It takes approximately four years to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in any concentration. When most people are still attending college, they look at their options and try to lay out a course that they can follow after graduation. Civil engineering majors can come out of college with a standard bachelor’s civil engineering degree or they can study for another two years and get their master’s degree in civil engineering in addition. Civil engineers are regularly hired directly out of school to head up projects being headed by the federal government as well as independent firms with billion-dollar construction contracts. Discover your options so you will know exactly what you can do with your civil engineering degree.
Get Involved with Federal Projects
When the levees broke in New Orleans, Louisiana, engineers had thought they had perfected everything. New Orleans is a historic U.S. city that sits below sea level, meaning that hurricanes and large waves can cause a lot of damage inland. Though the levees broke the first time around, online civil engineering degree holders came up with a better method for keeping the city safe. There are countless projects that the government is involved in that involve civil engineers. From emergency repairs on the Delaware Memorial Bridge to the expansion of existing highways, every piece of roadway and infrastructure in the U.S. is handled by skilled civil engineers.
Work for State Agencies
When a new community is zoned in an area that was once farmland or forested, civil engineers are called in to see how existing businesses and residents are going to be impacted by an uptick in traffic. For instance, when the newest Amazon warehouse was built in Robbinsville, New Jersey, local officials asked civil engineers for suggestions to lessen the rush hour traffic jams. If you graduate with a degree in civil engineering, you can choose the type of projects that you get involved with that will aid communities in the suburbs as well as in urban and rural areas.
Contract with a Private Engineering Company
Another area that a large portion of civil engineers work in is the private sector. Residential, industrial, and commercial construction project won’t be signed off on and approved until the developers can show that their plans are feasible. In other words, civil engineers are hired to project how an area might change and improve through the construction of a new museum, for instance. These kinds of projects might take many years to develop but it is also important for those in the civil engineering industry to see their ideas finally form into tangible things.
Take your civil engineering agree with you to work internationally or stay in your home state and learn how you can facilitate improvements in your community. You’ll have a team of peers to help guide you on your very first projects, and with experience you’ll be able to make more precise plans. The world of civil engineers is vast, and their credentials enable them to travel the world over in search of the next project to attach themselves to.
