I’m majoring in Civil Engineering because I’ve always had a fascination for infrastructure. There is no other field in engineering that I like more than civil engineering. But I have a couple of questions to ask:
I wonder about the job outlook for those who major in civil engineering and the pay. I know the Bureau of Labor Statistics has projections, but I wanted to hear some thoughts from those who either work in civil engineering or know people who do work in civil engineering.
What is the actual work life of a civil engineer, and how competitive is it for new college graduates to get jobs in the civil engineering industry?
Also, along with a broad civil engineering curriculum, I’m thinking about adding additional courses in construction engineering/management, transportation and water resources, but are those sub-fields good specialties and can it help me in any way with jobs?
You will likely have to pick specialty civil engineering courses anyway. Choose the ones that are most in line with your interest areas. I would not take electives in water resources if you have no interest in it and are doing it only for additional breadth. The exception would be if you have no idea what field you want to work in.
The good news for me is that I am just a student right now in college, and I will learn more about my interests and what specialty courses I would like the most. However I do have a strong interest in construction management, transportation and water resources to be honest. In general I really like the field of civil engineering. I just wonder about the future of civil engineering. I know infrastructure is always a need, but I wonder about what happens to the field of civil engineering if the economy hits a recession like it did back in 2008/2009. Would civil engineering get hit hard in a scenario like that?