Civil Engineering - Should It Intersest You?

Ladies and gentlemen,  welcome to my article about the important field of Civil Engineering.  In this article I'll answer a few principle questions:

1.  What is actually "Civil Engineering"?

2.  What are the advatntages of this career?

3.  What are th disadvantages of this career?

4.  Who is this career suitable for?

5.  What are the requirements for acquiring this career?


What is actually "Civil Engineering"


This term refers to the world of construction: buildings, roads, bridges, railways or  tunnels.

Civil engineer is a professional for designing construction, i.e. how should a structure be built physically, taking into account the physics of materials involved in construction.  The engineer is responsible that a building would be built stable and strong enough  to make it resistant to many challenges: winds, earthquake,  storms, material aging impact or weight burdens.



The unique side of civil engineering is that most of the work gets done outdoors in construction or paving sites, as the engineer is responsible to supervise the construction works, in order to make sure that the actual work gets performed by the plans  and by the regulations.


What are the advatntages of this career?


1. Working outdoors - many people aren't keen on working indoors, mainly in front of computers.  Civil Engineering is the main alternative (among technical fields) for working mainly outdoors: in construction sites, paving or  excavation sites.

2. Working with people - unlike most engineering jobs which deal mainly with tools, materials and computers, Civil Engineering deals mainly with managing projects and people, as the main focus is on the human factor and not on the technical factor.

3. No age bias - technical fields are infamous for having a sharp age bias, as mature workers (mainly 45 years old and above) find difficulties in finding proper employment.  Civil Engineering, as being management oriented, is somewhat different in this aspect and engineers generally can find employment till retirement age.

4. Self employment prospects - in nowadays' unstable job market, being able to be a freelancer or an entrepreneur can be a career saver.  If you don't get what I say, ask an unemployed electrical or mechanical engineer aged 45 or more and you'll get a straight answer.


What are th disadvantages of this career


1. Medium occupational stability - the construction & infrastructure fields is the most dependant on the Supply and demand curve, thus it may have periods of high demand for workers and periods of low demand.  This means that civil engineers may work 40 years in the field but out of these years they may be unemployed for 5-10 years.

2. High level of responsibility - civil engineers are liable both for their signatures and for the implementation  of proper construction at field.  No other kind of engineers  have such level of liability.

3. Long hours - civil engineers work relatively long hours, as they work at least 50 hours a week. This is caused by the fact they work outdoors and they commute many times to long locations.  Additionally, the peaks of workloads cause frequent weekly long hours of work.

Who is this career suitable for

1. Outdoors people - people who prefer to work outdoors: travel a lot, meeting a lot of people and staying long hours on  open space.  People who would be bored to death staying in an office running computers and telephones.

2.  Amateurs of unorthodox life - people who strive for a lot of changes and a lot of challenges.  People who the term "9 to 5" makes them feel bored and frustrated.  people who the term "computer" reminds them of the term "geek".  People who don't care working sometimes 12 hours a day.

3. Entrepreneurs by nature - people who need desperately the option of starting their own business, should it be a freelancing service or  projects initiation.  People who wouldn't stay in careers which let them be only employed and not employers.

What are the requirements for acquiring this career?

1. Academic track - 4 years of BSc studies in  Civil Engineering  in an accredited university.  This track requires good capabilities in mathematics and physics and motivation to put in about 40 hours a week in studying.

2. Attraction - due to the fact that Civil Engineering is a demanding career, I wouldn't recommend it to people without a basic attraction to the its characteristics:  mainly working outdoors, managing and dealing with people  and long working hours.