Civil Engineering - Research Paper Example

Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………. .2 2. Civil Engineering Profession…………………………………………………….3 3. Civil Engineering Careers…….…………………………………………………4 4. Ethics in Civil Engineering ……..……………………………………………....8 5. Communication Skills for Civil Engineers ………………………………….....10 6. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………..11 7. References………………………………………………………………………12 Introduction Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline and all other disciplines of engineering actually originated from it because it traces its history back to the ancient civilizations. Civil engineering directly has a direct impact on the lifestyle of human beings because all the construction works, infrastructure and basic urban facilities required for living are provided by civil engineers. With the technological advancement and increase in the knowledge of civil engineering, it has been divided into various different sub-disciplines which include environmental engineering, water resources engineering, transportation engineering, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering and urban engineering. The increasing environmental concerns and the scarcity of resources have increased the importance of civil engineers in recent years and it is one of the highest paid professions in the world today (Fidler, 2010). The population explosion in the world has resulted in ever increasing urban problems and only civil engineers can provide viable solutions to these problems by strengthening the infrastructure and bringing about innovation in building construction, transportation, water supply systems and waste management. This paper gives a detailed information about civil engineering as a profession and how the importance of this profession in the world today. Being an analytical thinker and designer, a civil engineer is in a much better position to find out solutions to the problems faced by the world today. The relevance of civil engineering in almost all aspects of life has resulted in the origination of many inter-disciplinary fields of engineering and civil engineers today are working with all other branches of engineering for the benefit of human beings through sustainable development for saving the planet. Civil Engineering Profession Civil engineering is one of the best professions because it gives assurance of a good career ahead with enormous opportunities of growth and service to society because a civil engineer works for the improvement of facilities and services provided to people in the form of infrastructure and comfort of living. Taking up civil engineering as a profession offers unlimited creativity, a good career growth and mental satisfaction because of the opportunity to serve the people (Institution of Civil Engineers). Civil engineering is a very vast field and thus provides a number of options for professional growth. Starting from studying the feasibility of a project the next job of the civil engineer is to plan the execution of the project. The next stage is the design of the project which is a very critical phase of the project and design requires the engineers to have a strong command over the technical skills related to structural and geotechnical engineering. After that the contract process starts and there is an extensive involvement of legal proceedings. The construction phase of the project is the stage where the real execution of ideas is carried out and the designs are realized on ground surface. The job of civil engineer does not end here, the maintenance of the structures, the waste management and provision of access to the structure are also the responsibilities of civil engineer. Therefore civil engineering as a profession offers a wide range of opportunities and a person can select the field which suits his abilities and aptitude. The economic development and growth of a country largely depends upon the advancement the country has achieved in civil engineering because infrastructure, which is the most important aspect of development in a country is provided by civil engineers. It can be observed that the underdeveloped countries are not progressing because they have failed to develop their engineering knowledge and are dependent upon the technical assistance from other countries whereas the countries which have experienced economic boom in recent years have achieved enormous advancement in the field of civil engineering. Thus civil engineers are in a position to find out the needs of the society and utilize the resources for the provision of those needs; this makes the profession of civil engineering one of the most prestigious professions in the society. George Bush emphasized on the importance of engineers for the development of the nation in the following words: America’s engineers have always played a vitally important role in developing America’s way of life and standard of living. From constructing bridges and highways to exploring the vast earth beneath us, America’s engineers are helping to keep America moving and safe (George Bush, 1989). Civil Engineering Careers Civil engineering is a very vast discipline of engineering and thus it provides enormous career opportunities. Civil engineering takes place on all levels from municipal managements to national infrastructure developments, from housing construction to artificial islands, bridges and skyscrapers. Civil engineers are reported to hold 232,000 jobs in 2000 in the US (US Department of Labor) and the number has significantly increased in the recent years. Civil engineers can pursue their career in various government agencies including the Transportation Bureau, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy etc. Whereas there are numerous private national and multinational civil engineering organizations which offer bright career prospects to civil engineers moreover civil engineers also serve in the armed forces as part of the Army Corps of engineers. Civil engineering is also one of the very few professions which offers the option of self-employment and many engineers after getting the relevant experience tend to form construction and consultant organizations of their own (Morse and Babcock, 2009). The recent economic recession impacted the profession of civil engineering however according to The Economist, civil engineering was one of the professions which were least affected by the economic recession of 2009. The job opportunities for civil engineering never