Services for Engineers

Fred is a civil engineer who works for the Department of Transportation. He graduated from university with a bachelor's degree and then qualified as a Professional Engineer by taking the state-sponsored exam. He still keeps in touch with some of his old college classmates who studied with him in the Department of Engineering. Maria went on to become a mechanical engineer, designing components for jet engines. Bob decided to specialize in petroleum engineering and got a job in the Middle East building oil wells. Their friend Liz also became a civil engineer, but she decided to spend her time working for a non-governmental organization that helps rebuild infrastructure after natural disasters.

Fred's job involves a combination of engineering and management skills. He chose civil engineering because it allowed him to work as part of a team on some large and impressive projects, and because he enjoys being able to get out of the office on occasion.

At the moment, Fred is working on a highway expansion. A new lane is being added to ease traffic flow. Before working in the Department of Transportation, Fred was involved in a number of projects including dam building, an airport expansion and construction of a road tunnel. He decided to specialize in traffic engineering, as he was interested in the patterns of traffic movement. His job is to design systems that will carry vehicles safely and efficiently along the roads, and then to make sure that the plans are carried out correctly by the construction contractor.

Fred begins his work day early, sitting at his kitchen counter with a laptop and a big mug of coffee. He checks his emails and looks at his schedule. He has a meeting about a new project, and then he needs to visit the highway construction site to find out whether the recent bad weather has caused any problems there. He doesn't visit the site very often, as much of his time is spent on office work, so he is looking forwards to seeing how things are progressing.

Fred is in the car by seven and on his way to the office. He needs to prepare for his meeting. He spends a couple of hours going over his notes and making some calls, then joins the team in the meeting room. Fred often has to work with other engineers and specialists from other related fields, since he is involved with large and complex projects. Today, he is discussing a new project involving a local bridge that must be repaired or replaced. Fred also has concerns about the layout of the road near the bridge, as there is a sharp turn just before it, which has caused numerous accidents. During the meeting, the engineers discuss the problems with the bridge and come up with some possible solutions.

Once the meeting is over, Fred visits the head of the department to fill him in on what was said. They look over their budget and decide how much can be spent on the bridge. Fred suggests that repairing the existing bridge will be cheaper, and will retain a local landmark, but he also mentions the dangerous turn. They agree that Fred should come up with some ideas for how to improve the road layout within the available budget.

After lunch, Fred heads out to the highway construction site. He takes a look around and meets with the supervisor, who tells him that the heavy rain has set them back a couple of days. Other than that, the work appears to be going well and everything is being done according to Fred's plans.

He returns to his office and fills up the rest of the afternoon with paperwork. He goes over the budget for the highway. If he pays the construction crew overtime they will be able to finish on time, but this will push them over the budget. He phones the head of department to discuss the matter, and they decide that since the old section of the highway will still be open, it will not be too inconvenient for the new lanes to be opened later than expected.

Before he goes home that evening, Fred begins to make some plans for the new bridge project that has been assigned to him. This is the most creative part of his job, and it requires all his technical engineering skills to come up with a solution to the problem. A lot of the rest of his day has been spent on less specialized management tasks, so he is glad to get the chance to use his training as an engineer.

On his way home, Fred takes a detour from his usual route in order to drive over the bridge he will be working on. Although he enjoys the design phase, he is already looking forward to getting down to the actual construction. The best part of his job is seeing the physical results of his plans brought to life and used by the public. He feels proud that his designs could save lives by making the road safer.

A day in the life of a civil engineer such as Fred is often long. His workload varies depending on the number and types of projects that he is involved with, and uses many different skills, from financial management to design.