Civil Engineer Career

Civil engineering is a profession older than the Roman Empire. If you have a creative flair for designing things such as buildings, roads, airports, tunnels, dams and bridges, a future as a civil engineer might be for you. Civil engineers must take into consideration many factors in their designs, including details ranging from costs, to making sure the structure will stay intact during bad weather.

As a rule of thumb, a civil engineer manages people and projects. He or she may oversee a construction site or may be a city engineer. Others may work in design, construction, research, and teaching. As a profession, civil engineering is very diverse, offering challenges and specialties such as structural, construction, environment, and transportation.

Civil engineers often work at construction sites, and usually in areas that are industry and business centers. On occasion they work in places which are quite remote, and require a considerable amount of traveling.

Nearly all entry-level engineering jobs require a bachelor's degree in engineering. A background degree in science or mathematics is a good fit for some jobs Getting into engineering school requires a strong report card in math and science, and courses in English, social studies, and computers. Also, some schools prepare an engineer to get a job after graduation while others prepare an engineer for graduate school.

Typically, the first 2 years of a civil engineering degree are dedicated to studying math, science, engineering basics, the arts, and social sciences. The final 2 years, are devoted to courses in engineering. Civil engineer must be licensed by a state, to perform services for the public. Licenses require 4 years of relevant work experience and passing an exam.

So how much can you earn as a Civil engineer? A 2007 salary survey showed that people with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering started at $48,509 a year, on average. People with a master's degree started at $48,280 a year and a Ph.D. started at 62,275 a year. The mean range for all civil engineers ran between $54,520 and $86,260 per year in 2006. The lowest-paid 10 percent earned less than $44,810. The highest-paid 10 percent earned more than $104,420.