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JustinKaltved Mrs.Boes English10 1October2013 TheWorldofCivilEngineering Therearemanycareerstogointowhenyouchooseengineering:structural, geotechnical,environmental,materials,waterresource,earthquake,coastal,andtransportation. Ihavechosentopursuecivilengineeringbecauseitinterestsmethemostoutofallofthe choices.Iwouldenjoydesigningandbuildinghouses,bridges,parks,roads,sewagesystems, etc.Imgoingtotalkaboutmanythingsthatareinvolvedinacivilengineeringcareer.Acareerin civilengineeringprovidesplentyofpayoffaslongasIgotoatopschool,taketherightcourses, andsnatchuponeoftheavailablejobsinthiscareer. Civilengineeringisthedesignandmaintenanceofpublicworkslikeroads,bridges,water andenergysystemsaswellaspublicfacilitieslikeports,railways,andairports.Civilengineers designandbuildthesystemsthatbringsuswaterandpower.Theyplan,construct,andmaintain infrastructures.Someofthesestructuresincluderoads,tunnels,buildings,bridges,anddams. Theybuildtheinfrastructurewithinournationalparks.Civilengineersbuildmasstransit.Civil engineeringisoneoftheoldestandmostrecognizedofengineeringdisciplines.Civilengineering programsareofferedatmanycollegesaroundtheU.S.WORKONTRANSITIONS Therearemanycollegesthathavecivilengineeringasamajor,butIwouldliketofocus onthetopfiveschoolsinthismajorbecausetheywouldofferthemostsuccessinacareerof civilengineering.Thetopfivecollegesgointhisorder:UniversityofIllinoisUrbanaChampaign, UniversityofCaliforniaBerkeley,StanfordUniversity,GeorgiaInstituteofTechnology,and UniversityofTexasAustinCockrell.TheUniversityofIllinoisislocatedinUrbana,Illinois.Thatis approximatelysevenhoursawayfromCarroll.TheUniversity Kaltved2

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ofCaliforniaislocatedinBerkeley,California.Thatisapproximately25hoursawayfromCarroll. StanfordUniversityislocatedinStanford,California.Thatisapproximately26hoursawayfrom Carroll.GeorgiaInstituteofTechnologyislocatedinAtlanta,Georgia.Thatisapproximately15 hoursawayfromCarroll.TheUniversityofTexasislocatedinAustin,Texas.Thatis approximately15hoursawayfromCarroll.ThecollegeIammostinterestedinistheUniversity ofIllinoisbecauseitisthetopschoolincivilengineeringanditistheclosestofthetopfive schools. TheUniversityofIllinoissengineeringprogramisregularlylistedamongthetop engineeringprogramsintheworld.Arankingisonlythemeasureofexcellenceofaprogram,but thecollegesconstantrecognitionasaleadingprogramshowsthereputationofbeingaleader amongstthetopengineeringprogramsintheworld.Theundergraduateengineeringprogramat theUniversityofIllinoiswasrankedfifthinthe2014AmericasBestCollegeseditionofU.S. NewsandWorldReport.ThegraduateengineeringprogramatIllinoisrankedfifthintheBest GraduateSchoolsissueofU.S.NewsandWorldReport. Therearemanydifferentjobopportunitiesinthiscareer.Thereareare approximately51,100jobsthatareavailableinthiscareer.Civilengineersholdabout278,400 jobsintheU.S.Thesalaryofacivilengineerisonemajoradvantageofthecareerchoice. AccordingtothestatisticsfromtheU.S.DepartmentofLabor,theaveragesalaryforacivil engineerwithabachelorsdegreeis$77,560.Theunemploymentrateofpeopleinthisfieldis only4.8%.Thismeansthatisaverysmallchancethatyouwillnotfindajobifyouhaveallofthe qualifications. Properpreparationisimportant,becausealloftheknowledgeacivilengineerwill learnaboutcivilengineeringwillbeappliedtotheirjobinsomeway.Acivilengineering Kaltved3

