bicycle paths.
ways of disposing of hazardous
materials and groundwater ∙ Includes the civil portion
contamination (called geo (conduits and access chambers)
environmental engineering) of the local distribution networks
of electrical and
∙ Contrasts with the relatively telecommunications services. ∙
well-defined material properties Focuses on the coordination of
of steel and concrete used in infrastructure networks and
other areas of civil engineering services, as they are often built
and managed by the same
Land Surveying ∙ Establishes the boundaries of a municipal authority.
parcel of land using its legal
(considered a
description and subdivision Structural ∙ Analyses and designs the
distinct
plans. structures of buildings, bridges,
profession in the towers, overpasses, tunnels,
∙ Lays out the routes of railways,
United offshore structures like oil and
tramway tracks, highways, roads,
pipelines, and streets as well as gas fields in the sea, and
States, Canada,
positions other infrastructures, other structures
the
United Kingdom, such as harbors, ∙ Identifies the loads which act
and most before construction. upon a structure and the forces
∙ Employs surveying equipment, and stresses that arise within
Commonwealth
such as levels and theodolites, that structure due to those
countries)
for accurate measurement of loads
angular deviation, horizontal, ∙ Considers strength, stiffness,
vertical, and slope distances. ∙ and stability of the structure
Makes use of electronic distance when it is subjected to its own
 self weight, other dead loads, live and above ground
loads, including furniture, resources (lakes, rivers, and
wind, seismic, crowd or vehicle streams).
loads, or transitory, such as
∙ Analyzes and models very small
temporary construction loads
to very large areas to predict the
∙ Also takes into account amount and content of water as
aesthetics, cost, constructability, it flows into, through or out of a
safety, and sustainability wind facility such as pipelines, water
engineering and earthquake distribution systems, drainage
engineering facilities (including bridges,
dams, channels, culverts, levees,
∙ Can specialize further (wind and
storm sewers), and canals.
earthquake engineering).

Transportation ∙ Deals with moving people and

goods efficiently, safely, and in a D. CIVIL ENGINEERING AS A
manner conducive to a vital
PROFESSION
community.
Until modern times there was no clear distinction
∙ Plans this movement using
between civil engineering and architecture, and the term
queuing theory, Intelligent
engineer or architect referred to the same person. In the
Transportation Systems (ITS),
western world, the origins of civil engineering as a
and infrastructure management.
profession can be found in the years immediately
preceding and including the Industrial Revolution,
∙ Designs, constructs, and the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The scientific
maintains transportation discoveries of the Age of Enlightenment and the
infrastructure, including streets, new commercial needs of the Industrial Revolution
canals, highways, rail systems, converged to create an ideal environment for
airports, ports, and mass transit. ∙ innovation.
Investigates and specifies paving
materials. These organization, as well as those in other countries,
helped to formalize civil engineering as a profession. The
∙ Involves transportation design, geotechnical engineer and author, John Philip Bachner,
transportation planning, traffic lists five characteristics of a profession and their
engineering, some aspects of attributes. These are:
municipal/urban engineering.
1. Systematic body of theory
Water Resources ∙ Combines hydrology, a. Skills flow from an internally consistent
environmental science, system.
meteorology,
b. Spirit of rationality; expansion of theory.
geology, conservation, and
resource management in the 2. Authority
collection and management
of water as a natural resource. a. Extensive education in systematic theory
highlights the layperson’s comparative ignorance.
∙ Relates to the prediction and
management of both the quality b. Functional specificity
and the quantity of water in 3. Community sanction
underground resources (aquifers)
 a. State-sponsored boards. but also a study of legal issues. Virtually all major civil
engineering projects must go through environmental
b. License or registration.
impact studies and public hearings. For these studies and
4. Ethical codes hearings, at least a preliminary design must be prepared
and presented.
a. Ethical
2. Design. At least two stages are involved in the design
▪ professional. phase: preliminary design and final design. Sometimes it
b. Client-professional is necessary to have an additional intermediate design
stage. The preliminary design is to create an outline of
▪ impulse to perform maximally. the concept, scope, structure, materials to be used,
c. Colleague to colleague. method of construction, and cost and timeline estimate
of the project. The preliminary design can be part of the
d. Cooperative planning phase. The final design includes all detailed
designs of every structure involved in the project and
▪ egalitarian
every associated facility such as electric and mechanical
▪ supportive facilities.

