Civil Engineer
What the work is
Plans, designs, organises and oversees the construction and operation of dams, bridges, pipelines, gas supply schemes, airports and other civil engineering projects.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Analyses site locations and conducts surveys to determine the feasibility and requirements of civil engineering projects
- Undertakes calculations, designs and develops specifications for civil engineering projects, and provides solutions to design-related issues
- Studies, evaluates and reports on the environmental implications of civil engineering projects to ensure compliance with existing regulations
- Determines construction methods, materials and quality standards for civil engineering projects
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a civil engineering consultancy designing roads, bridges, drains and flood works for towns. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A road or drain you designed opens and people just use it without noticing the thinking behind it
- A heavy rain arrives and the stormwater system you designed does its job
- You solve a tricky site problem with a design that saves months and a lot of digging
Hard days
- Soil on site turns out to be nothing like the report and the design has to change
- A community meeting about a project that will disrupt people's streets
- A client wants the cheapest option and you know it will cost more in the end
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 243231, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.