Answer: Civil engineers can specialize in a variety of areas. The viability of certain specializations depends on your location. Some options are:
- Water resources
- Environmental engineering
- Municipal planning
- Construction
- Hydraulics
- Transportation
- Geotechnical engineering
- Foundation analysis
- Transportation engineering
- Architecture
- Surveying
- Building inspection
- Structural engineering
- Public health
A bachelor's degree in Engineering is the minimum requirement to become a qualified civil engineer. A post graduate degree is required for research or teaching posts and an additional degree in business administration is desirable for management positions. Engineering courses are available at two levels. There are the degree and postgraduate degree courses offered by the engineering colleges and Institutes of Technology (IITs), and, the diploma courses available at polytechnics. There is also the Associate Membership Examination of the Institute of Engineers (AMIE), which enables working people in the private and public sector, or diploma holders to acquire a Bachelor's engineering degree through distance education.IIT Chennai and Institute Of Post Graduate Studies And Research, Hyderabad gives MS courses in civil Engineering, through distance education, the basic qualification of which is BE/ B tech in engineering.
A civil engineer needs to have a sharp, analytical and practical mind and give attention to details. Excellent communication skills is a necessity and he should have the ability to get along at all levels, as part of a team. He should be good at organizing and solving problems. He may need to work under pressure and have the ability to keep calm during crisis.
He needs to know about surveying methods, environmental issues like whether the area is susceptible to tremors or has sandy soil etc, properties of building materials like its load bearing strength, resistance to fire and corrosion etc. Besides having a good technical designing knowledge conceptualising structures, they should be computer literate in order to use design, drawing and word processing software. Civil engineers need to know building and safety regulations, local authority and government regulations, acceptable standards for construction and how to draw plans.
You may read a detailed article on Civil Engineering
All the best
CareerAge Counselor
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