Civil Engineering in a Nutshell

In the vast landscape of engineering disciplines there is one field of practice that, while somewhat ambiguous and difficult to define, serves as the backbone to the America we all know and love today.  This discipline is civil engineering and while it may be very broad everyone involved will tell you that it all boils down to infrastructure.  Whether it’s highways, skyscrapers, airports, or a simple sidewalk our nation’s infrastructure gives us a place to go and a way to get there.  Therefore, civil engineers around the country design and maintain bridges, highways, dams, water plants, buildings, and much more in order to ensure everybody’s daily lives operate smoothly.

 Civil engineering itself is split up into multiple sub-disciplines, which include structures, water resources, geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, and transportation.  While sometimes very different in nature there are very few projects that don’t involve two or more of these disciplines working together to produce a quality design.

                                                                                                   [1]

Structural engineers design the buildings you see everyday, which includes everything from simple homes to 100 story skyscrapers.  These buildings give people places to live, work, and enjoy themselves.

                                                                                                    [2]

 Those involved in water resources are generally working with water treatment plants.  Engineers in this field must figure out a way to disperse clean water to thousands and sometimes millions of people that depend on it.

                                                                                  [3]

 Geotechnical engineers attempt to find new ways to use soil as an aid in building structures.  They often compact and smoothen out weak or rough soil so that buildings may be built on it.  This form of engineering is very important in the Fargo-Moorhead area because the soil we live on here is extremely weak and unable to support large structures.

                                                                                                    [4]

Environmental engineers work on keeping this a planet a much cleaner place.  Engineers in this field may be working on restoring hazardous areas or advising engineers working on other projects on how their design can be tweaked in order to make as little impact as possible on the existing area.

                                                                                                     [5]

Lastly, those involved in transportation engineering design the systems that allow us to get around.  These engineers must design their roads to accommodate a growing population and must make sure that the roads and highways they’ve designed are maintained properly throughout their lifetime.

As stated previously these fields all must work together in order to ensure our infrastructure is up to date.  For example, due to the nature of the soil in the red river valley structural engineers must consult geotechnical engineers when working on large projects in the Fargo-Moorhead area.  Otherwise large buildings, such as the Fargo dome, would simply sink into the dirt and become utterly useless.  Although civil engineers may be defined by what they create they’re also known for being a different breed of human all their own.

While many people assume that all engineers like to sit behind their desk all day and work with the complexities of their next big design that is actually far from the truth.  Most civil engineers will tell you that the best part about their job is working outside and often times their interests reflect that.  While studying civil engineering at North Dakota State University I have noticed that several of my fellow classmates enjoy activities such as hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, ATVing and any physical activity that gets them out an about.  I personally like to spend a large portion of my week going for long runs and I also enjoy water skiing and fishing at my cabin during the summer months.  I believe that, along with our love for math and science, it is this drive to be outside as much as possible that pushes towards a career in civil engineering.

So in conclusion, civil engineers work on a variety of projects that all in some way deal with the validity of our nation’s infrastructure.  The discipline is also divided into several sub-disciplines that all must work together in order to produce quality systems that are vital to our peoples well-being and that a desire to be outdoors is what pushed many civil engineers to become what they are today.  I hope this has been valuable and insightful information and hopefully it has answered many questions you have had about who civil engineers are and what it is that they do.

Click one of the links for more information on the sub-fields of Civil Engineering.

Structural Engineering

Water Resources Engineering

Geotechnical Engineering

Environmental Engineering

Transportation Engineering