Civil Engineering Courses overview
Civil engineers plan, design, construct, maintain, upscale and operate essential infrastructures that keep society running. Civil engineering involves an understanding of the structures and facilities that give us the modern comforts and way of life we so often take for granted.
The building structures and facilities that are made possible by civil engineers include water and sewage systems, roads, railways, bridges, harbours, irrigation structures, power plants, and airports.
Civil engineers will always be needed, as they are instrumental for keeping society running smoothly and safely.
Is civil engineering for me?
If you are mathematically-minded and after a detail-oriented profession where the demands change on a daily basis, a career in civil engineering could be for you.
Civil engineering requires a strong background in mathematics and physics. It is a career where you will face many different challenges, variables and projects. For this reason, civil engineers are adept and able employees in a range of different fields.
Study pathway
Typically, civil engineers will first study a bachelor’s degree before moving onto advance their studies. Most civil engineering bachelor degrees take around three to four years to complete when studied full-time, depending on your institution.
Once you have a degree in engineering, you can become a registered engineer in Australia. The National Engineering Register (NER) is a list compiled by Engineers Australia of all the engineers in the country who have proven abilities in their field. In order to join this register, you must have a recognised qualification, professional experience, and Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The latter can take the form of postgraduate education.
Many tertiary institutions offer work placements as a part of their undergraduate civil engineering degree programs. This gives students an opportunity to gain professional skills on the ground, and to see theoretical concepts applied in the field.
Due to its complex nature and many specialised career paths, civil engineering makes it possible to pursue many paths of postgraduate study. You can choose from a broad civil engineering master’s degree, diploma or graduate certificate programs, or select a specialised route such as maritime civil engineering, geomechanics, or water management to name a few. PhD programs are also available to expand theses in these extensive specialised areas.
Employment options
Civil engineer
The broadest employment option of the discipline of civil engineering. At its core, employment in civil engineering involves the construction, design and maintenance of buildings, transport systems, and infrastructure (read more).
Specialisations
Construction engineer
This branch of civil engineering involves the design, planning, building and maintenance of infrastructures such as roads, dams, tunnels, bridges, airports, train lines, and many more (read more).
Environmental engineer
Increasingly in demand, environmental engineers work to improve the quality of the environment and the protection of populations from adverse environmental effects (read more).
Structural engineer
Structural engineering mainly focusses on understanding and ensuring the strength and safety of building structures. Structural engineers may also work in sectors of manufacturing, machinery design, and vehicle design (read more).
Geotechnical engineer
Geotechnical engineering relates to earth materials and how they affect various civil engineering projects. Knowledge of soil mechanics and rock mechanics are applied to facilitate projects in the areas of mining, petroleum and construction projects (read more).
Transportation engineer
Transportation engineering involves application the planning, functional design, maintenance and functioning of the various modes transportation. This could be further specialised to include air transport, waterways transport, and urban transport (read more).