die out completely because of the fact that the need for infrastructure development is always present in the society and new roads and construction works are to be carried out no matter how bad the economic conditions may be. One of the studies conducted by National Association of Colleges and Employers, among the engineers with bachelor’s degree in engineering, the average salary of civil engineers rose by 4.8 percent in 2007 ending up to a high average of $47,750. Moreover the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median income of civil engineers at $68,600 which is among the highest paid professions. The need of civil engineers in the job market is increasing with every passing day and according to the US Department of Labor, civil engineering is expected to claim 24 percent of the overall engineering jobs during the decade from 2008m to 2018. The international job market is becoming more and more lucrative for civil engineers as evident by the large scale of construction works going on in the Middle East where large sums of investment is being poured into the construction industry (Garner, 2008). For starting a career in civil engineering the minimum educational qualification required is a bachelor of engineering, however according to the recent criteria set by American Society of Civil Engineers a person should have a masters level of education in civil engineering for starting a career in civil engineering. Civil engineering is a field where professionals are entrusted with enormous responsibilities and small mistakes committed by a civil engineer can result in large loss of life and property. Therefore it is imperative for civil engineers to get the relevant experience taking up large responsibilities and thus civil engineers are required to develop a learning attitude even after the completion of their educational careers. The real learning of a civil engineer starts when he marks the beginning of his career in the field of civil engineering and he has to learn a lot of things from his senior engineers and also from the experienced technicians and labor. Civil engineers gradually grow in their professional careers with the increase in experience and they are also required to pass certain certification exams in order to become practicing professional engineers. Starting from site engineers, civil engineers end up as project directors of large construction projects thus a very rapid growing opportunity is present for hardworking engineers. The careers in civil engineering are widely classified into consultancy and construction. Consultant engineers are the ones which are supposed to initiate projects by carrying out the feasibility studies and estimating the rough costs of the projects. The detailed designs of the construction projects as per the requirements of the clients are also prepared by consultant engineers. The consultant engineers are also responsible for the drafting of contract documents which provide the basis of the extensive bidding process. After the initiation of the construction process the responsibility of the consultant engineers is to watch over the whole construction activity and supervise it in order to ensure quality and compliance with certain environmental and safety standards. The job of the construction engineers in more of a practical nature and the overall execution of the project is carried out by construction engineers. The job of the construction engineers is to construct the structure according to the designs and specifications provided by the client through the design consultant complying with the environmental and safety standards at the same time and complete the project in the specified time limit. The various legal issues which arise during the construction period and also after the construction period are also managed by consultant engineers on behalf of the client and the contractor. The maintenance of the structures is also carried out by construction engineers. In addition to this wide classification of careers in civil engineering, there are various sub-disciplines of civil engineering each of which provide altogether different possibilities to the people pursuing a career in civil engineering, these include: Structural Engineer carries out the structural designs of the various projects including bridges, high-rise buildings, dams, industrial buildings, monuments, ports, airports etc. A Geotechnical Engineer carries out the design of the portion of the various structures which is under the surface of the ground which includes the foundation design of all buildings, bridges, roads, dams, offshore oil wells, ports etc. Water Resources Engineer is the one which takes career of the water resources present in the world and designs the various hydraulic structures including dams, weirs, barrages and channels for managing the flow of water in streams and for utilizing water for useful purposes. An Environmental Engineer takes care of the environment and effectively carries out the solid waste management in urban areas; he is also responsible for reducing the environmental impact of various buildings and industries by employing the principles of sustainable engineering. Transportation Engineers manage the infrastructure development by designing roads, railways and bridges. They are also responsible for estimating and managing the flows of traffic through various roads once constructed. Construction Engineers are the ones which executes construction based on the designs formulated and conducted by the above mentioned engineers. In addition to these some civil engineers adopt the profession of Surveying and Urban Engineering. Materials Engineering and Architectural Engineering are also very closely related to civil engineering. Thus the field of civil engineering provides an individual with enormous career opportunities (Mc David and Mc David, 2007). Ethics in Civil Engineering The code of ethics is a basic guide to professional conduct and imposes duties on the practicing professional engineers regarding all the aspects of their professional work which includes the interaction of engineers with the society, with the employers and clients and also with the fellow staff members, colleagues and subordinates. They are required to follow this code of ethics in their interaction with engineers associated with other fields of engineering and while fulfilling their responsibilities when working in field. The implementation of the codes of ethics is very important for ensuring