5. A culture 3. Construction. The actual construction phase includes

the physical erection of all the structures and in the
a. Social values
meantime the observation of all applicable safety and
b. Services valuable to the community environmental regulations during the construction
phase.
▪ making presentations and conducting
meetings 4. Maintenance. When the construction phase ends and
the owner takes over the project, the maintenance/
d. Symbols operation phase begins. The owner of the project usually
▪ argot, jargon takes over all responsibilities, but the contractor is
usually bound by a warranty agreement. During the
▪ insignia, emblems warranty period interaction between the owner and the
▪ history and folklore contractor could be very frequent and intense. Beyond
the warranty period, the physical structures require
Knowledge of civil engineering history and culture helps constant maintenance. A well-known example is the
civil engineers communicate the importance of their constant painting of the cables of the Golden Gate Bridge
profession to the world. Noted engineering historian, in San Francisco
Henry Petroski, suggests that engineering history is both
history and engineering. Additionally, familiarity with F. ATTRIBUTES OF A CIVIL ENGINEER
civil engineering history can assist with the practice of
the profession. 1. Analytical and Organized. The application of the vast
amount of knowledge in civil engineering to solving real-
E. CIVIL ENGINEERING PROCESSES life problems requires an analytical approach and an
organized mind. Civil engineers are generally very
All civil engineering projects go through four main organized in their daily lives as well.
phases: planning, design, construction, and
maintenance/operation. These phases sometimes 2. Bold in Conception and Careful in Details. Seeking
are intertwined and overlapped. solutions to real-life problems requires a bold conceptual
design. Every new project is different and requires the
1. Planning. As any civil engineering projects, private or exploration of different solution outlines. In carrying out
public, involve public interest and major funding, the the details of the design, the civil engineer must be
planning phase could sometimes run into many years. careful in every step to ensure safety and accuracy.
The very first stage of the planning phase is a feasibility
study, which usually includes not only a financial study
3. Creative but Conservative. Finding new and propagation have direct applications in
economical solutions to civil engineering structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, water
problems requires a creative mind that thinks beyond the resources engineering, environmental engineering,
accepted and regular practices, but the reliability and construction engineering.
and safety of the created product requires a conservative
2. Architectural Engineering. Architectural engineering
assessment in every aspect, because for every civil
specializes in the aesthetics and structural design of
engineering product, failure is not an option.
buildings. The structural design aspect of architectural
4. Dependable and Trustworthy. Civil engineers depend engineering overlaps with structural engineering. The
on each other in teamwork. Everyone is entrusted to aesthetical design aspect of architectural engineering
produce reliable and accurate work. Civil engineering applies the knowledge developed in architecture studies.
projects are all time-sensitive. On time delivery is highly Architectural engineers also study and apply knowledge
valued and even financially rewarded as may be written in electrical and mechanical systems to building designs.
in a contract.
3. Agricultural Engineering. Agricultural engineering
5. Ethical and Honest. The impact of a civil engineering traditionally entails two technical areas:
project is usually wide ranged and concerns the public irrigation engineering and mechanization. Irrigation
interest because it entails the creation of a new built engineering is part of hydraulic engineering while the
environment, large or small. A civil engineer must be mechanization of agricultural engineering is part of
ethical in practice and honest in character in order to mechanical engineering. Since the advent of
earn the public trust. In Chapter 6, engineering ethics DNA engineering, the use of basic molecular biology
issues are described. techniques to change the properties of a specific crop
becomes an important addition to agricultural
6. Forthright but Personable. Civil engineers need to
engineering and a new and broader field
communicate with others effectively. Very rarely does a
of bioengineering emerges.
civil engineer work alone. The teamwork necessitated by
the nature of the engineering work requires a civil 4. Aerospace Engineering. Aerospace Engineering entails
engineer to possess excellent interpersonal skills to be aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering,
able to fit in and work well with others. which develops vehicles that fly through the earth’s
atmosphere and beyond, respectively. The structural
7. Passionate About Work. The authors never met a civil
analysis and design of the flying vehicles, airplanes, and
engineer who is not passionate and proud of what they
spacecraft, is most similar to that of civil structural
do. Because civil engineer products are everywhere and
engineering. The difference is in the nature of forces
visible, it is possible to see a civil engineer pointing to a
acting on the structures.
building, a bridge, a river, or other structures and proudly
announcing his/her contribution. 5. Biomedical Engineering. Biomedical engineering
specializes in the applications of engineering to the
G. RELATED DISCIPLINES medical field, including medical imaging, surgical devices,
and implant devices. The structural analysis and design
Some of the disciplines that interact or overlap with civil
of medical devices and implants overlaps with civil
engineering are described here.
structural engineering in the basic tools used and differs
1. Applied Mechanics. Mechanics is one of the early and in the nature of forces acting on the devices.
basic areas in physics. It studies the nature and effects of
6. Naval Architecture. As briefly described before, naval
force. Applied or engineering mechanics emphasizes the
architecture specialized in the design of ships. The
application aspects of the theory of mechanics. Civil
analysis and design of ship structures is similar to that of
engineering structures are subjected to the effects of
civil structures and uses similar computational tools. The
gravitational force, wind, and earthquakes, and effects of
difference is in the nature of forces acting on the
temperature change. Various applied mechanics areas
structures
ranging from the fundamental statics, dynamics, fluid
mechanics, and mechanics of materials to
more advanced areas such as thermal stress and wave