Expert: Bryan P. Lindsey, P.E. - 3/10/2009

Question
Hi my name is Brett Bennett. Currently I am a sophomore at Norwell High School in northeastern Indiana. I am in a class called Principles of Engineering and we are doing a report over a certain field of engineering. I choose to do civil engineering and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions I have come up with to add to my report. Thank you very much for any help you can provide.

Q:  Describe the duties and responsibilities of someone working in civil engineering.  What are some specific jobs in this field?

Q:  What is your specialty in civil engineering?

Q:  What are some of the projects you’ve worked on?

Q:  Do you have assignments that seem to drag on forever, or are they usually pretty quick?

Q:  How much of your time is spent on the computer?

Q:  Does your job deal mainly with people, data or things?

Q:  Are there any specific tools or equipment required for your job?

Q:  What are the advantages of this occupation?

Q:  Are there any disadvantages?

Q:  How about advancement opportunities?

Q: Are employers evenly distributed or are they concentrated in certain areas of the country?

Q:  So do most people work for themselves, private industry, or the government?

Q:  What are the beginning, average, and top pay one could expect to earn working in civil engineering?

Q:  Does where you live make a difference in your salary?

Q:  Is there overtime pay?

Q: How many hours do you work per week?

Q: What about vacations?

Q: Is there further education offered where you work?

Q: Do you have to travel?

Q: What are the retirement benefits?

Q: In what kind of environment is the work done? Indoors? Outdoors?

Q:  Is it possible to work at home (like if you’re sick)?

Q:  Do you work alone or with other people?

Q:  Were there any tests or licenses you had to get before you became an engineer?

Q:  What is your most satisfying experience so far?

Q:  Is this what you thought you were going to do in high school?

Q:  How about in college?

Q:  What degree did you get in college?

Q:  How long have you work in your profession?

Q:  Do you know anything about the employment opportunities for people my age?

Q:  Do you have any advice for someone looking to go into civil engineering?

Q:  That’s about it.  Is there anything you want to add?


Answer
These are alot of questions, I will do my best to brief and to the point.

Q:  Describe the duties and responsibilities of someone working in civil engineering.  What are some specific jobs in this field? At first you are designer, designing things like shopping centers, roadways, industrial parks, airports, intersections, etc.

Q:  What is your specialty in civil engineering? Transportation

Q:  What are some of the projects you’ve worked on? Widenings from two lanes to four lanes, sidewalk projects, drainage improvements.

Q:  Do you have assignments that seem to drag on forever, or are they usually pretty quick? My project can range from 6 months to 3 years

Q:  How much of your time is spent on the computer? All of it.

Q:  Does your job deal mainly with people, data or things? All of the above

Q:  Are there any specific tools or equipment required for your job? Knowledge

Q:  What are the advantages of this occupation? Good wages and satisifaction

Q:  Are there any disadvantages? long hours say can be upto 60 hours a week but rare

Q:  How about advancement opportunities? Great

Q: Are employers evenly distributed or are they concentrated in certain areas of the country? distributed

Q:  So do most people work for themselves, private industry, or the government? All of the above

Q:  What are the beginning, average, and top pay one could expect to earn working in civil engineering? Starting pay in the mid 40's upto mid 100's

Q:  Does where you live make a difference in your salary? yes

Q:  Is there overtime pay? salary positions typically do not pay overtime

Q: How many hours do you work per week? typically 45 but can be 60

Q: What about vacations? 2 weeks grows 5 days after 5 years typically

Q: Is there further education offered where you work? yes

Q: Do you have to travel? very little

Q: What are the retirement benefits? 401k no pention

Q: In what kind of environment is the work done? Indoors? Outdoors? Indoors except for inspections

Q:  Is it possible to work at home (like if you’re sick)? yes, depends on the company

Q:  Do you work alone or with other people? other people on a design team

Q:  Were there any tests or licenses you had to get before you became an engineer? EIT (engineer in training exam) PE (Professional Engineer Exam)

Q:  What is your most satisfying experience so far? Fixing a road problem were several deaths had occurred

Q:  Is this what you thought you were going to do in high school? no

Q:  How about in college? yes, went to a Georgia Tech got Bachelor's of Civil Engineering

Q:  What degree did you get in college? see previous answer

Q:  How long have you work in your profession? 13 years

Q:  Do you know anything about the employment opportunities for people my age? internships

Q:  Do you have any advice for someone looking to go into civil engineering? Pick a good school and coop if possible

Q:  That’s about it.  Is there anything you want to add?