What is a Civil Engineer | Science with Kids.com

What Jobs Can Civil Engineers Do

Posted by Allen Douglas / in Science Articles

When students are looking at careers in engineering, they may wonder, "What is a Civil Engineer ?" Civil Engineering includes a wide range what is a civil engineerof jobs. The term civil engineer was originally used to identify an engineer who worked on public projects, but who was not part of the military. Over the years, as needs for better transportation, structures and resources increased, civil engineers took on a greater role as designers of infrastructure. As our cities grew, civil engineers helped in the design. Civil engineers were responsible for designing the transportation systems.

Civil Engineers are responsible for roads, waterways and dams.

Today, many civil engineers still work directly as public servants for a city, county, state or federal (national) government. Civil engineers also work indirectly, as consultants for public agencies. Civil Engineering, however, now also includes engineers who design and oversee private development projects. The main areas of design of civil engineering is traditionally infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, dams, retaining walls, flood control, water systems and sanitary systems.

In order to become a civil engineer education and training are required. Most design work civil engineers perform involves the safety of the public. In order to keep the public safe, a level of competence is required to practice civil engineering. Today this level of competence is measured. Engineers need a professional license to practice engineering. In the United States, a 4 year degree at a qualified engineering college is needed. The engineering degree provides the knowledge base the civil engineer needs to practice design. After completing a college degree a fundamentals of engineering exam is required to move to the next stage. After passing the fundamentals exam, a civil engineer candidate is considered as a trainee. The trainee must practice under the guidance of a professional engineer for 4 years to move to the next level. After 4 years of professional experience, the civil engineering candidate is then ready to move on. They may then take the professional engineer's license exam. Upon receiving a passing grade on the exam, the trainee, then becomes a qualified professional civil engineer.