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studentshouldtrytotakeasmanyadvancedclassesinmathandscienceastheycan.In engineeringschool,mathstartsoffrightawaywithcalculus,thereisnoalgebraortrigonometry. Themostimportanttypeofclassinsciencetotakeforacivilengineeringstudentisphysics. Engineeringispracticallyapplyingphysicstotheworldaroundus.Physicsisthemostapplied sciencetotheworldarounduswhenwearemakingdecisionsinengineering.Studyingtheuse ofcomputerisveryimportantintodaysworld,sincemostofwhatgetsdoneisoncomputers. Computeraideddesign(CAD)programsareusedtodesignsystemsandstructures. Withinthecareerofcivilengineering,therearemanysubcategories.Theeightmain specialtiesare:structural,geotechnical,environmental,materials,waterresource,earthquake, coastal,andtransportation.Structuralengineersanalyze,design,plan,andresearchstructural componentsandstructuralsystemstoachievedesigngoalsandensurethesafetyandcomfort ofoccupants.Geotechnicalengineersdealwithrock,soil,andanypartofastructurethatis placedunderground.Environmentalengineersfindwaystoreducemansimpactonthe environment,repairingdamagewhichmanhascausetotheenvironment,andfindingwaysof ensuringthattheresourcesweneedfromtheenvironmentaresafeforouruse.Material engineersstudythecharacteristicsandusesofvariousmaterials,suchasmetals,ceramics, andplastics.Waterresourceengineersstudythemovementthemovement,distribution,and qualityofwaterthroughouttheEarth,includingthehydrologiccycleandwaterresources. Earthquakeengineersstudythebehaviorofbuildingsandstructuressubjecttoseismicloading. Earthquakeengineeringisasubcategoryofstructuralandcivilengineering.Coastalengineers studycoastalandriverssystems,andareinvolvedinprotectionanderosionwork.Theydesign coastalstructuressuchasbeaches,seawalls, Kaltved4 marinasandports,andassesstheenvironmentaleffectsthesedevelopmentsmayhave.

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Transportationengineersdeterminewaystomeettheincreasingtravelneedsofpeople,goods, andmaterials,onland,air,andwater. IammostinterestedingoingintostructuralengineeringmainlybecauseIwouldliketo takepartincreatedstructuresandbridges.Structuralengineeringisdividedintotwo subspecialties:buildingstructuralengineeringandbridgestructuralengineering.Structural engineeringisprettymuchthecenterofcivilengineeringbecauseallofthetheotherspecialties aresomewhatbasedaroundit.Structuralengineersworkwithotherspecialtiestodesignand buildstructuresthattheotherengineersneedfortheirjob. TherearemanygreatprogramsavailableinthefieldofcivilengineeringaslongasI maketherightdecisionsandplaneverythingout,Iwillbeabletobecomeacivilengineer. Everyonehastheirowncareerpaththattheywanttofollowifyouworkhard,dontslackoff,and doeverythingthatneedstobedoneinordertobesuccessful,youwillbesuccessful.

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WorksCited

"CareerCornerstoneCenter:CareersinScience,Technology,Engineering,MathandMedicine." CareerCornerstoneCenter:CareersinScience,Technology,Engineering,Mathand Medicine.N.p.,n.d.Web.26Sept.2013. <http://www.careercornerstone.org/civileng/civileng.htm>. "CareersinCivilEngineering."CivilConstructionandEnvironmentalEngineering.N.p.,n.d.Web. 26Sept.2013.<https://www.ccee.iastate.edu/careers/careersincivilengineering/>. "CivilEngineering."BestPrograms.N.p.,n.d.Web.26Sept.2013. <http://gradschools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/bestgraduateschools/topengineeringschools/ci vilengineeringrankings>. "CivilEngineeringCareers."CivilEngineeringCareersHomeComments.N.p.,n.d.Web.26Sept. 2013.<http://www.civilengineeringcareers.org/>. "CivilEngineer."JobOverview.U.S.NewsandWorldReport,n.d.Web.26Sept.2013. <http://money.usnews.com/careers/bestjobs/civilengineer>.