A Civil engineer plans, designs, constructs, operates and maintains roads, bridges, dams, sewerage systems, transportation systems, harbours, canals, dockyards, airports, railways, factories and large buildings. They may work in offices during their planning and designing phases, or spend time on the sites they are developing. They are known to work long hours and meet strict deadlines, often working under minimal supervision.
Often, a civil engineer will deal with a wide variety of people, from professional, skilled to semi-skilled colleagues. Due to the nature of their projects, civil engineers may move from place to place, depending on where their projects are located. Highly technical and pragmatic, civil engineers are able to work with government agencies, municipal authorities, consulting engineers and even mining companies. Some civil engineers may at some point work in research rather than fieldwork, or teach in industrial, government or university research institutions.
A civil engineer is responsible for investigating sites to determine the most suitable foundation for a possible construction, and then advising on the best engineering solution to meet a client's requirements and budget. They are also responsible for delivering comprehensive documentation for any project they work on. Project management responsibilities such as organisation of materials and machinery also fall to a civil engineer.
Skills include:
- High problem-solving skills
- Excellent communication skills
- High aptitude for computing and design
- Naturally creative and practical
- Ability to work well in a team