You can't have civilization without civil engineering.

"That saying, popular among civil engineers, is as true today as it was when
the Roman aqueducts were built. According to James E. Davis, executive director
of the Reston, Va.-based American Society of Civil Engineers, civil engineering is
experiencing a golden era to rival the mid-1950s, when the Federal Highway
Defense Act launched America's interstate highway system.

"Move ahead 40 years, and a lot of those original guys are retiring," Davis
said. "What's happening now is the supply [of civil engineers] is down, and the
demand is increasing. There's a need to rebuild America's infrastructure."According
to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, civil engineering is the third largest branch
of engineering in terms of employment, after electrical and mechanical engineering.

About half of all civil engineers work for companies that produce designs
for new construction projects. Some work in government positions, while still
others are self-employed consultants.There are seven major branches of civil
engineering: construction, environmental, geotechnical, structural, transportation,
urban and community planning and water resources engineering. They rely on
computers in the production and analysis of designs, and in simulating how a
structure will perform when finished.

Working as part of an interdisciplinary team, civil engineers frequently

consult with specialists in other occupations to solve problems.In many
engineering-degree programs at the college level, students study basic sciences,
mathematics and introductory engineering courses during their first two years, then
concentrate in a specific area in their last two years. Because future civil engineers
will lead design and construction teams on a variety of public structures,"leadership
skills will be needed," Davis said.