If it’s big and you can build it, a civil engineer likely had a hand in its construction. Just look around you: buildings, bridges, and rollercoasters are all designed by civil engineers. Environmental engineers are civil engineers with additional expertise in the natural environment. “Enviros” focus on waste disposal, the cleanup of polluted sites, and controlling air pollution. But that’s not the only specialty you can have as a Civil Engineer! You can also focus on:
structural (will it withstand the next quake?), transportation (how to get us from here to there and back), geotechnical (how will clay behave differently than sand?), and many others!
Throughout history, civil engineers have built our greatest landmarks and structures. Check out these historic “civils” and their astounding achievements:
Julia Morgan: designer of the Hearst Castle, earned CE degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1894.
Emily Warren Roebling: Responsible for construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883 in New York City.
Recommended highschool courses:
- Calculus
- Statistics and probability (if possible)
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Physics
- Technical classes, if possible, including drafting, computer applications and electronics
