civil engineering

[vt33]

Hello, I posted this on the engineering thread but it hasn't gotten much attention. I just wanted to know if anyone has any comments, good or bad on civil engineering as a college major or even a career for that matter. Any comments/advice would be greatly appreciated.

[cronxeh]

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos030.htm

http://www.bls.gov/k12/build05.htm

[mattlorig]

I was a civil engineering major for two years before I changed my major to physics. My experience was that, compared to physics, civil engineering:
1. Had a less intellegent base of students (which is not to say the field isn't challanging)
2. Was a lot easier than physics (obviously, this has something to do with no. 1)
3. Trained you to do very low-level work...not think about how to solve problems on your own.

In general, the reason I changed my major to physics was that I was bored with my classes in CE. If it interests you, however, go for it. There are plenty of very difficult problems to solve in CE in structural, geotechnical, environmental, and trasportation.

[Moonbear]

Civil engineering is a nice career if you want to think at your job and still have regular 9 to 5 type hours. Jobs are hard to find though outside of big cities, and even there, it takes a VERY long time to advance because the more senior people never leave unless it's to change careers because they have been stuck in the same career level for ages.

I've only known two civil engineers well enough to know what they are still doing 10 or so years post-graduation. My one friend is still working with the Army Corps and she really enjoys the job. My other friend is now a lawyer.

But, the labs sounded funny in college (there was real theory behind it, I think, but it just always sounded funny, so don't take this seriously). They got to mix concrete while I was trying to avoid the guy next to me in organic chemistry who was trying to blow up the both of us!