Everything you need to know when planning for a career in civil engineering

Harsh
4 min readJan 18, 2021

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Original image from Marwadi University

Civil Engineering is a very dynamic field and has a lot of opportunities to build a successful career. The job of a civil engineer is mainly to plan, design and build infrastructure. In this article, I have talked about civil engineering in detail and the career prospects for a civil engineer.

India is continuously evolving as a developing nation. And the significance infrastructure holds in the economic development of the country is much higher. It is a duty of a civil engineer to overlook the infrastructural development of the country. With a rise in budgets allocated to infrastructure development, the demand for civil engineers has also risen.

After my schooling, I was planning to go for studying engineering. And after carrying a lot of research, I had narrowed down upon choosing civil engineering as my specialization. So I can tell you that the career in the field looks promising and is growing at a much faster pace. You can opt for Bachelor in Civil Engineering to mark your start towards a successful career.

Civil Engineering — Overview

One of the oldest branches of engineering is civil engineering. The term civil engineering refers to planning, designing and building of the infrastructure. It deals in the construction of large infrastructure projects like road, dams, bridges, airports, railways, tunnels, highways, houses etc. amongst others. Civil Engineering is the central part in developing the infrastructure of the nation.

Civil engineers in simple terms are planners and designers. They are involved in each and every stage from planning, designing, building to demolishing of infrastructure. Civil engineers form an essential part of every community. There are two types of civil engineers:

1. Consultants: They sit more in the office and are focused on design work.

2. Contractors: They are more involved in on-site projects and in developing physical infrastructure.

Let us look at some of the responsibilities of a civil engineer in brief

  • To be involved in each stage of developing infrastructure.
  • To keep a check on budgets and resources and to see the project completes on time.
  • To check that they have complied with all legal requirements.
  • Determining the impact projects has on the environment and how sustainable these projects are.
  • Analyze data, maps and survey reports, and then plan and design project accordingly.
  • To develop designs using computer software.

Now that you have an overview of civil engineering, we shall further explore educational and future opportunities.

Bachelor in Civil Engineering Course

A Bachelor in Civil Engineering is a 4-year undergraduate course, in which all the branches of engineering reside. This course is helpful to aspirants to learn the ability for growth and development of large infrastructures. The study of civil engineering is considered as the most appropriate course at present. Aspirants who seek to grow their careers by planning, designing and building infrastructure, then this course is right for you.

Eligibility

To pursue a Bachelor in Civil Engineering, aspirants are supposed to fulfil the below-stated criteria:

  • Successful completion of 12th standard in science stream.
  • Minimum 45% result
  • Studied Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry at qualifying levels.
  • Appeared for Gujcet exam and is registered under ACPC.

Future Opportunities for a Civil Engineer

Civil engineering is one of the most trending and demanding careers offering desirable salary packages. After pursuing bachelors, you can either go for masters or look for a good job. Check out below some options to choose after studying the course:

Specialization

Based on the industry you wish to work in, you can choose to pursue masters in a specific subject. As an example, if you would like to pursue a career within the field of construction, you can pick Mtech in Structural Engineering.

Go for an internship

If you wish to induce clarity on the industry you want to work in, you can strive it out by exploring the choice, by choosing an internship.

Start your own business

You’ve got no limitations as an engineer to begin your own company. Start your own construction company or become a cement manufacturer. Make sure you opt to something within the same field.

Below are some job roles for civil engineers:

  • Construction Engineer
  • Structural Engineer
  • Civil Engineer
  • Geotechnical Engineer
  • Water Management Engineers
  • Transportation Engineer
  • Highway Engineers

Below are some of the employment opportunities for Civil Engineers:

  • Municipal corporations
  • PWD
  • Government Agencies
  • Railways
  • NHAI
  • MNCs
  • Geotechnical companies
  • PSU
  • Transportation Companies

Based on my experience, these were the points; I thought are helpful to someone looking for making a career in civil engineering. All the best.

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Harsh

An avid writer that writes on anything that comes into his mind.