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Career opportunities in Civil Engineering

Career opportunities in Civil Engineering

There are interesting career opportunities in civil engineering if you have a taste towards the environment and sustainability. The role of civil engineers is to design, supervise, construct roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and other infrastructure. This includes even water supply and sewage systems for a city or township. It is the responsibility of civil engineer to consider all the  factors in the design process. It starts from the cost of construction, planning, and timelines of a project.  They are also expected to learn about government regulations and potential environmental hazards such as earthquakes and hurricanes. With all these, a career in civil engineering is all about taking up challenges and working in a team.

Civil engineering career is considered the oldest engineering discipline, with many specialisations at postgraduate level. Career in Civil Engineering can be planned among specialisations like structural, water resources, construction, transportation, and geotechnical engineering. A good number of civil engineers  hold supervisory or administrative positions. Jobs sometimes start from supervisor of a construction site to city engineer. Other careers in civil engineering may be working in design, construction, research, and teaching. Practically speaking, a career in civil engineering is not fixed in any of the specialisations. It is always better to get knowledge in all the fields and focus on one. This helps to get adapted in case there is a career change.

Civil Engineering need in India

India sees the need of civil engineers to manage projects to rebuild, repair, and upgrade bridges, roads, levees, dams, airports, buildings, and other structures. It is important to develop smart cities, infrastructure like roads and tunnels for better transportation facilities. Especially with the population growth, new systems and changes in the infrastructure become very essential. It can also be for the maintenance of the existing systems. 

Waste management, effective sewage systems, and water purification systems are nationally important projects. Even to improve the waterways transportation, India needs civil engineers with specialisation in environmental science. It is not just enough to build the waterways, but also to keep them clean. It is the role of civil engineers to be part of all these projects. Career in civil engineering also includes working with renewable-energy projects. Their roles will be in supervising, planning, design, implementation of the construction of structures such as wind farms and solar arrays. 

Protecting the infrastructure is of national importance for any country. It is important for any government to have enough funding and financial support for all these projects. Delayed projects will have to be completed to build and maintain critical infrastructure. It is important to protect the public and the environment as well.

There may be a slight decline in the recruitment of civil engineers during the economic slowdown. But it has to bounce back when the situation becomes normal. Civil engineers are also employed by architectural, engineering, and related companies. Employment opportunities will vary by geographic area.

Career in Civil Engineering – Prerequisites to be known?

Typical feature in the case of a career in engineering is to be adaptable to new situations. Career in civil engineering is also of now difference. The workdays may not be like usual 9 to 5 or enjoying the holidays.  Each day can be challenging with new work or projects or any crisis situation management. There can be unique demands, and the nature of these demands will vary based on the specialization and seniority of the civil engineer. Problem solving with teams, critical thinking is one important aspect especially for civil engineering. 

Sometimes, civil engineers end up working with one project for quite a long time.  They might be working on a long term project to plan a new housing development.  They may move on to developing a new highway system in a different city or even a country. Civil engineers always will have complicated or complex projects needing to have much interaction with other civil engineers or from other specialties.  

Interaction with the co-workers, team members etc. is important in civil engineering especially when it is related to a public project. One of the most important skills for 21st century engineers like communication and collaboration is essential here.   Usually there will be a large number of people working as a team in any civil engineering project. Here, teamwork becomes more important to achieve large scale efforts.

Civil engineers have a wide array of specialty areas to choose from. The titles civil engineers hold are far more broad than most people know and their duties are even more diverse.

Career opportunities in Civil Engineering – Jobs

  • Road Construction
  • Buildings Construction
  • Airports
  • Tunnels for transportation
  • Dams and related construction
  • Sewage / Drainage systems

Job prospects of Civil Engineers

Civil Engineers can be a part of research and development team in the analysis or evaluation of the projects, recommending cost effective methods of construction, quality in construction, etc. There are various job profiles and career opportunities in civil engineering in India.

Career in Civil Engineering – roles

  • Building control surveyor
  • Consulting civil engineer
  • Contracting civil engineer
  • Site engineer
  • Structural engineer
  • Water engineer
  • Building services engineer
  • Engineering geologist
  • Environmental consultant
  • Patent attorney
  • Quantity surveyor
  • Rigging Companies
  • Oil Refineries
  • Topographic Surveying
  • Plumbing and Sanitary
  • Ground Water Engineering
  • Irrigation
  • Civil and Structural engineering Design
  • Project Design Consultancy
  • Project Consultancy
  • Quality Assurance and Quality Control
  • Quantity survey and Costing
  • Contracting and Contract Management
  • Detailed Engineering
  • Bridge Engineering
  • Railway Engineering,
  • Highway Engineering
  • Metro urban Transportation
  • Airports Engineering
  • Hydraulics and Water resources Engineering
  • Water Supply and Treatment
  • Sewage Disposal and Sewage Treatment
  • Effluent Treatment
  • Transportation and Traffic Engineering

Possible Specialisations after B.Tech in Civil Engineering:

  • Building Technology
  • Structural Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Geotechnical Engineering
  • Water Resources Engineering
  • Transportation Engineering
  • Urban / city Planning
  • Construction & Management

Associations / Professional Bodies of Civil Engineers in India:

  • Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India)
  • Indian Society of Civil Engineers
  • Building Technocrats Association
  • Institution of Civil Engineers (India)
  • Builders Association of India

Top Civil Engineering Companies in India

  • Larsen &Toubro Ltd
  • Jaiprakash Associates Ltd
  • Lanco Infratech Limited
  • Nagarjuna Construction Company
  • IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects Ltd.
  • Gammon India
  • GMR Group
  • Hindustan Construction Company
  • Punj Lloyd Group
  • Simplex Infrastructures Ltd