<p>I project the economy will be in terminal decline, yet the infrastructure is in such a decrepit state that civil engineers will be necessary.</p>
<p>So how long do we have, doctor?</p>
<p>I would consider this country, in its present form, fortunate to survive beyond 2020.</p>
<p>Before them, expect civil unrest, currency debasement, and capital controls. More likely than not, something even nastier will come as the regime in Washington (more like a junta of oligarchs), in its death-throws, seeks to save itself.</p>
<p>I was debating whether I should concentrate on structural or environmental. I just attended the first day of an environmental course today. Seems like an ample amount of knowledge in chemistry is needed, and I hate chemisty >:(</p>
<p>Oh God, another one. You should not have picked Civil Engineering. Sure, for the last 4,000 years people who can design and maintain things like buildings, sewer systems, and dams have been useful. But as you well know the world is coming to an end imminently due to slight tax increases and minor outsourcing of computer scientists to Asia. Don’t be fooled by the fancy statistics that say Civil Engineering is one of the best degrees for starting and career salary. Some people will even tell you it can’t be offshored! </p>
<p>I even heard the other day that some Civil Engineering jobs have more than one applicant! Yes they let you apply for more jobs than you need in this country.</p>
<p>Edit: You mean to tell us that you haven’t finished your degree but you don’t have years of engineering work experience? That’s only you. Your classmates are all probably engineering managers right now.</p>
<p>Civil engineering has been hit hard since there is not much construction going on. Unemployment in the construction industry right now is about 20%. Nobody is building anything right now. And whatever little construction resulted from the stimulus package will go away since it expires at the end of this year. 2011 = No more stimulus.</p>
<p>Ive been to many different cities and states and the infrastructure seems fine to me.</p>
<p>Well alchemist007, unless you can use your x-ray, ultrasonic vision to look into the steel supports for bridges and ascertain the fatigue status of that metal, I suppose it WOULD look like it is in great shape. The collapse of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis tells us otherwise, however.</p>
<p>More importantly, other countries are developing rapidly and could make use of civil engineers. Just because this country is circling the drain does not mean everyone else’s is.</p>
<p>I just drove over the GW Bridge and it was horrible. The bridge started shaking and within a few seconds, it collapsed and we were all in the Hudson. Yeah our infastructure is really falling apart.</p>
<p>Ok, in all seriousness, except for a highly publicized bridge collapse in Minnesota a few years ago, out infastructure is NOT in horrible shape. Even if we want to build new infastrucutre, we can’t since there is no money. NONE. Here is a story you might have missed: some towns are DEpaving their roads because they cannot afford to maintain paved roads. I am not kidding. </p>
<p>“Rather than being part of a car liberation or permeable pavement movement, poorly maintained county roads are having their asphalt ground into gravel as a cost-cutting measure to avoid costly road reconstruction. Lack of funding is the cause.”</p>
<p>[Depaving</a> Rural American Roads-Literally | Planetizen](<a href=“http://www.planetizen.com/node/45136]Depaving”>Depaving Rural American Roads-Literally | Planetizen News)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/us/politics/28projects.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/us/politics/28projects.html</a></p>
<p>We need to invest in the renewal of our failing infrastructure now. Safety should have no compromise.</p>
<p>We need civil engineers leading the campaign to persuade the general public and government for why the infrastructural deficiency of the US need to be immediately addressed.</p>
<p>In Alaska they used to consistently build new roads every year because the harsh weather changes, constant snow plowing and studded tires would destroy the roads in a matter of months. </p>
<p>Now the government does not seem have the money to be able to repave roads every year so even on the main highways you will be driving and there will be large segments of the highway every now and then that will be completely unpaved gravel.
When we were driving up there the roads were so bad and bumpy we got a flat tire and we also had some gravel shot up and gave us a cracked windshield.</p>
<p>This is exactly why need you civil engineers to fix our infrastructure.
