What Does a Civil Engineer Do?

By: PPI

September 28, 2020

Man in denim shirt working on a laptop in front of a window image

Civil engineers design, build, supervise, and maintain construction projects and systems. These include roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and water-sewage systems. As cities continue to grow, civil engineers need to assist in the development of new and improved water systems, as well as renewable energy projects. Civil engineers play a pivotal role in acquiring permits for project launches and often oversee the construction of wind and solar farms.

Civil Engineering History

To give you a better idea of what all of these civil engineers actually do, let’s take a look at a few famous civil engineers from history. Benjamin Wright was declared the Father of American Civil Engineering by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Wright was the chief engineer during the construction of the Erie Canal. Squire Whipple is another important civil engineer in history, credited with designing and building a weight lock scale that possessed a 300-ton capacity and was used to weigh boats on the Erie Canal.

Civil engineers have also played major roles in improving our world, including assisting Haiti in its recovery after the 2010 disaster, constructing the Panama Canal, and designing the Burj Khalifa, the world’s second-tallest building.

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Civil Engineering Job Duties

Civil engineers help shape our cities by designing transportation systems, creating school buildings, and figuring out how to turn natural resources into power for our homes. Their typical roles include managing teams, creating CAD models, and designing structures that meet particular clients’ needs. Other civil engineering tasks include:

Analyzing survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, and aerial photography in order to plan projects efficiently
Computing load and grade requirements, water flow rates, and materials’ stress factors for design specifications.
Inspecting project sites and monitoring progress
Estimating quantities and material costs (to determine project feasibility)
Compiling public reports (bid proposals, environmental impact statements, and property descriptions)
Testing soils and materials to determine their strength in different conditions for use in large projects

If you’re in the market for a “people-serving” profession, and you want to play a major role in constructing the world around you, civil engineering might be the right profession for you. Get started by preparing to take the FE Civil exam.