Structural Engineer Career

*A job as a Structural Engineer falls under the broader career category of Civil Engineers. The information on this page will generally apply to all careers in this category but may not specifically apply to this career title.

Job Description for Civil Engineers : Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems.


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Civil Engineer Career

What skills are required for Civil Engineers?

Importance Skills
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Management of Financial Resources - Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Management of Material Resources - Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

What knowledge is needed to be a Civil Engineer?

Importance Knowledge
Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Work Styles

Importance Styles
Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.