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Taylor Gaskins
Ms. Lester
Advanced Composition
11 October 2011
Research Paper
Civil engineering has been one of the most promising engineering fields available today.
Despite the fact, have the economic times affected the outlook for this career, and if so have
measures been taken to help support this vital occupation? This career is important because it’s
responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of projects. Such projects would
include the building of roads, bridges, buildings. Infrastructure in America is crumbling while
our greatest competition as a world power, china is building high class roads, bridges and
buildings. If America is to regain its world dominance in infrastructure, civil engineering must
improve education, work efficacy, and product quality.
Civil engineering in the 21st century involves working with difficult machinery and
problems in a busy work area.As stated best from Volker Schwieger, the author of modeling
quality for civil engineers, “Civil engineering is a multi complex field that is defined by the
basis of characteristics and parameters” (Schwieger 1). Engineers face complex problems with
no definite answers on a daily basis, such as how to construct an arched bridge out of stone that
will support the weight of constant activity and be protected from the element. The major
differential between engineering fields and other occupational fields is that engineers are never
faced with the same problem day after day.William LeMessurier, for example, designed the
Citicorp building, the Boston City Hall, and the Dallas Main Center. As stated by the American
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Department of Labor, “Civil engineers use methods, techniques, and principles of civil
engineering technology” (Dept. of Labor). Since the world is becoming more advanced every
year, civil engineers have to be able to work with and understand the new technologies and
methods that are being produced.This can require engineers to go back to school in order to
“update” their skills every two to three years.
These skills allow engineers to be able to design long lasting functional projects, just like
they were doing hundreds of years ago. A great example of this is Francois Hemebique, “ In
Paris, Francois Hemebique designed and built the first reinforced concrete frame that is still in
use today” (Aldea 2).Little did Francois know at the time that he would still be remembered
today as one of the first civil engineers. The planning that he put forth to create a project that gets
the job done and still be in functional use today are the main procedures that all civil engineers
try to achieve still. Francois was as great of a civil engineer as he was, because of all the
mathematical contributions he published in his life, “His activity was remarkable, by publishing
21 papers and 21 notes on algebra, 7 papers and 12 notes on geometry and proposed 626
problems” ( Aldea 2). All disciples of engineering have a core of math and science. In order to
become a good civil engineer it is important to learn and understand everything that will be
beneficial. While the amount of information that Francois put forth is on an extreme, it proves
the fact that mathematics is a required skill for this profession. By having a firm understanding
of the math behind engineering, it will be much easier to visualize the project as a grid. As stated
by Modeling quality for engineers, “The size and shape of a building component and its location
within a coordinate system are represented by nominal sizes in plans” (Schwieger 1). Our greater
understanding of mathematical processes today allows us to draw out an accurate. On civil
engineering projects today, engineers have to work with a different set of standards, “Defining
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the requirements for the geometry of a building is to rely on standards such as the DIN-18202”
(Schwieger 1). CM 1: The DIN -18202 is a guide line for the procedures civil engineers must
follow during construction. These standards are put into place to try and improve the
productivity of civil engineering, as well as improve the safety of all workers present on the job
site. New standards, like the DIN-18202, are put in to place more frequently now because of the
more complex projects being undertaken. Stephen Ressler explains this the best, “ Engineers will
be expected to be able to work in large number teams, as well as be up to date on all new
technologies” ( Ressler 1). People are always trying to build things bigger and better; therefore
they are going to need a lot of skilled people to work on a project at one time. Over time civil
engineers have progressed from being able to build a wooden bridge to constructing a 250 story
sky scraper that holds thousands of people and is resistant to almost everything mother earth can
throw at it. Having a firm understanding of the meaning behind civil engineering makes it less
complex to examine the impact that recent changes have played in this career field.
Civil Engineering is in the decline today because of the lack of education and sloppiness
in communication flow. In order to keep up with the fast growing use of technology, it has been
put on to the teachers to educate the youth with problem based learning, “Teacher’s role to
motivate and facilitate learning in the classroom, but at the same time, it is the role of the student
to learn and participate” (Ahem 1). This is a positive change in that problem based learning is a
very vital skill not only to engineering, but also to everyday life. By teaching kids this skill
earlier on in their educational career, they will be more confident to handle unknown situations.
