Civil
What is Civil Engineering?
Civil engineers work on solving many of the largest problems facing the world today. They plan, design and build infrastructure essential to a modern society. From highways and pipelines to water treatment plants and energy-efficient buildings, civil engineers develop sustainable, safe and environmentally appropriate answers to basic human needs.
Specializations
- Construction: Deals with planning, managing, and optimizing the construction of roads and buildings and can include anything from planning material delivery at a job site, to managing the IT aspects of the project, to selecting the appropriate construction equipment.
- Water & Environmental: Integrates a range of interests from the microbiology of wastewater treatment to the mathematics of hydraulic systems analysis. Engineers in this field may work on supplying safe drinking water systems, the design of environmental protection works such as wastewater treatment plants, and in related environmental industries.
- Geotechnical: No structure is stable without an adequate foundation, and the design of this interface between structure and earth is one of the many tasks of geotechnical engineers. They also deal with the largest structures in the world, such as earth-filled dams and embankments.
- Materials: Materials engineers must be capable of designing and using materials that are friendly to the environment – requiring low energy costs for production, having high durability but low maintenance, and containing a large proportion of recycled and recyclable materials.
- Structural: Structural engineers make sure that buildings and bridges are strong enough to withstand gravity, earthquakes, wind and snow and other loads.
- Transportation: Transportation engineering deals with the planning, design, operation, and maintenance of all forms of transportation. While the primary focus tends to be on roads, civil engineers can get involved in all other modes including rail systems, airports, marine ports and pipelines. The future will challenge engineers to make better use of existing facilities through measures such as Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and sophisticated modeling and management of operations.
What Can You Be With A Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering?
There is a high demand for civil engineers worldwide.
- Civil/Construction Engineers: Work in all aspects of civil engineering projects – from concept through to the design, construction and maintenance of structures, systems, and infrastructure.
- Structural Engineers: Make sure that structures are designed to carry the required loads and that they are safe for users.
- Environmental Engineers: Are involved in projects that remove contaminants from the ground, protect drinking water, treat wastewater or eliminate air pollutants.
- Geotechnical Engineers: Design hydraulic structures such as dams, spillways, locks and canals, as well as tunnels and building foundations.
- Transportation Engineers/Planners: Design, build and maintain all types of transportation structures such as highways, railroads, airfields and shipping ports; find ways to move people and good safely and efficiently.
- Materials Engineers: Are responsible for the transformation of minerals and recycled materials into usable products.
- Mineral Engineers: Help design and maintain subways and underground rail, tunnels, hydroelectric projects, dams and reservoirs and much more.
- Mining Environmental Consultants: Design and develop economical, practical solutions to environmental problems in the mining sector.
- Computer Mining Engineers: Use satellite geophysics and advanced GPS technology to map underground ore deposits and help extract resources by environmentally responsible means.
- Hydrotechnical Engineers: Work with water distribution systems, sedimentation lagoons, ports and harbours, dams, and irrigation and canal systems.
Search for Careers for more career possibilities.
With additional education/training…
- University/College Professor
- Teacher
- Research Consultant
- Entrepreneur
Where Can You Work?
Civil engineering is a diverse field that opens the doors to a wide choice of careers. Our graduates work in a variety of places, such as:
- Consulting Firms in Structural, Environmental or Geotechnical Engineering
- Federal, Provincial or Municipal Governments
- Construction Companies
- Transportation Companies
- Airports and Airport Planners
- Traffic and Transit Operations
- Equipment Manufacturers
- Land Development Companies
What Skills Can You Develop?
With your broad background in science, math and technology you can design, create and build structures efficiently, making best use of available resources and techniques. You will also learn to make intelligent judgments that encompass human and social values, as well as technical values. In addition, you will learn valuable transferable skills, such as:
- Excellent mathematical and computing skills
- Effective assessment and management of risk, resources and time
- Awareness of ethical issues and the wider impact of your work
- Oral communications skills – making presentations, brainstorming, discussion of laboratory work, participation in meetings
- Written communications skills – design and research project and reports, literature reviews, writing notes from project meetings
- Organizational skills – managing work load, labs, project and report deadlines; task management, planning
- Interpersonal skills – teamwork, group dynamics, problem solving
- Research and analytic skills – finding, summarizing, critiquing texts and papers; data handling and analysis
Professional Associations; Resources
Professional associations can be a great way to meet, learn from and network with professionals in your field of interest. Some associations offer student memberships, often at a reduced rate. Below is a sample of professional associations and industry-related websites you can explore.
- Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada
- Canadian Academy of Engineering
- Canadian Council of Professional Engineers
- Canadian Federation of Engineering Students
- Canadian Society of Professional Engineers
- Engineering Institute of Canada
- Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick
- Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
- Canadian Geotechnical Society
- Canadian Construction Association
- Canadian Council of Professional Engineers
- Canadian Dam Association
- Canadian Remote Sensing Society
- Canadian Society for Engineering Management
- Canadian Society for Nondestructive Testing
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- Society of Women Engineers
Contact the Department
The Department of Civil Engineering
University of New Brunswick
Room H-124, Head Hall, 17 Dineen Drive
P.O. Box 4400
Fredericton NB E3B 5A3
