Civil Engineer Career Guide and Counseling

Question: Civil Engineer? Hi, im doing a project for my school. I have a small question...How much does a civil engineer gets paid per year..a engineer of 5 years experience?

Answer: i'd say $70-75K after 5 years. Typically they start in the 50K range. There are a ton of factors that go into it though

Question: After my B.E civil engineering what i have to study to get high salary earning civil engineer in australia? After my B.E civil engineering degree what i want to study to get a high earning civil engineer job?

Answer: only experience working is going to give you a high salary. head towards management rather than technical

Question: How to become a successful civil engineer and what are the qualities of a good civil engineer? I am a young civil engineer and i am looking for a better opportunity to have a stable career.

Answer: I'm an Electronics and Computer Engineer. Look at government positions for a Civil Engineer first and I think you would like the opportunities there.

Question: How long does it take to become a civil engineer in US? 1. How long does it take to become a CIvil Engineer in US? 2. What is their Salary in US? 3. How much does it cost to become a CIvil Engineer for a women in US? 4. What is the best University in US for CIvil Engineer? 5. Do women satisfy with their job as a Civil Engineer in US?

Answer: 1) Assuming that the student has just graduated high school or secondary school, it generally takes 4 years of university-level studies to become a civil engineer. Some students participate in internships or co-op programs that involve working for a civil engineering company in between semesters of classes. These students may take 5 or 6 years. 2) Average starting salary of a civil engineer is in the range of 30,000-60,000 dollars based on grades, personality, work experience and location. 3) The cost depends greatly on the school one attends. For a student who goes to a public university of the state they grew up in, it may cost only $30,000 for tuition and books. If someone is an out-of-state student or goes to a private school, it could be much much more. 4) This is a difficult question to ask since there are many schools that would claim to be the best. In general, the best way to choose a school is based on it's value. That is, find a school that offers what you want at a price you can afford. There are many websites (such as princetonreview.com or usnews.com ) which have information about the very many schools that offer civil engineering programs in the US. 5) As with any other job, there are people who are satisfied and those who are not. Engineering in general is typically mostly male, but there are increasing numbers of women going into engineering, including civil. I know a number of female civil engineers who are quite happy with their jobs.

Question: What does a Materials Engineer have to offer a group of civil engineers? What does a Materials Engineer have to offer a group of civil engineers? Please help me...I am going for a job interview tom and I KNOw this question will come up, yet I can't make a good argument for myself.

Answer: Civil engineers use concrete, steel, lumber, ect. to build large-scale structures. All of these materials must work together to create a safe and functional building. Materials engineers would be helpful in better selecting materials for different applications as either a cost-saving measure or increased safety measure. Compression testing (concrete), tensile testing (steel), and other sampling of raw materials will ensure that the civil engineer's plans won't be hindered by shoddy product. Unless it is a company full of old stiffs who are in the "this is how we've been doing it for 100 years we're not changing" camp, then you could also be useful in studying and researching new materials to make buildings and roads stronger than ever before.

Question: What is the significance of timber to a civil engineer? What is the significance of timber to a civil engineer? Why is it important for a civil engineer to know about the properties of timber and its uses?

