Civil Engineering Career What does a Civil Engineer Do?

Have you ever considered one in the civil engineering career, but they were very confused about what a civil engineer do exactly? What Civil Engineer Do? Civil engineers deal with the design of the physical environment, built. For example, streets, bridges, buildings, utilities, water and wastewater, storm water, canals, dikes, dams, canals, etc. The list goes on, and if you study engineering you complete many courses that cover the vast area and usually focus on a particular sub-discipline.

What are the civil engineering sub-disciplines? Some colleges and universities may designate a bit different fields of study, but in general there are the following sub-disciplines: materials science, coastal, construction, earthquake ,, geotechnical, resource water environment, structure, topography, transportation, municipalities and parishes, and Forensic Engineering. Basically, there are basic engineering principles applicable to all these disciplines, so a civil engineer may specialize in more than one area. As the field is so vast, it is unusual for a civil engineer to practice in all these areas, so if you are considering a career in civil engineering, you should start thinking about the sub-discipline that interests you most. The following is a breakdown of each region and a brief description to help you better understand:


Materials Science and Engineering is a study of the properties and characteristics of the basic materials. An engineer designing ceramic materials, metals and polymers used in construction. For example, fiber, concrete, asphalt, aluminum, steel, carbon, etc.

Construction engineering is a field of study to understand the process of construction, including how to carry out construction projects which can include various other projects engineering sub-disciplines of geotechnical, the water resources, environment, structure, etc.

Earthquake engineering is a study of how structures will react when earthquakes and interact with ground motion. This is a sub-discipline of structural engineering, and focuses on the design and construction of new buildings / structures or renovate and upgrade them to meet safety and building codes.

Geotechnical test, prepare reports, recommendations for construction, and observe and advise during construction.

Hydro engineering deals with the understanding, analysis and modeling of water. For example, a water resources engineer has an understanding of the quality and quantity of water, aquifers, lakes, rivers, streams and rainwater. Water resource engineers can design transportation systems such as pipes, water supply, drainage facilities, dams, canals, aqueducts, dams and storm sewers, canals, etc.

Structural engineering is the study of the structural analysis of buildings / structures. Structural engineers consider the weight of the structure, the permanent loads and overloads, as well as natural forces such as snow, wind and seismic loads, designing security structures that support successful these loads.

Topography is often considered its own distinct profession, but engineers are studying the basics of topography, which is essentially to take action and to match them to use in understanding the properties and design of construction projects. Surveyors also conduct construction survey to help entrepreneurs, providing mentoring, benchmarks, etc. Transportation engineering is the study of the movement of people and products in many modes of transport such as vehicles on the streets, boats on canals, railroads trains, planes in airports, ships transport in ports and transit systems. Projects by transportation engineers take into account the safety of movement of vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, etc.

Municipal or Urban Engineering is the design of the study of municipal infrastructure, such as streets, sidewalks, parking lots, water supply, sanitation, utilities, lighting, etc. municipal and city engineers can work directly to the public or be outside consultants hired by these agencies. In addition, courts in some cases provide private land development projects for construction assessment before construction permissions to be granted.

Forensic engineering is investigating failures in engineering materials, products and structures, usually after there was property damage or injury. The field of engineering is usually involved in civil rights cases, and can provide evidence, including professional engineering advice, reports or evidence in these cases.

In short, there are many sub-disciplines in the field of civil engineering. Hopefully, after reading this article, you have a better understanding of what a civil engineer does.