Civil engineering is the broadest of engineering fields, partly because it is also the oldest. In the past, engineering was divided into only two fields: military and civil. In fact, within the United States government it is still part of the U.S. Army as the Corps of Engineers.
Civil Engineers usually work in one of the following areas: construction, soil and foundation, town planning, transport, or water resources. They plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain power plants, roads, bridges, dams, water supply projects, sewerage systems, transportation, harbors, canals, dockyards, airports, railways, factories, and large buildings. This field of engineering is broken down into subdisciplines, including general, structural, fire protection (safety), geotechnical, transportation, hydraulic, water resources, and construction engineering. Those related to the energy industry include the areas of structural, geotechnical, hydraulic, water resources, and construction engineering.
Structural engineering deals with structural design and analysis of structural components of buildings and other structures. This process involves calculating the stresses and forces that affect or arise within a structure. Major design concerns are building structures' resistance to wind and seismic forces and seismically retrofitting existing structures, such as power plants, dams, oil wells, coal mine structures, nuclear reactors, and wind-gathering structures. In addition, elements of a building or a structure must be correctly sized and positioned in relation to each other and to site boundaries and adjacent structures. Structural (and construction) engineers are trained in the methods and procedures of surveying, the science of measuring and mapping relative positions on or under Earth's surface.
Geotechnical engineers are primarily concerned with foundations, soil properties, soil mechanics, compression and swelling of soils, seepage, slopes, embankments, retaining walls, ground and rock anchors, the use of synthetic tensile materials in soil structures, soil-structure interaction, and soil dynamics. They work closely with structural and construction civil engineers in the design and planning of most structures used in the production, transmission, and distribution of energy power.
Hydraulic engineering deals with the flow and conveyance of fluids, predominantly water. This area of civil engineering is intimately involved with the design of pipelines, water distribution systems, drainage facilities (including bridges, dams, channels, culverts, levees, and storm sewers), and canals. Hydraulic engineers design these facilities using the concepts of fluid pressure, fluid statics, fluid dynamics, and hydraulics. They focus on designing dams used to generate electric power, as well as the flow of energy liquids, such as oil, working closely with petroleum engineers.
Water resources engineering revolves about the collection and management of water. As a discipline, it combines hydrology, environmental science, meteorology, geology, conservation, and resource management. This area of civil engineering relates to the prediction and management of both the quality and the quantity of water in both underground (aquifers) and above-ground (lakes, rivers, and streams) resources. Water resource engineers analyze and model very small to very large areas of Earth to predict the amount and content of water as it flows into, through, or out of a facility, whereas the actual design of that facility most likely will be handled by other types of civil engineers.
Construction engineering concerns the planning and execution of transportation systems designs; site development; and hydraulic, environmental, structural, and geotechnical engineering projects. As construction firms tend to have higher business risks than other types of civil engineering firms, many construction engineers tend to take on a role that is more businesslike in nature: drafting and reviewing contracts, evaluating logistical operations, and closely monitoring prices of necessary supplies. In the performance of their occupation, Civil Engineers may execute such tasks as:
Civil Engineers may be headquartered in offices but spend much of their time on project sites. They may have to undertake a lot of traveling, even to the point of relocation as their jobs take them from one major engineering site to another. They usually are required to work long hours and meet strict deadlines while functioning under minimal supervision. They must deal with a wide variety of professional, skilled, and semi-skilled people.
According to a 2005 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), average annual starting salaries for Civil Engineers ranged from US Dollars 43,679 to US Dollars 59,625, depending on the level of educational degrees earned. It is not unusual for a senior Civil Engineer with 12 or more years experience to earn a yearly salary of US Dollars 110,000 or more.
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