Guide To A Successful Civil Engineer Career Path

Our world is filled with wonderful things, both natural and built by people. While we appreciate the miracle of natural wonders, those built by people are a product of hard work and passion. A huge part of these products are the work that civil engineers do. These include infrastructure we see everyday, notably, the roads, buildings, bridges, and even the homes we live in.  In addition, we benefit from those that we don't see, like pipe systems or structural designs that guard against natural disasters, to name a couple.  Here's a guide to what you can expect in a civil engineer career path.

What does a Civil Engineer do?

Every structure is built in a certain way so that it could work. For example, buildings need to have a structure that could support the people in it and withstand natural disasters. In the same way, water should flow from a source to faucets all the way up to the 30th floor.

Civil engineers make sure that these things happen. In general, they design, build, and oversee the construction of infrastructure and systems. Their career path covers a wide range of specializations, but all of them are team oriented.

Whether working in an office or out in the field, they must coordinate with Architects and Construction personnel in every project.

Here are some tasks that are required for Civil Engineers:

• Design, develop, and create construction projects.
• Oversee and coordinate for construction projects.
• Forecast design and construction timelines.
• Conduct on-site investigations and analysis.
• Provide direction and information to subcontractors as outlined in the contract specifications.
• Provide cost and quantity estimates for materials and cost comparisons of contractor bids.
• Conduct land surveys to gain accurate information about the features of a land surface.
• Study and interpret engineering drawings and technical specifications.

Salary Range

The average annual salary of an entry level Civil Engineer is around Php 196,000, according to Payscale. However, it goes up to an average of up to Php 486,000 for experienced ones.

Completed projects may have some bonuses or profit sharing schemes, which may affect the expected annual salary. Additionally, having more experience and certifications certainly helps in raising the value of one's pay.  

The Civil Engineer career path

There are many paths to take for Civil Engineers. You can choose to learn more or share what you know by teaching or going into the field of research. Meanwhile, if you're more interested in concrete results, you can choose to be on the field for construction. 

You could also explore a career in design if you're more of a creative soul in this field. Your strong leadership qualities could also help you land a position in management in the future. 

Clients are more likely to trust someone or a company that has done multiple projects successfully. As a result, experience will be a key in advancing your career. 

Junior Level (1-3 years experience)

This is where you will lay the foundation of your career path in this field. As mentioned earlier, experience plays a large part in considering someone for a higher position. 

Because of this, the field you choose to specialize in could determine the roles that will be available for you in the future.

A fresh graduate with or without a license can explore opportunities here. 

Mid Level (4-8 years experience)

Once you have a solid foundation, the next step in your career is specialization. Structural engineering is the most common discipline in this field, but there are other specializations you could check out.

Environmental engineering, for example, is a branch that may not deal with a lot of structures, but uses their skills to solve environmental problems. Meanwhile, transportation engineers find ways to make traveling more efficient for everyone. 

Mid level positions require a professional license, while further training or master's degrees could increase your employment opportunities. Senior or supervisor roles are available for Civil Engineers with some years of experience.

Senior level (8 years or more) 

At this level, Civil Engineers either decide to start their own practice or explore management positions. In either case, the experience, knowledge, and relationships they have built over the years make them worthy of these positions. 

Appropriate positions like director or project manager are available here.

What requirements do you need to become a Civil engineer?

The work of Civil Engineers deals with a lot of drafts or reports that need to be done accurately. It takes skills that are learned through years of studying as well as training.

However, there are also soft skills that employers look for in a candidate. Because of this, you may want to consider working on them in order to stand out.  

Required skills

• Math Skills. Accuracy is an essential part of the job in this role. As a result, having the skills in measuring, calculating, and analyzing figures is a must for anyone in this field.
• Technical Skills. These are the skills that they gain through studying, training, and experience. Their ability to apply them either in teaching, creating new theories, designing, or construction is exactly why we need them in our lives.
• Communication Skills. This skill is important especially since they are constantly working with people of all levels. For instance, they must be able to understand a client's direction, as well as share and guide the workers on how to do it. 
• Software proficiency. As technology continues to get better, apps and programs become an essential part of our daily lives. That said, knowing how to utilize AutoCAD and other industry specific software is a sought after skill in this field.  

Other skills

• Leadership. In order to be effective in their role, they need to have strong leadership qualities. The ability to manage staff and take responsibility for decision making when needed are highly valuable for employers
• Organizational Skills. Work in this industry can be a lot to take in. To illustrate, they usually handle drafts and reports for multiple projects happening at the same time. That said, the ability to manage everything can help you be more effective in the role.
• Creativity. It's not easy to find solutions that haven't been done before. Because of this, the ability to innovate and improve on existing solutions could be a helpful skill to have.
• Team oriented. In order to complete projects, they have to work in teams most of the time. As such, the ability to work well with others can greatly help your career.
• Attention to Detail. A small error in computation could be dangerous especially for public projects. Thus, the ability to spot these small details is an essential skill to have.  

Educational background

Roles in this field will usually require a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering. While earning this degree, you get to learn about the different fields in it. 

However, some roles are also open to other fields of study, depending on the industry. For example, data analytics jobs may also hire someone with a degree in math or science. 

Opportunities for Continuous Education

As you go through your career, you can consider taking up a Master's Degree in the field of your choice. In this way, you may be able to add to your credibility and skill.

Some fields you can specialize in include construction, structural, environmental, transportation, and geotechnical engineering. As we mentioned before, we see their work everywhere, so there's plenty of specialties to choose from.

With technology becoming a bigger part of our daily lives, it would be a good idea to improve your tech related skills. With this in mind, you can also boost your tech-related skills with these courses from Luna Academy in collaboration with Jobstreet.

Required certification and training

Companies hire Civil Engineers with a Bachelor's Degree, but getting a license can help you advance in your career. You can find the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) requirements here.

Do note, however, that in order to renew your professional license, you may need to refresh your skills. By law, you will need to earn credits through various activities which you can learn more about here. 

Other certifications and training are industry-specific. For example, those working in construction would do well with an Occupational Safety and Health Certification. Meanwhile, those looking to take a lead role could look into a Project Management Professional Certification. 

How to write a civil engineer resume?

Download this Civil Engineer resume HERE.

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