What is civil engineering for?

Civil engineering, commonly known as civil engineering in the industry, is the general name of science and technology for building various engineering facilities. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) defines the civil engineering major in American universities as: "Civil engineering mainly studies the design and maintenance of public works, such as roads, bridges, water resources and energy systems, and public facilities such as ports, railways and airports."

Among the top 50 universities in the United States, there are as many as 32 schools offering engineering (civil engineering) majors. Civil engineering is generally set up under the Institute of Technology, which is different from the architectural specialty focusing on architectural design. The major of civil engineering focuses on the internal structure of buildings, and it is a major involving a wide range of directions.

The employment situation of American civil engineering graduates is also good. According to the statistics of the US Department of Labor, the average annual salary is $8,465,438+0.40. It is equivalent to mechanical engineering ($84,770) and environmental engineering ($85 140) in engineering, but slightly lower than electronic engineering ($9 1 8 10).

Employment prospects of American civil engineering graduates: consulting engineers, state/federal government officials or urban engineers (Ministry of Communications, Environmental Protection Agency, etc.). ), construction engineer, researcher of government laboratory. Civil engineers need to hold professional qualification certificates, and some States also need separate structural engineering certificates, so the employment competitiveness of this major with a postgraduate degree will be greatly improved. Staying in the United States may not have more development opportunities than returning to China for employment. This is because big houses are rarely built in America. Most of the projects taken by many companies are seven or eight-story buildings, and there are basically no high-rise buildings. In contrast, the development prospect of the bridge is better, and there are many projects, all of which are made by big companies.

In China, due to the continuous large-scale infrastructure investment in recent years, the employment situation of civil engineering graduates is good. Generally, returnees join large international companies, such as national bosses such as China Construction and China Turkey, or multinational civil engineering companies, or start their own businesses. Generally speaking, civil engineering majors have the following four employment directions.

1. Engineering technology direction

The representative positions are builders, builders, structural engineers, technical managers and project managers in enterprises such as construction, real estate development and road and bridge construction. Nowadays, with the deepening of urban basic work, the demand for engineering and technical personnel will be increasing.

2. Design, planning and budget direction

Representative positions are engaged in project designer, structural audit, urban planner, budget officer, budget engineer, etc. In various engineering survey and design units, real estate, transportation or municipal departments, and engineering cost consulting institutions. There is a growing demand for engineering design talents in various survey and design institutes. At the same time, with the rise of consulting industry, consulting service personnel in construction industry such as engineering budget and final accounts are also a brand-new employment direction. This kind of position requires not only professional knowledge, but also enough work experience.

3. Direction of quality supervision and engineering supervision

The representative position is to be a supervision engineer in various buildings, road and bridge supervision companies and engineering quality inspection and supervision departments. Supervision is a new industry, and the promotion of positions is related to qualifications, and related work also needs corresponding certificates, such as supervision engineer's employment certificate and national registered supervision engineer's professional qualification certificate. With the improvement of the national engineering supervision system, there will be more opportunities and development in this field.

4. Civil servants, teaching and research direction

Representative positions include those in transportation, municipal administration departments, universities, scientific research and design units and other places. At present, there are more than 500 colleges and universities in China offering civil engineering majors (including two disciplines), and the demand for teachers is increasing. Compared with some large companies and enterprises, the salaries of teachers and researchers are lower, but the pressure is relatively small. For the employees of municipal construction, they should not only have solid knowledge of civil engineering, but also have rich imagination and the ability to lead the overall situation.