Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction,
and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as
roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewerage systems, pipelines, structural components of
buildings, and railways.
Civil engineering is traditionally broken into a number of sub-disciplines. It is considered the
second-oldest engineering discipline after military engineering, and it is defined to distinguish
non-military engineering from military engineering. Civil engineering can take place in the
public sector from municipal public works departments through to federal government agencies,
and in the private sector from locally based firms to global Fortune 500 companies.
There are a number of sub-disciplines within the broad field of civil engineering. General civil
engineers work closely with surveyors and specialized civil engineers to design grading,
drainage, pavement, water supply, sewer service, dams, electric and communications supply.
General civil engineering is also referred to as site engineering, a branch of civil engineering that
primarily focuses on converting a tract of land from one usage to another. Site engineers spend
time visiting project sites, meeting with stakeholders, and preparing construction plans. Civil
engineers apply the principles of geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, environmental
engineering, transportation engineering and construction engineering to residential, commercial,
industrial and public works projects of all sizes and levels of construction.
