When I get older, I want to be a civil engineer. civil engineers design build and maintain infrastructure projects and systems such as roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and water systems. But why do I want to be an engineer, you may ask? I think very analytically, which will help me in realizing what will and won’t work for projects. I am also pretty good at math, which is a big part of the job, because I must calculate the best angles, weight, size and many other things in order to keep a bridge or dam from falling. Another reason I want this job, there is a major feeling of accomplishment with completing a project. This is because civil engineers help people, even if it isn’t quite as directly as a paramedic, or a police officer, but they still help people none the less.
As a civil engineer, I would make $55,000-$60,000 a year right when I graduate. If I continue to work as an engineer, the top percentile makes about $142,560 a year. The average salary however is about $86,640 a year and about $41.65 per hour. The hours vary depending on the project, but on average, civil engineers work about 2000 hours a year. But you could find yourself working day and night to reach a deadline, or just a couple of hours a day, it all depends on who you are working for.
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Due to the increase in population and environmental problems, the demand for civil engineers is projected to keep on increasing. For example, this occupation is supposed to grow by 11% by 2026, that is 32,000 jobs that need to be filled. So, there is no chance of this job becoming obsolete or useless.
In order be in the best place for this kind of job, I think it would be a good idea for me to live in a population center, because there are more job opportunities. This is because the more people are there, the more demand for new roads, water systems, bridges, and buildings. Also, over time, most infrastructure projects will be worn and must be re-vamped in order to be as efficient as possible.
Another thing that I need to think about is who I want to work for, whether it be a city, the state, the military, or even a private contractor. Working for a city will have you working on roads, bridges, tunnels and water systems. Being employed by a state includes designing state roads, dams, and many other state-controlled infrastructure projects. Working for the military will have me designing and repairing military installations, roads and oversee the operation of heavy equipment. Finally, I could work for a private contractor, this will dish you out to whatever job your contractor wants you to, you could be building houses, bridges, roads, or whatever the contractor sees fit.
The education that I need to become a civil engineer is a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. When I get my degree, it must be in a certain specialty within civil engineering, like transportation, water resources, structural, urban, environmental or construction. The civil engineering course work includes math, statistics, engineering mechanics and systems, and fluid dynamics. The classes you have depend on what you are going to specialize in.
In my assessments I got a lot of food services jobs at the top of my lists, which is weird because it doesn’t interest me at all. But my next choice was and architect which is on the right track, but still not exactly what I want to do. So, my tests didn’t help me all that much, but I know what I want to do already so it wasn’t a problem.
The origin of the civil engineering occupation is hard to pinpoint because it could have started thousands of years ago, for just knocking a log over a river to cross it is a form of civil engineering. There is plenty of examples of great engineering through time though. For example, the Egyptian pyramids are still standing today and are one of our greatest architectural achievements ever, and they were made thousands of years ago. Another example could be the Roman’s arch, which revolutionized engineering because it allowed us to construct larger buildings, they did this by supporting the taller structures. It is amazing what ancient engineers were capable of doing with simple math and materials, they could make a structure last for thousands of years. A couple examples of ancient engineers were Archimedes, Sostratus, Imhotep, and Hemiunu. These geniuses paved the way for modern day engineers, so they were very influential in our planet’s history
There are many traits that are helpful when doing this occupation. For example, decision making is essential if you want to become an engineer, this is because they often must balance many aspects of a project, like a deadline, finance, and quality. This forces them to make good decisions that complete all aspects, which is easier said than done. Another quality is leadership skills. Leadership skills will come in handy when you are directing the people who must get the job done. One of the most helpful skills for being a civil engineer is organization. This will help you in being as efficient as possible with the resources at your disposal. Bad organization can be detrimental to a project, just one mis-labeled measurement can mean the difference between thousands of dollars. Problem solving skills will mean volumes in this job, because you never know what could go wrong with a project, from a piece of equipment breaking, to accidentally using warped wood and a bridge falling. It is of utmost importance that a you have speaking and writing skills since civil engineers give many verbal and written reports, along with talking to large groups of people.
My plan to become a civil engineer includes, taking as many math classes as possible in high school, and take a bunch of engineering classes. I want to go to UW for college and if possible, I want to play football in college. I do intend on getting scholarships for college to at least partially pay for my education. I also intend on working and using my saving for college. I’m sure my parents will be willing to chip in as well, but I don’t want to make them pay if I don’t have to.
Overall, I am excited about what the future has for me and I am very interested in civil engineering. From the joy of finishing a project to the interesting history of my work, civil engineering is the perfect job for me.
Works Cited
- “Civil Engineer Ranks Among Best Jobs of 2019.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/civil-engineer.
- “Civil Engineering Degree.” Career Options for Civil Engineers ' Civil Engineering Degree, www.civilengineeringdegree.org/career-options-for-civil-engineers/.
- “Civil Engineers - Today's Military.” - Today's Military, www.todaysmilitary.com/careers-benefits/careers/civil-engineers.
- “Civil Engineers : Occupational Outlook Handbook.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4 Sept. 2019, www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/civil-engineers.htm#tab-4.
- History of Civil Engineering, www.thecivilengg.com/History.php.
- Mathews, Rose. “What Are the Duties of a City Engineer?” Chron.com, 9 Nov. 2016, work.chron.com/duties-city-engineer-14184.html.
- McFadden, Christopher. “13 Engineers From Antiquity And Their Marvels.” Interesting Engineering, Interesting Engineering, 8 Aug. 2019, interestingengineering.com/13-engineers-from-antiquity-and-their-marvels.
- McFadden, Christopher. “13 Engineers From Antiquity And Their Marvels.” Interesting Engineering, Interesting Engineering, 8 Aug. 2019, interestingengineering.com/13-engineers-from-antiquity-and-their-marvels.
- Thompson, Jayne. “How Much Does a Civil Engineer Make per Hour?” Sapling.com, Sapling, 1 June 2019, www.sapling.com/7750974/much-engineer-make-per-hour.
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