fairness, loyalty, devotion and competence in the field of engineering. When engineers are following a certain code of ethics they are bound to follow a marked path of public welfare, employer and personal satisfaction and they can fulfill their responsibilities in the best possible manner. The fundamental principles of engineering code of ethics for civil engineers as specified by American Society of Civil Engineers are as following: a. Through the utilization of their knowledge, adopting an unbiased approach and giving respect to other engineers and organizations, engineers uphold and carry forward the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering profession. Engineers are supposed to ensure the health and safety of the public while working and they should take into consideration the principles of sustainable development in all types of construction. b. Engineers are bound to work in the particular areas of their competence because without proper knowledge and relevant experience, engineers cannot fulfill their responsibilities properly therefore the engineers must have the required educational qualification and experience before starting work on any design, construction or maintenance assignment. c. Engineers are supposed to be loyal to their profession and no one else and thus should act as faithful agents in professional matters by adopting an unbiased approach towards the parties of a contract in conflicting situations. Engineers should fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to them by their employer and should work for his legitimate interests. d. Honesty is the most important aspect of engineering ethics because it provides the basis of the profession of engineering. Therefore engineers should always claim merit based acknowledgment on the basis of their knowledge, skill and abilities. e. Engineers are supposed to work for preserving and enhancing the dignity and honor of the engineering profession and thus they should abstain themselves from any type of bribery, corruption or fraud. f. A continuous advancement in technology is always taking place in the profession of engineering so there is always a room for engineers to improve themselves in terms of qualification and technical knowledge therefore engineers should uphold the principles of continuing education and professional development. These ethics are considered as essentials for being a successful and honest civil engineer because when engineers are working on a project, the life and property of public is in the hands of engineers and thus they are supposed to fulfill their responsibilities to the fullest by following the afore mentioned principles (American Society of Civil Engineers). Communication Skills for Civil Engineers Enormous stress is being laid on the importance of communication skills for the engineers recently and this is because of the fact that in the increasing competitive environment engineers are supposed to be more and more expressive in the conveyance of their ideas in order to convince the public about the safety and benefit of the projects and also to convince the investors about the productivity of the projects. Communication means conveying ones ideas to others and also receiving the information conveyed by them, both of these aspects of communication are imperative for being a successful engineers. No matter how good the idea or design of an engineer is, it is useless until it draws the attention of other people which include the general public and the client who are the financers of the projects. Moreover engineers are supposed to base their designs on the basis of the instructions provided by clients and architects, the engineers with a good level of communication are in a much better position to understand the ideas conveyed by architects and clients and thus they are more likely to deliver a good finished product (Davies, 2001). Therefore effective communication skills are very important for civil engineers for progression in the field of engineering. Another aspect of communication is health and safety at workplace because lack of communication also results in accidents. Therefore engineers should also develop their oral, written and listening communication skills in addition to gaining technical knowledge (Mind Tools). The ability to perceive the information conveyed by others is also important because of the fact that the future improvements in engineering design are based on the feedback provided by client and public on various projects. There are numerous ways in which engineers can improve their communication skills; these include the habit of delivering presentations during education, involving in group activities and learning teamwork and also through an increased level of social interactions. Conclusion Civil engineering is a very vast field of engineering and has a very wide variety of applications in various aspects of everyday life of human beings. Civil engineering has gained importance recently because of its ability to provide solutions to the problems faced by human beings in the current global scenario and this is the reason for the enormous growth of job and career opportunities in this field. Following the professional code of ethics for engineers, developing good communication skills in addition to gaining the relevant technical education and field experience is essential for pursuing a career in civil engineering. References American Society of Civil Engineers n.d., Code of Ethics, American Society of Civil Engineers, [Online], Available: http://www.asce.org/Leadership-and-Management/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/ [27 November 2011] Davies, J. (2001) Communication Skills: a guide for engineering and applied sciences students, Prentice Hall. Fidler, T. (2010) Civil Engineering, Biblio Bazaar. Garner, G. (2008) Careers in Engineering, McGraw Hill Professional. Institution of Civil Engineers n.d., About Civil Engineering, Institution of Civil Engineers, [Online], Available: [27 November 2011] Mc David, R. and Mc David, S. (2007) Career Opportunities in Engineering, Infobase Publishing. Mind Tools n.d., Introduction to Communication Skills: Why Communication Skills are so Important, Mind Tools Library, [Online], Available: http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/CommunicationIntro.htm [26 November 2011] Morse, L. and Babcock, D. (2009) Managing Engineering and Technology: An Introduction to Management for Engineers, Prentice Hall. Read More