You must have heard of civil engineers all around you. And the moment you hear of a new building coming up you immediately associate that with a civil engineer. You are right there, but the scope of civil engineering is much more than just the construction of buildings. It also includes the construction of bridges, canals, roads, and dams.
Table of Contents
What Is Civil Engineering? An Overview
Civil engineering is that discipline of engineering where they manage and handle the design, construction and maintenance of the physical environment that is an outcome of nature. They build buildings, roads, canals, dams, etc.
This field is broken up into different sub-disciplines. These subcategories include geotechnical, environmental, transportation, structural, urban, water resources, coastal, material, construction and surveying engineering. So, even when one wants to study civil engineering, there is a wide array of subcategories that one can choose from.
What Does It Take To Be A Successful Civil Engineer? Let’s Find Out!
Civil engineering is a vast field that is important for the smooth functioning of daily life. There are many expectations from a civil engineer. These sites may be on highways, dams, bridges, roads, airports, tunnels and various other infrastructures.
Civil engineers work on construction sites and in offices as well. It just depends on what work they are doing at the moment. If they are executing a project they are expected to be on-site and if there is some official work that they are completing then they may sit in offices.
But they mostly perform on-site jobs. Once a project gets approved and designed by architects, their work begins. They move to the sites to supervise the construction of the project work. They not only oversee the proper execution of the projects, but they also survey the cost materials and approve of their quality and costs. They make long-term plans and take care of the day-to-day running of the project.
Another very important work of civil engineering is the testing of the soil on which the project is set to be executed. This must be done on a priority because depending on that the design and structure will come up. Everything rests upon the test results of the soil. Civil engineers are responsible for all the natural dangers that are lurking on the site so that the project is carried out in accordance.
Civil engineering is not all about the construction of new buildings and infrastructures, but it is also about the repair and maintenance of old existing structures. They have to advise the clients on how best to execute the work at minimum costs.
The Many Skills Of A Civil Engineer- What You Need To Know
The civil engineering branch requires many skills for the proper and safe execution of infrastructures. They are:
- Skills acquired from technical training
- Mathematical skills to make accurate calculations
- Written and verbal communication skills
- Leadership abilities to execute such huge projects
- Organizational skills
- Ability to solve problems both complex and simple
- Have to make the right decisions accurately and very fast
- Computer skills to work with CAD
- Must have a fine eye for every single detail so that all misfortunes can be averted
The Five Different Sub Categories Of Civil Engineering
Civil engineering is one discipline in the broad category of the study of engineering. But again even that is subdivided into five other subcategories. They are:
- Construction and management engineering
- Geotechnical engineering
- Structural engineering
- Water engineering
- Transport engineering
Discover The Vast And Fascinating Scope Of Civil Engineering
Once a person studies civil engineering, they are expected to find jobs as horizontal construction water hygiene, water resources, geotechnical, civil, project, traffic, highway, structural, commissioning, planning, mining and fire engineers.
Conclusion
Civil engineering is such a profession that it can be practiced everywhere across the world. They are in high demand all over the globe and will remain so long as society exists. Thus a degree in the field is worth the try as it might give you many opportunities and scopes.
