A Career In Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering For thousands of years, civil engineering has been transforming the world we live in. From the magnificent Egyptian pyramids and the aqueducts of the Roman Empire to our highly complex cities and transportation systems, civil engineering has been the cause of it all. Without this major engineering field, our society would not be possible. Civil engineering is one of the oldest fields of engineering. It is a unique career because obtaining a degree in civil engineering can pave so many different paths for graduates to travel down. This field contains many sub-disciplines, that include structural, environmental, and transportation engineering. A civil engineer will need to attend college for four years before he or she

Even though civil was not an official field of engineering until the 18th century, numerous civil engineering projects were constructed before this time period. The first major project built was the Egyptian pyramids constructed around 2700 to 2500 BC. Later, came the Greek structure Parthenon, the Great Wall of China, and the many projects of the Roman Empire (Bengtson, 2013). It was not until the 18th century that the term civil engineering came about and was used to refer to engineering for nonmilitary purposes. Before this time, the terminology for civil engineering was just known as military engineering. Military engineers completed many of the tasks that a civil engineer would complete, but due to its implementation in wartime projects, the term military was used instead of civil. Some of the projects that military engineers would construct were catapults, towers, roads, and a variety of other works for armies that were on the move. It was not until the wars ended that defense walls, roads, bridges, and buildings became the main focus of construction. Along with this shift came another shift in the educational world. Established in 1819, Norwich University became the first private college in the United States to offer courses in civil engineering. Later in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineering became the first national engineering society in the

A Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Civil Engineering must be obtained and it is also recommended to obtain a minor in business. Some excellent colleges in Ohio that offer civil engineering are: Toledo University, The University of Akron, The Ohio State University, The University of Cincinnati, and Ohio Northern University (Mike Mutscheller, personal communication, October 1, 2014). During college, numerous courses in mathematics, chemistry, physics, engineering mechanics, soil mechanics, and fluid mechanics will need to be taken. Engineering mechanics is the study of the strength of different materials. It is important that when an engineer goes to design a structure he or she has a good understanding of the materials that will be needed. Soil mechanics is the study of soil. This is a very important course because the earth will always be the foundation of any structure and the understanding and knowledge of soil is needed to design a strong foundation. The study of how fluids flow is called fluid mechanics. This course is a big help for civil engineers who go on to build bridges, water supply systems, and wastewater-treatment systems. Other knowledge that will need to be obtained during college is how to use computer programs. These programs would include computer-aided drafting (CAD), engineering graphics, surveying, and geographic information systems (GIS). Computer programs have