Thinking of doing civil eng

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Dominato3r

Diamond Member
Aug 15, 2008
5,109
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sdifox said:
I can't think of a more frustrating career. All your recommendations will be ignored because there is no F in money.

Maintenance will be ignored, leading to shortened service life.
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Maybe in ON, but I think BC has it much better with infrastructure funding

bonkers325 said:
But back on topic, civil engineering is a broad field and like Imp says, you can do many things as a civil engineer. In general, we are on the other end of the salary range and at the same time I feel we have more liabilities than most other engineering professions. If you work on the public side of things, be prepared for boredom and tons of red tape. I would NOT recommend working for public sector unless you have 5+ years under your belt. Anything you learn as a public employee will likely not be useful if you ever decide to venture into the private sector.
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I looked at the general payscales and it's not that much of a difference, for me anyway. There are definitely some people who make it big right after college. Like anything else it comes down to experience.
 
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darkewaffle

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
8,152
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Be prepared to take shit for not being a "real" engineer kind of like psychologists get for not being "real" doctors :p
 
Imp

Imp

Lifer
Feb 8, 2000
18,828
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Dominato3r said:
Maybe in ON, but I think BC has it much better with infrastructure funding

I looked at the general payscales and it's not that much of a difference, for me anyway. There are definitely some people who make it big right after college. Like anything else it comes down to experience.
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If you really want to get into it, find a university with a co-op program. And keep your grades up and talk to your professors so you keep the door open for a graduate degree. You can do MEng part-time with some research, or MASc. full-time with emphasis on research and much more focus -- Waterloo offers MASc. part-time, which I think is bullshit.
 
Farmer

Farmer

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2003
3,334
2
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darkewaffle said:
Just a perception of what the name/the word "civil" means. It's stupid and false, but still exists.
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I don't get this at all. I have never heard of any disrespect for civil engineers.

At a tech school, the only major that is routinely disrespected is business.
 
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marvdmartian

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2002
5,442
27
91
Civil engineering isn't a bad field to get into.....they're always going to need to know how to build things, and engineering fields are relatively safe.

If your university (where you'd go for the CE degree) offers a minor in environmental studies, that's a good tack-on, and should go well with your major. Let's face it.....we've spent the past 150+ years crapping up the environment, we'll probably spend the next 300 cleaning it up!
 
mmntech

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
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Dominato3r said:
I just finished second year, well technically first but a series of moves and such technically puts me into having finished first year. But that's besides the point.

I'm in the sciences right now, specifically taking bio chem type classes with the overall goal to finish second year and apply for the pharmacy program. I've figured out two things since I've been in university.

a) I'm not the biggest fan of chemistry. I don't like it, I don't hate it. I'm competent with chemistry and do fairly well in coursework, but it's not something that interests me

b) I'm really not a fan of biology. The subject is mundane, boring what have you. I'm also not good at it. Whatever that means, because it is a lot of memorization, but it frustrates the fuck out of me.

So I've been looking into a possible change. I looked at all the different types of engineering out there, and civil really sticks out. I've always been interested in infrastructure and concepts that involve logistics etc. Everything I've read online makes this seem like the type of thing I'd like to do.

In regards to getting into the program, most of my courses and credits would not transfer over. I would also need to switch my university, because my current school offers pretty much every type of engineering besides civil. I've emailed the two potential universities I might transfer to, and it looks like I'm going to have to redo most of first year, which I have no problem with.

So what think AT? I would have no problem going into pharmacy, but I think I would be really bored there. The pay and general job outlook seems to be positive there. I'd rather to this sooner than later than end up being locked into a certain path.
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My dad is a civil engineer. Damn good one too. It's a great career but they're in low demand right now last time I heard. For education, it's mostly mathematics and physics you'll need to learn. There is some chemistry and geology. You'll need the latter too to understand material properties for concrete, stone, epoxy, bedrock, all that fun stuff.
 
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QueHuong

Platinum Member
Nov 21, 2001
2,098
0
0
I majored in biomedical engineering and thought that biology is all memorization too, whereas the engineering is the real intellectual side. Since then, I've realized that the bio side is just like any other science: you have to truly understand the foundation and be able to manipulate the information you know to make new connections. Since realizing this, I find biology to be actually pretty fun and interesting. If you're not doing well in bio, it's because you're not understanding it, not because you're not memorizing it.

