
Civil Engineers
Also called: County Engineer, Railroad Design Consultant, Structural Engineer
What they do:
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.
On the job, you would:
- Inspect project sites to monitor progress and ensure conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.
- 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.
Knowledge
Engineering and Technology
- product and service development
- building and construction
Math and Science
- arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
- physics
Arts and Humanities
- English language
Business
- management
Skills
Basic Skills
- reading work related information
- thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
Problem Solving
- noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
- figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
- measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
Abilities
Verbal
- communicate by speaking
- listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
- make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
- notice when problems happen
Math
- choose the right type of math to solve a problem
- add, subtract, multiply, or divide
Visual Understanding
- see hidden patterns
Personality
People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.
They do well at jobs that need:
- Integrity
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Analytical Thinking
- Initiative
- Achievement/Effort
Technology
You might use software like this on the job:
Computer aided design CAD software
Presentation software
Analytical or scientific software
Education
Job Outlook
Explore More
- Energy Engineers
- Environmental Engineers
- Fire-Prevention & Protection Engineers
- Mining & Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
- Transportation Engineers
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