We need new bridges and roads! But you have got to take somewhat of a political stand and get the government to invest more money in fixing the infrastructure.</p>
<p>Another example,
You would think bridges on major highways would be two laned. But in Alaska there were many bridges on highways that were only one laned. I had one instance when I got on the bridge another vehicle did at the same time almost causing an accident because there was not sign and I had to quickly brake and back out all the way to let the other car pass.</p>
<p>We need new bigger bridges!</p>
<p>/rant</p>
<p>Change your major to Art History. We’ll always need Art Historians.</p>
<p>I only stated a handful out of the plethora of problems related to Alaskan infrastructure. We need them fixed asap.</p>
<p>What else can I do with a civil engineering degree besides working in structural design/ construction?</p>
<p>The possibilities are almost endless.</p>
<p>
You ain’t seen nothing yet.</p>
<p>Oh yeah. Love to see accidents all over the Washington bridge when getting home. What seemed like 5 minutes till you get home becomes 2-3 hours. </p>
<p>Nothing needs to be fixed! Carry on!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Hopefully, things won’t get to the point that a bridge has to collapse before it’s considered to be in horrible shape. What is your criteria for a bridge to be considered good, average or horrible shape? According to the USDOT, 12% are structurally deficient.</p>
<p>You said you’re in NYC, right? The city is filled with water mains that are beyond their service life, many over 100 years old. And when they break, everybody rants and raves asking why it wasn’t previously replaced because it was already so old?! How about the Gowanus Expressway, which has been undergoing emergency repairs since 2005? The Throgs Neck Bridge that had a crack that could have potentially caused catastrophic failure (leading to truck restrictions)? Outside of NYC, the Bay Bridge had a sizable crack in it, which forced the closure of the bridge for emergency repair. Once the economy tanks, less money is spent on maintenance of infrastructure which leads to even worse conditions. See the Williamsburg Bridge in the 80s, which was closed COMPLETELY at one point for emergency rehabilitation. </p>
<p>Closing down roads and bridges for emergency repairs doesn’t just affect your commute home every night. It has a major effect on the trucking industry, which we depend on heavily in our economy. If it takes longer for goods to get to their destinations, then of course everything will become more expensive.</p>
<p>It’s not that there’s no money for infrastructure (I don’t understand how you can even be so definitive about it), but there’s definitely not enough of it to keep pace. These are the major infrastructure jobs in NYC that I can think of off the top of my head:
- The contractor for the $500M rehab of the Brooklyn Bridge just mobilized recently.
- The $150M contract for the replacement of the Manhattan Bridge suspension structure is ongoing.
- I heard that the new replacement Willis Avenue bridge just made its way down the Hudson River a few weeks ago. That’s a $640M job.
- There’s work on the Throgs Neck bridge, though I don’t know the extent of it.
- The Croton Water Filtration Plant in the Bronx is a $1.2 billion job ongoing.
- The $6 billion Water Tunnel No. 3 is ongoing.
- Second Avenue subway is $5 billion and ongoing.
- The ARC tunnels is starting up, which is estimated to cost $8.7 billion spanning over dozens of contracts.
- East Side Access is $6 billion and work is ongoing.
- 7 line extension is $2.1 billion, to be finished in 2013.
- Fulton St Transit Center is ongoing.</p>
<p>Last I heard the new Kosciuszko Bridge was on hold because of funding problems (that’s supposed to cost $1 billion). The Goethals bridge is also supposed to be replaced, which is another $1 billion, but I don’t know the status of this one.</p>
<p>It’s all money that will have to be spent anyway, whether it’s preventative measures or emergency repairs. If it’s preventative, we can at least minimize the risk of the loss of life.</p>
<p>If you are really worried about getting a civil engineering job, go to India. Apparently, they have a shortage of them. </p>
<p>“In India, Many Potholes and Not Enough Engineers”
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/business/global/26engineer.html?pagewanted=2&ref=business[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/business/global/26engineer.html?pagewanted=2&ref=business</a></p>
<p>Pakistan and India are in dire need of engineers. Especially after the devastating floods that have left 1/3 of Pakistan under water. These monsoons and floods are destroying the infrastructure and those countries need quality engineers to repair the damage. Civil engineers are in high demand.</p>