Being able to look at situations with a problem based view allows one to find most if not all
potential errors with a finished product. This is explained best by modeling quality for civil
engineers, “Due to increasing complexity of products and customer attention, quality issues are
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now the strong focus of professionals” (Schwieger 1). Having professionals focus more on
quality is very good for the consumer because it means that all finished products will have been
reviewed more thoroughly to insure satisfaction.The one fault with this statement is that because
more focus is being put on to quality the longer it will take to complete the project and money
that is wasted while a project is being surveyed. While the labor behind Civil engineering is
becoming better, the field as a whole has become less diverse, “Engineering majors in general
had the highest concentration of men, 84%”(Landers 1). Civil engineering has always had a
higher percentage of men than women, since it is a very physically challenging career as well.
This is seen as a negative impact by some people in that civil engineering gets the reputation as a
“men only job”.A positive impact to this career is that mathematics is now more highly
recognized, “Mathematics is a key point for civil engineering that now has a fundamental
position in the admission exam” (Aldea 1).By making math a more main focus on the admission
exam, narrows down the people who will be able to get into the field.This is found to be a
positive impact in that the bar has been raised for civil engineering. Future engineers now have
to work harder and train better in order to get accepted.The increase in standards has led to civil
engineers becoming the 4th highest trained engineer, “On average Civil engineers are the 4th
highest trained, behind nuclear, aerospace, and mechanical engineers” (Landers 1). This is three
places higher on the list compared to the 2007 ranking of 7th. It is apparent that, for the most part,
civil engineering is looking to be a very promising engineering field. One major negative impact
to civil engineering is the un-continual flow of information, “Achieving smooth flow of
information among teams of designers is a central difficulty. Lean flow such as bottlenecks,
rework, and cycle time are major issues” (Sacks 1).The continual flow of information is one of
the most important steps of any construction project. If information is passed in a late manor or is
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incorrect then time and money are wasted. If other issues such as rework and cycle time can be
fixed, then more money will be saved from not having to remove installed products for repair.All
in all, Civil engineering is taking the right steps to remain a vital importance to our society.
For the few problems that have been found in civil engineering, multiple solutions have
been given to the public. Modeling quality for civil engineers provides a very good example of
measures that are being taken to improve the civil engineering field, “This new two-level model
has: accuracy, correctness, completeness, reliability, timeliness and specialized application
parameters” (Schwieger 1).The two level models allow training engineers to be as accurate and
precise as modern technology can allow them to be.This solution provides the best possible
answer to the problems facing civil engineering.As according to the department of labor, “It is
important for engineers to continue work in their field, even during an economic
depression”(Department of Labor 1).This is a very understandable solution because it is very
easy to become dull at a skill if one isn’t using it. Working during an off season allows one to
still be up to date on recent changes, as well as still having all processes still fresh in their
head.Another solution posted by Schwieger is, “areas pertaining to research in physics, algebra
or geometry are vital in hopes of landing another engineering related occupation” (Schwieger
2).This quote isn’t so much as a solution as it is a protective matter.By insuring that one has a
background in at least one of the fields listed greatly increases the chances of being hired by
another company, if the work force is still in a slow pace. The “Raise the Bar” application is
being put into use to try to boost education standards for civil engineering. Best explained by
Stephen Ressler, “The analysis of Policy statement 465…is still contributing to the strength of
the profession” (Ressler 1). Raise the Bar first began 8 years ago in Massachusetts. It is designed
to stress the importance of math and science in children’s education.This is a very valuable
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solution because there is no better way to insure that rising engineers will be the best possible
than to begin teaching them key aspects of the skills at an early age. The Department of Labor’s
main suggestion for engineers to do is to keep up to date with education, “Many engineers find it
useful to continue their education throughout the entire course of their career in order to stay
caught up with technology and to ensure that mathematical practices don’t get forgotten over
time” (Department of Labor 2).Education is without a doubt the most important factor that plays
into civil engineering, as well as all other engineering professions. If a Civil engineer is not able
to retain the mathematical formulas they need to complete a job, then they are running high risk
of miss calculations, danger to field workers, and project loss. After review it is clear that the
only solution to keeping engineers at the best is to have mandated sessions to review all the
important functions they will need to carry out a project successfully and in a timely manner.
