



Description: A civil engineer designs things that people interact with in their daily lives. Such things include buildings, roads, tunnels, airports, and other civic and public locations that support mass numbers of people. This can also apply to water and sewage systems. When engineering these structures, certain factors like available resources, weather conditions, and so forth must be considered. This is the most basic and timeless forms of engineering. Civil engineer is a blanket term that may apply to a number of things. For instance, a civil engineer might oversee a construction project or be responsible for city planning.
Many civil engineers work at designing, constructing, and teaching as well. There are various things that an engineer can focus on, such as transportation, the environment, or structural engineering. The biggest employment for this type of engineer is in a city center, or wherever great thought must go into planning and creating a city where massive numbers of people can dwell. There can be travel and long hours involved in this career.
Statistics: In 2006, there were a reported 256,000 civil engineers in the United States, and half of which worked for firms that focused on engineering, architecture, and service work. A third of these workers were employed by the government to do similar tasks. All the rest found employment in the construction industry.
It is expected that the employment for civil engineers will continue to grow in demand, and perhaps at a higher rate than most other careers. As the population grows, there is more of a need for design and implementation of new city centers and ways to improve cities that already stand. As buildings deteriorate and become unsafe, new structures will need to be erected in their place.
Training: For almost all entry level engineering jobs bachelors in engineering is required. That is a 4 year program of study, with a higher chance of employment for students of math and science. Also, to be a civil engineer you must hold a license from your state, which requires 4 years of work experience followed by a state administered exam. You’ll often “shadow” a working engineer when you’re learning to be out in the field.
Salary: On average, an engineer will earn anything from $54,520 to $86,260 per year, and this can greatly vary depending upon education, experience, and where you work as a civil engineer. The highest paid of engineers in the top 10 percent can earn as much as $104,420 or more annually. People with a Ph.D. in engineering are said to begin at $62,275 a year.



