Civil Engineering

Civil engineers have been around, in some form, probably longer than any other engineering field. They are responsible for the design, and construction, of civic facilities. These include bridges, dams, and roads, among other amenities necessary to a given city. Candidates for this field must have a very good understanding of physics, and be able to understand the complex physical science concepts involved with the design of bridges, that won't collapse, dams, that won't burst, due to water pressure etc. Not only are these concepts difficult for the average person to understand, the possible consequences of error on the part of a civil engineer can be devastating. When a bridge collapses, for example, hundreds of lives can be lost in that split second, depending on the time of day, etc. This is why jurisdictions must hire specially trained civil engineers to ensure that such tragedies do not occur.

In order to fulfill this requirement, civil engineers must be very knowledgeable, and pay very close attention to detail, when designing complex structures. Their knowledge of physics must be at a premium, as they will need to calculate complex variables - such as the effect of an increasing volume of water, on the walls of a dam. The engineers must be able to calculate the requisite strength, and thickness, of the material necessary to hold the water, without being wasteful of a city's limited resources. While this may sound incredibly difficult, and stressful, those in the field usually find it a rewarding experience. Not only are they well paid, but, apparently, a certain satisfaction comes from simple experiences such as driving a cross a bridge, knowing that you were part of the design team that built such a construction wonder.

While not as demanding on intellectual resources, construction of roads still requires civil engineers to come up with the best methods of construction. What this means is that they must design plans that will result in durable roads, that won't be easily corroded by rain, while still keeping costs to the jurisdiction as low as possible. Mixing high-quality, with economizing, is difficult in any field and, even, more so when asked to work with, what may seem to be, a ridiculously tight budget. Still, civil engineers are trained to pull off such tasks and, like most of their peers in the engineering field, are highly compensated. That being said, civil engineering is an excellent, under-populated field for bright, budding engineers to get involved in. The demand is always there for individuals, educated in this less-common area of study. This means that, once a degree has been earned, finding employment is easy, even fresh out of college, when compared to other jobs.