Finally, the future outlook of this profession was determined with the help of many
sources. As according to the civil engineering median, “Civil engineering tied with engineering
mechanics, physics, science for ninth- highest median income of $78,000” (Landers 3).78
thousand is just the average income, even with a salary of 10 thousand less one would be able to
live comfortably and support a small family.This source provides a very good outlook for civil
engineering.However, Landers provides a surprising statistic, “Whites have a median of 80k,
compared with 72k for Asians, and 56k for Hispanics” (Landers 2). This is a very surprising
statistic, because of the vast income difference between races. According to this outlook the
future for white civil engineers is very good, an 80k salary a year would be more than enough to
live a comfortable life without worries. The American Society of Civil Engineering posted a
statement proclaiming, “The world of 2025 will present more challenges, Civil engineers will
serve as master builders, environmental stewards, etc…” (Mortenson 1).This statement gives a
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very promising outlook for civil engineering. It also hints at what is to come; by saying
environmental stewards suggests that civil engineers will soon have a role in constructing
greener or environmentally friendly buildings. A fault with this source is that it says civil
engineers will be master builders. This is the same as they are today and have been since the first
organized construction project took place.Stephen Ressler, the writer for “Raise the Bar”, posted,
“Civil engineering is expected to have an 11% employment growth by the year 2018” (Ressler
2). This is a very important piece of information for the outlook of civil engineering. An 11%
growth in employment is 3% higher than what it was originally estimated to be back in 2010.
According to this statistic, civil engineering will still be growing by the time that seniors in high
school are finishing college, which means that the market for well-trained civil engineers will be
very good.The department of labor also published a finding exclaiming, “Overall engineering
employment is expected to be on the climb from 2008 to 2018” (Department of Labor 1).Having
two different sources publish very similar findings is great news. If the employment is rising,
therefore other occupations will be on the rise to.Employment being on the rise is a great change
from civil engineering employment being on a steady decline. On the other hand, modeling
quality for engineering published, “Gender diversity in civil engineering stands with an 80% men
to 20 % women” (Schwieger 1).This is either a good or bad fact, depending on the reasons for
the diversity.A good guess is that it is simply an occupation that the majority of women don’t
find fitting.Lastly, according to Alexandra Adea, author of Mathematics in Civil Engineering,“
The new DIN-18202 is in part with the “Raise the Bar” initiative. The new requirements will
force engineers to take a minimum of 2 extra math courses” (Adea 3). Requiring all engineers to
take these extra math courses will help ensure that everyone is more prepared to do the work.
The classes given to take trig, and geometry III, and algebra III, are all vital courses that should
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have already been required for all future engineers to take. Overall, Civil engineering presents a
very promising future for anyone who is willing to work hard and strive to be better.
Civil Engineering is a career field that everyone who is interested in should try. The
career field involves working in both an office and outdoors on a project site. The increase in
economic activity from the recession is beginning to provide a firm influx of work. Protective
matters, such as “Raise the Bar”, have been put into effect to insure that the U.S.A will remain a
superpower in civil engineering. The outlook for this career is expected to grow by another 8%
in next five to seven years. Civil engineering is a back breaking career that helps improve the
quality of life for everyone.
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Works Cited
Ahem, A, University College Dublin “Problem Based Learning in Civil Engineering”
March 2010. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=8&hid=24&sid=6b7c2a16-607c-4a62-
bc9397ae701d84f5%40sessionmgr15&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&
AN=49144341
Aldea, Alexandra, Technical University of CivilEngineering Bucharest.“Mathematics for
civil engineers”.Nd.http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=24&sid=6b7c2a16-607c-
4a62-bc93-97ae701
Landers, Jay. “Civil Engineering Medain Earnings” United States. Bureau of the Census.
May 24, 2011. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=24&sid=6b7c2a16-607c-
4a62bc997ae701d84f5%40sessionmgr15&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a
9h&AN=630235
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Morrison, Dennis, American Society of Civil Engineers. “Vision of Civil Engineering in
2025”. May 2010. http://www.asce.org/
Ressler, Stephen, U.S. Military Academy. “Application to civil engineering “Raise the
Bar””. July 2011. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&hid=24&sid=6b7c2a16-607c-
4a62bc9397ae701d84f5%40sessionmgr15&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=
a9h&AN=62274970
Sacks, Rafael, Technion Campus.“Empirical Study of Information Flow in Civil
Engineering”.Nd.http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=24&sid=6b7c2a16-607c-
4a62-bc93-97ae701d84f5%40sessionmgr15&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d
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Schwieger, Volker, University of Stuttgart.“Modeling Quality for civil engineers”.Nd.
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=2
United States Department of Labor.“Occupational Outlook Hanbook”. 2010-2011.
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm
