What Do Civil Engineers Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Civil Engineers perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures, and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems. They also inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.

Other tasks include:

• Design or engineer systems to efficiently dispose of chemical, biological, or other toxic wastes.
• Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
• Provide technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs.
• Test soils or materials to determine the adequacy and strength of foundations, concrete, asphalt, or steel.
• Manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site.
• Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.

We asked Civil Engineers how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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71% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 68% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Civil Engineers plan and design transportation or hydraulic systems or structures, using computer-assisted design or drawing tools. They manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site.

A typical day for a Civil Engineer will also include:

• Compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
• Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.
• Direct engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations.
• Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.
• Provide technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs.

We asked some Civil Engineers a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	83% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	26% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	83% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	4% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	0% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	22% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Civil Engineers also inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards. They may also compute load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Civil Engineers Direct engineering activities, ensuring compliance with environmental, safety, or other governmental regulations. They might also Analyze survey reports, maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography, or other topographical or geologic data.

In addition, they Manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at project site.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Design energy-efficient or environmentally sound civil structures.

To some Civil Engineers, it is also their responsibility to Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.

Working life

More than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Civil Engineer, you can expect to work more than 40 hours per week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/architecture-and-engineering/civil-engineers.htm

http://www.asee.org/

http://ncees.org/

http://www.asce.org/