As for your question, can't offer much input. I think in the US, civil engineers have a relatively higher unemployment rate; is someone able to verify this? If it's tossup between mech vs civil, I think mech is more versatile. But remember, engineering is freaking tough (see sig) and you need to enjoy it to have the motivation to do well. So go into the field that you enjoy more.
 
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KillerCharlie

Diamond Member
Aug 21, 2005
3,691
68
91
Personally civil engineering bores the hell out of me... all you have to do is add more steel and concrete. Mechanical engineers can do lots of the stuff civil engineers can, and I agree that it's much more vesatile. Probably in the grand scope of engineering majors mechanical is probably the most versatile. I guarantee you it's harder than civil, but if you do okay in math (B or higher) you'll be fine.

If you do civil you'll probably have to put up with licensing BS that most engineering majors don't.

I went into aerospace because of my love of aircraft. Now I literally get to design wings and do aerodynamics on planes that will be flown on by millions of people.



Just make sure you get it right. An extra year or two for getting the right engineering degree will bring you more debt but it'll be manageable - it's not like a psychology major.
 
Farmer

Farmer

Diamond Member
Dec 23, 2003
3,334
2
81
jagec said:
And your classmates didn't make civil engineer jokes?

Huh.
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No. I didn't even know this was a thing until this thread.

Like I said the only people routinely made fun of for having it easy were undergrad business majors.
 
K

Kreon

Golden Member
Oct 22, 2006
1,329
0
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I'm a civil engineer! I just graduated as well.

I really like civil. Unlike all of my friends in mechanical, electrical and computer engineering, I had no issues finding a co-op in school, and I have a steady job after college. Which is more than friends in other disciplines. But that is all anecdotal. I know that overall, civil engineering tends to be one of the lower paid engineering disciplines (overall, not specific niche fields) but the most stable.

One of the things with civil is that you need to specialize at some point. The major subsets are: civil/sitework, structural, transportation, geotechnical, environmental, and water/wastewater. To graduate you will need to know a smattering of all of them (and eventually get you PE). In terms of a job, you will probably need to specialize, especially if you go to grad school. A note on PE and grad school: the way that liscensure is moving is to require a bachelors +30 (or a Masters) to register. How quickly that will come into affect is up in the air. Unlike other engineering disciplines, getting your PE in civil is absolutely vital, as any design you do will need a stamp.

As far as my experiences: I focused heavily into geotechnical. I find that particular subset really interesting. I am currently a field engineer for a geotechnical firm, and am hoping to get into a mining or tunnelling firm soon. Geotechnical engineering has traditionally been a higher paid niche of civil engineering, but that has been changing. Tunnelling is still a niche, one that has proven harder to get into than I figured.

Overall, I think I made a solid career choice. If you have any questions, please PM me and I will be happy to answer them.

1 other tidbit of advice: Find a school that has co-op programs. The reason I got a job after college was because of the solid experience I got on co-op. Also, join the ASCE student chapter on campus.

TL:DR: Civil is great. It has a bunch of subsets, you will likely need to choose one to focus in. Ask me any questions you have, I can suggest some schools in Boston area if you want. Also, get involved in your student ASCE chapter. So many connections with professionals, easier to get jobs.

Also, I should add that I have never really heard the "real engineer" thing. Of course there is the cross disciplinary crap (mechs build weapons, civils build targets), but it's never been actually nasty, just playful.
 
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Dedpuhl

Lifer
Nov 20, 1999
10,370
0
76
lxskllr said:
What do you like about engineering? I was in a related field, surveying, with my specialty being highway/bridge construction, and to a lesser extent, commercial buildings. I got to fix engineering screwups in the field, and I enjoyed that. I like fixing problems. Doing everything from scratch seems like it would be boring to me. Crunching numbers, and ensuring specs, while worrying about something you forgot, or didn't account for.
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To be honest, I really don't care for it anymore. Since I moved to Florida in 2006, I've spent more time fighting regulatory agencies over permits than doing any real design work.
 
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iGas

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2009
6,240
1
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Also, I should add that I have never really heard the "real engineer" thing. Of course there is the cross disciplinary crap (mechs build weapons, civils build targets), but it's never been actually nasty, just playful.
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We make similar jabs around here too, "there are two types of ships submarines and targets".
 
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