Civil Engineering Orientation 4.

Career of Civil Engineering

Civil engineering is the application of physical and scientific principles for solving the
problems of society, and its history is intricately linked to advances in the understanding
of physics and mathematics throughout history. Because civil engineering is a wide-
ranging profession, including several specialized sub-disciplines, its history is linked to
knowledge of structures, materials science, geography,
geology, soils, hydrology, environment, mechanics and other fields.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. learn and understand the different fields of civil engineering; and
2. learn what are the roles of different fields of civil engineering.

Structural Engineering
Structural engineering — a specialty within the field of civil engineering — focuses on
the framework of structures, and on designing those structures to withstand the stresses
and pressures of their environment and remain safe, stable and secure throughout their
use. In other words, structural engineers make sure that buildings don't fall and bridges
don't collapse.
What does structural engineer do?
Structural engineers often work alongside civil engineers and architects as part of a
construction team. "In a nutshell," according to the Institution of Structural Engineers, "if
a structure was a human body, then the architect would be concerned with the body
shape and appearance, and the structural engineer would be concerned with the
skeleton and sinews."
Major Specialties of a Structural Engineer:

• Earthquake engineering - the behavior of structures subject to seismic

loading.
• Wind engineering - the analysis of wind forces and its effects on the structure.
• Architectural engineering - application of engineering principles to building
design and construction in the architectural aspect.
• Ocean engineering - the design of offshore structures.

Construction Engineering Management

Construction engineering management, or CEM, involves the application of technical
and scientific knowledge to infrastructure construction projects. While engineering
 focuses on design and construction management is concerned with overseeing the
actual construction, CEM often represents a blend of both disciplines, bridging
design and management or project execution.

What does a construction engineer do?

Construction engineering managers may have an educational background at both
undergraduate and graduate levels as well as experience in construction management
techniques. Their skills may be applied widely to the architecture, engineering, and
construction industry.
Geotechnical Engineering

Geotechnical engineering is a specialization within civil engineering that involves

investigating and understanding what is beneath the ground’s surface.
Geotechnical engineers figure out the impact that geological formations may have on
construction projects. They use advanced knowledge of scientific and mathematical
processes to examine the formation of the earth beneath and around residential,
commercial or industrial buildings and structures.
What does a geotechnical engineer do?
Geotechnical engineers guard and maintain the earth's physical environment during the
development of major public and private projects. Combining their expertise in civil
engineering construction and design enables them to safely investigate and analyze
sites and determine their present and future stability. Projects like these typically involve
major changes to the physical environment and can include tunneling and construction
of major structures like buildings, bridges, dams, airport runways, and towers.
A geotechnical engineer's skills are used for drilling wells, constructing production and
storage facilities, transporting petroleum products, and examining groundwater flow.
This career has amazing possibilities, from marine operations to floating ice platforms in
the Arctic, to mining operations.
Major Specialties of a Geotechnical Engineer:

• Mining engineering - the exploration, extraction and processing of raw

materials from the earth
• Foundation engineering - the engineering that focuses on the design and
capacity of the ground with respect to the foundation that support
superstructures.

Water Resources Engineering

Water resources engineering is the study and management of equipment,
facilities and techniques that are used to manage and preserve life’s most
plentiful resource. In addition to assessing how and the best ways in which to

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 control water as it pertains to water-related activities – such as irrigation, waste
disposal and canal development – water resource engineers are also frequently
involved in water management to ensure that it’s safe to drink both for humans,
plants and animal usage. As previously referenced, surface water makes up
about 71% of the planet, which is the equivalent of roughly 326 million cubic
miles. At the same time, though, just 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh. And of this
total, 2.5% of it is out of reach, contained in the soil, polar ice caps, the
atmosphere, and glaciers or too polluted to use safely.
What does a water resource engineer do?
Water Resource Engineers must create new equipment and systems to increase the
effectiveness and efficiency of water treatment and aquatic resource management. A
typical workday involves the analysis of data from relevant areas, then designing new or
improved facilities to enhance the cleansing effects of the water treatment system. A
Water Resource Engineer must take budgetary constraints, government regulations,
and other factors into consideration when designing these systems. A Water Resource
Engineer may then oversee the construction and implementation of these systems to
ensure that they are properly assembled. After completion, they may manage the
maintenance of these systems.
Major specialties of a water engineer:

• Hydraulic engineering - deals with the flow and conveyance of fluids,

principally water; closely related to the design of pipelines, water supply
network, drainage facilities such as bridges, dams, levees, channels, culverts,
storm sewers and canals.
• River engineering - the process of planned human intervention in the course,
characteristics or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined
benefit to manage the water resources, to protect against flooding or to make
passage along or across rivers easier.
• Coastal engineering - the study of the processes ongoing at the shoreline and
construction within the coastal zone, often directed at combating erosion of
coasts or providing navigational access.
• Groundwater engineering - involves the analysis, monitoring and often
modelling of groundwater source to better understand how much remains and
if the water can be used for recharging reservoirs and irrigation.

Transportation Engineering
• Transportation engineering or transport engineering is the application of
technology and scientific principles to the planning, functional design, operation
and management of facilities for any mode of transportation in order to provide
for the safe, efficient, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and
environmentally compatible movement of people and goods transport.

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 It is a field of civil engineering that is involved in the planning, design, operation,
and maintenance of safe and efficient transportation systems. These systems
include roadways, railways, waterways, and intermodal operations. Typically, the
demand is the amount of traffic (people, cars, railcars, barges) that is expected to
use a particular transportation facility, while the supply is the quantity and type of
infrastructure components (roadways, bridges, pavements, etc.). These systems
are typically large and expensive.

What does a transportation engineer do?

Transportation Engineers focus on designing new transportation systems and
infrastructures, including highways, airports, trains, bridges, etc. They do this by
analyzing data, identifying problems, and solving them with innovative solutions. Solving
these complex problems typically requires the collection and evaluation of systems,
traffic flow, accidents, costs, and other statistics. Transport Engineers may also be
required to collaborate with other parties on certain projects, including utility companies
and government departments.
Major specialties:

• Traffic engineering - mainly focuses on the infrastructure necessary for

transportation.
• Highway engineering - deals with major roadways and transportation systems
involving cars. This usually involves the construction and design of highways.
• Railway systems engineering - deals with the railway system of trains and
the covered distances, as well as the intersection and point loading/unloading
station.

Environment and Energy Engineering

Energy and environmental engineering is a branch of energy engineering which
seeks to efficiently use energy and to maintain the environment. Energy engineers
require knowledge across many disciplines. Careers include work in the built
environment, renewable and traditional energy industries.
Energy engineering requires at least an understanding
of mechanics, thermodynamics, mathematics, materials, stoichiometry, electrical
machines, manufacturing processes, and energy systems.
Environmental engineering can be branched into two main areas: internal environments
and outdoor environments.
Internal environments may consist of housing or offices or other commercial properties.
In this area, the environmental engineering sometimes stands for the designing of
building services to condition the internal environment to a comfortable state or the
removal of excess pollutants such as carbon dioxide or other harmful substances.

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External environments may be water courses, air, land or seas, and may require new
strategies for harnessing energy or the creation of treatment facilities for polluting
technologies.
What does environmental and energy engineer do?
Environmental and energy engineers use the principles of engineering, soil science,
biology, and chemistry to develop solutions to environmental problems. One of the most
important responsibilities of environmental engineering is to prevent the release of
harmful chemical and biological contaminants into the air, water, and soil. This requires
extensive knowledge of the chemistry and biology of the potential contaminants as well
as the industrial or agricultural processes that might lead to their release. With this
knowledge, new processes can be designed, or existing processes can be modified, to
reduce or eliminate the release of pollutants.
Major specialties:

• Ecological engineering - the design and monitoring and construction of

ecosystems.
• Fire protection engineering - the application of engineering to protect people
and environments from fire and smoke.
• Sanitary engineering - the application of engineering methods to improve
sanitation of human communities, primarily by providing the removal and
disposal of human waste, and in addition it focuses on the supply of safe
potable water.
• Wastewater engineering - deals with the transportation and cleaning of
blackwater or greywater and irrigation water.

Other civil engineering disciplines:

• Surveying - deals with the surveying and leveling of land by using different
instruments to map and contour the terrain. This is done to locate and
measure property lines, lay out buildings, bridges, channels, highways and
pipelines for constructions. Surveyors are generally classified into 2
categories: plane surveying and geodetic surveying.
• Municipal Engineering - deals with the planning and management of the
town. Ensures that the structures are within the municipality and are properly
designed and implemented.
• Coastal Engineering - deals with coastal and marine structures that include
groynes and embankments.
• Tunnel Engineering - responsible for the planning, designing, construction,
safety and maintenance of tunnels.

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