Answer: Essentially the same as lumber to a civil engineer, the allowable values for stresses are lower because it is harder to find a nice piece of timber, lumber is smaller and easier to get a let's say clear piece (strictly a clear piece has not knots anywhere), when I say clear here I mean not that knotty, pretty straight. If you want to get really picky, timber is what we call poles and larger pieces of wood, more commonly used dimensions are called lumber. Availability of timber is an issue and sometimes a size isn't available, but usually anything larger than 6x6 is timber, including circular poles. You can get some very nice looking, dramatic houses if you pay for the engineering. We're still using the NDS and underlying ASTM testing to determine values. If you've seen a Gander Mountain store, there is a lot of timber on the outside, for appearance, but nonetheless designed by a structural engineer to stand up to wind, snow, etc. Timber is also commonly used in Post and Timber construction (an alternate to "stick frame" construction), as well as figuring in to a lot of religious structures in the U.S. The ASTM testing standards are extremely important to the civil/structural engineer working on wood structures. But they are not very visible at the design level. x) Offhand, I don't know the ASTM tests, but you can try asking someone over at the American Wood Council for specifics, awc.org, they have an email, a blog, and a phone number. They're a great source of information. x) Massively significant, wood is a grown material, so testing is needed to establish confidence in what loads wood (lumber or timber) can safely support. The National Design Specification (Standard? I forget what S stands for), is released every four years or so, 2005, 2001, 1997, 1994, 1991, etc. It establishes safe stresses for wood design for most structural species (softwood, typically), including Southern Pine, Spruce Pine Fir, and Douglas Fir-Larch (the three most common structural grade species in the US). Since the forest folks are cutting the lumber faster and faster, growing them with chemicals or who knows what, the allowable stress values in lumber tend to decline every four years, meaning if you use old values, you are potentially unsafe. This has to do with the rate of production of the material and the quality of what is being cut down (old growth timber is now quite rare, and that stuff usually gets diverted to furniture or planking that people get to see anyway, not hidden inside a wall at the prices they want to charge for it). x) As above, you need the testing (the NDS, not individual testing on the wood you're going to use on a project, it isn't like concrete where you take batches and test them every time you pour, wood typically doesn't have testing of material specific to the job), to design properly. The NDS is the critical reference for wood design in the US, the ASTM tests are behind the numbers in the NDS, no testing, no NDS, no wood structures stamped by a civil/structural engineer.

Question: How can I become a civil engineer in the Air Force? I recently graduated college (Dec 07) with degrees in environmental science and ecology. I tried grad school but it just wasn't for me. I am going to enlist with the Air Force because it is something that I've wanted to do since high school with plans to get into OTS should I want to make a career out of it. What options are there for an enlisted to become an civil engineer?

Answer: To be a civil engineer.....u have to go back to school to get a BS in civil engineering. A graduate degree in any else wont cut it. Environmental science is a very different field from civil engineering Trust me I'm in the same position ur in

Question: What does a civil engineer do in an airline company? There's currently an opening for a Civil Engineer in Philippine Airlines. I tried asking the job description through email but they haven't responded yet. Do you have any idea? Thanks.

Answer: I'd say they are probably involved in the design of ground facilities, either aircraft maintenance or passenger facilities.

Question: How good in math should I be to become a civil engineer? I am starting Civil engineering school in the fall but I am a little worried that I am not good enough in math. I have always made A's and B's in algebra, geometry, and finite math, but I have been taking an online Trig class and I am having a hard time teaching myself. I think I could do better if I was in an actual class because I learn better when I am showed but that was not an option. I want to work with the department of transportation and development so I am not sure if I will be doing more design or more supervision and inspection. Therefore, I have no idea how much of this stuff that I am being taught will ever be applied. But I am getting a little discouraged that I am not advanced enough in math to be a successful engineer. I also seem to have trouble retaining information if I do not use it and apply it and this is a bit discouraging also. Should I consider another field or is all of this in my head?

Answer: You need to develop a proficiency in mathematics. A Civil Engineer is in volved with trigonometry problems on almost a constant basis. with a good grounding in algebra, geometry and Trig you will be able to handle most problems that you meet in your carreert. However the university is going to require at least 2 and probably 4 semester of Calculus, Advanced algebra and maybe differential equations before you earn a degree. The truth of the matter is that this is overpreparation for most people except the tiny minority that goes into research work. From my own experience I have only met one Civil Engineer who said that he has ever used calculus in his work and I have only used it a half dozen times. If you plan on working for DOT you will probably never have the occasion to use calculus on the job but I guarantee trig is a must.

Question: What salary should I expect as an Entry Level Civil Engineer seeking employment with a Land Development firm? I have 3 years of transportation experience as a civil engineer with a consultant firm in the Chicago suburban area. I am looking to make the jump to a Build/Design Land Development firm, industrial development not residential. Any insight as to expected entry level salary and opportunity for growth both salary and career wise would be helpful.

Answer: If you have a degree definitely anywhere from $13- maybe $16 depending where you go.