Overview
Take a degree in civil engineering, and you’ll find out just how much work goes into building, maintaining and expanding a society.Civil engineers are the brains behind all the largest and most essential structures that surround us – buildings, transport networks, energy and water supplies.
Like the sound of designing a new bridge or developing a new hydropower system? Got a strong background in maths and physics? Then a degree in civil engineering could be the undergraduate course for you.
As a civil engineering undergraduate student, you’ll learn to apply maths and physics knowledge to real-life situations and problems, taking account of environmental, financial, legal and ethical considerations.
Most civil engineering university courses include a mixture of lectures and lab work, and there’s usually an emphasis on team working: an integral part of being a civil engineer.
There may also be field trips and opportunities to complete industry placements, either as a ‘year in industry’ or for shorter periods.
The world's best universities for civil engineering: QS Rankings by Subject >
Want to study civil engineering? Connect with top engineering schools >
Specialization
Your civil engineering degree specialization will really depend on the kind of structures you’re most interested in, and which part of society you’d like to help build or improve.
Structural engineering
Unsurprisingly, structural engineering focuses on structures. This could include buildings, bridges and dams, but also machinery and vehicles – even space craft. You’ll learn about working with different materials, stress distribution and strain, effects of internal and external forces, and strategies for strengthening and rehabilitating existing structures.
Architectural engineering
This specialization is in many ways very similar to structural engineering, but generally also involves more of a focus on details and systems within structures – such as heating and lighting systems, ventilation and acoustics.
Transportation engineering
Transportation engineers are involved in designing infrastructure to support travel by air, at sea and on land. This encompasses the planning and improvement of roads and railway systems, ports and harbours, airports and runways.
Hydraulic engineering
Hydraulic engineering is concerned with the movement or control of large bodies of fluids, including water supply and sewage systems, irrigation, cooling facilities, flood and storm barriers, and hydropower.
Geotechnical engineering
Geotechnical civil engineers specialize in the behavior of Earth materials – basically soil and rock. They may be employed in the mining and petroleum sectors, and are also involved in structural engineering projects, giving advice on foundations for above-ground structures, and also on underground or underwater projects.
Environmental engineering
Career Options
A degree in civil engineering offers the prospect of stable career progression, potentially high salary, and the opportunity to work on stimulating and exciting projects.
Often a distinction is made between ‘consulting’ and ‘contracting’ civil engineers. The first group are those who work on the design stage of a project, collaborating with architects and other professionals.
The second oversee the actual construction, dealing with practical issues such as procuring materials and meeting deadlines, and helping to resolve any problems that arise.
A third group are maintenance engineers, who are most commonly employed to maintain equipment and machinery used in manufacturing processes. This involves regular checking and monitoring, and overseeing the replacement or upgrading of equipment.
Key Skills
As well as allowing you to enter specialized roles within the engineering sector, a civil engineering degree should also give you the following transferable skills:
- Ability to analyze complex data sets, and general analytical skill
- Very strong numeracy
- Technology literacy
- Presenting findings in written and spoken form, to an acceptable academic standard
- Problem identification and solving skills
- Ability to approach issues from multiple perspectives
- Strong communication and team work
- Understanding of contemporary issues in construction, environment and urban developmentA
Civil Engineering Career in Infrastructure: Student Profile
Civil engineering graduate Graham Hardy describes his role at the UK’s Transport for London, and how his master’s degree prepared him for the job.
On a normal day at work, Graham Hardy's to-do list looks something like this: structural inspections, resurfacing works, budgeting for future projects, and conducting risk assessments for dangerous goods transport.
He's crunching numbers, working out ratios and updating and testing procedures and systems, all part of his job as a graduate civil engineer for Transport for London (TfL).
A graduate of Bristol University, Graham has a Masters in Civil Engineering next to his name. "Initially I wanted to study architecture but after discovering that it was a seven year course and realizing that if I kept my maths and physics going I would have more choices on finishing university, I chose engineering," he says.
Strong vocational skills
Since graduating in 2007, Graham has been on the TfL graduate program. His first five months saw him joining the highways department, working on projects such as trialing new types of lighting, and being involved in streetscape design.
"I was working with the different technical experts of the team, putting together information on the appearance, signage, and the overall look of London's streets. So I would talk with the lighting expert when looking at lighting, and the road surfacing expert when working on that aspect."
The TfL graduate program lasts two years and graduates such as Graham get the opportunity to experience working within four to six different departments throughout that time.
The length of each placement is usually about three to four months but can vary for students depending on the different projects they're involved in.
"My degree was quite vocational, so my employer knows exactly what management and technical skills they will be getting and that they will be suited to the work I will be doing," Graham says.
"I hope that in my present position I will have a choice to either follow a management or technical role within the civil infrastructure. I think it has also given me the opportunity to build up transferable skills."
Planning ahead
Graham says the highlights of his job at TfL are the work-life balance, structured learning path, benefits, job security and reputation of the public sector. "Some of the work can be interesting and the scale of projects can be impressive."
Engineers are in demand and Graham applied for the TfL graduate program in 2006, a full year before he finished his degree. "I had my interview before Christmas 2006 and then was notified I had been successful in April 2007. I think the recruitment process was very similar to other companies."
He adds, "I knew my finals would be full-on so I didn't want to have to be worrying about applying for positions when I needed to be studying. And it also meant that once I finished uni, I didn't have to spend the summer applying for jobs. I could go travelling instead."
And that's exactly what he did, in South America and Australia.
Graham says graduate engineering salaries are getting better every year but there does tend to be a cap on them depending on the position.
"Employment in civil engineering provides a decent, stable income. If you want to become rich you'll need to set yourself apart in terms of management or start your own company. If you compare your salary to bankers and lawyers you'll probably be disappointed but then compare the hours you're working and you might not feel so bad."
However, there are numerous opportunities for travel. "That's one of the best things you can do with an engineering degree. The skills you acquire are transferable, so you can take them anywhere in the world."
Perhaps in his next job, Graham will be digging his way through tunnels 'down under'.
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