- Environment Primarily indoor/office work
- Education Post-secondary degree
- Average salary $72,000 to $132,000
Career profile
Civil engineers oversee the planning and execution of essential infrastructure projects, ensuring that every detail aligns with precise design specifications. Their role involves guiding the construction of critical components like roads, utility corridors, and water retention systems. Civil engineers are responsible for conceiving, designing, and managing the construction, upkeep, and eventual dismantling of a wide range of structures and facilities. Those focused on energy-related infrastructure often find employment with project owners or operators, or they become valuable contributors to Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) companies, actively shaping transformative projects.
Civil engineering offers opportunities to specialize in areas such as foundation analysis, structural inspection, surveying and geomatics, and expertise in hydraulics and water management.
Civil engineers excel in multidisciplinary environments which allows them to explore related fields, including management.
In this occupation activities may include:
- Undertaking preliminary analysis, system/layout optimization, energy assessments and project economics to determine the best site development scenario.
- Strategizing to ensure key issues are identified early so that the project development can addresses major technical factors to gain approvals, meet adequate quality and performance requirements and be economic.
- Undertaking foundation and superstructure design for civil structures including wind towers, substations, buildings, bridges, weirs, intakes and dams.
- Preparing engineering designs from conceptual and detailed design through to tender and construction documents.
Education
- A bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or in a related engineering discipline is required.
Licensing
- Licensing by a provincial or territorial association of professional engineers is required to approve engineering drawings and reports and to practise as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.).
- Engineers are eligible for registration following graduation from an accredited educational program, and after three or four years of supervised work experience in engineering and passing a professional practice examination.
Additional Requirements
- Extensive knowledge of all relevant codes and standards
- Experience with engineering software applications such as SFRAME, STAAD, RISA
- Specific health and safety certifications may be required, determined by location of work and company requirements
- Travel likely required
- Primarily indoor/office work
- Work not physically demanding
- Work away from home/in camps
You are a creative problem-solver and are also logical. You have a strong understanding of mathematics, science and construction. You also have strong interpersonal skills and can collaborate with a number of other professionals.
The industry is only as strong as the infrastructure it uses to explore, produce and refine. You play a key role in the day-to-day function of each and every facility.
- Design Creation
- Application of Engineering Design and Technology
- Laws and Regulations
- Understanding Risk
- Writing, Technical Writing, Document Production
- Managing Material Resources
- Operations Design Analysis
- