Civil Engineers

What do civil engineers do? Civil engineers develop and improve structures such as buildings, hydroelectric dams, roads, railroads, subway systems, airports, water supply systems, and bridges. You’ll even find civil engineers working on the space station, shipbuilding, and improving the strength of automobile chassis, doors, and bumpers. As with the other types of engineers we have learned about, civil engineers work with other engineering disciplines including material science engineers, chemical engineers, mechanical engineers, environmental engineers, and computer scientists. Adapted from Columbia University School of Engineering

What does a civil engineer study? Civil engineers, just like all other engineering disciplines, take a variety of classes. These include math, physics, general introduction to engineering principles, mechanics of structures, fluid mechanics, structural engineering and materials, transportation infrastructure and systems engineering.

What type of job can a civil engineer have? “Civil engineers work in designing, building, and maintaining the foundation for our modern society – our roads and bridges, drinking water and energy systems, sea ports and airports, and the infrastructure for a cleaner environment. They work in the fields of transportation, coastal engineering, utility engineering and surveying, engineering mechanics, agriculture, construction, and the environment.” If you are looking for a field of engineering where upwards of thousands of people interact with your creations each day – then civil engineering might be the field for you. American Society of Civil Engineers

Can’t get enough of civil engineering? Want more?! Take a peek at this first video if you’d like a general overview of what civil engineers do. Check out this second video to hear about three real life civil engineers are doing to help our world.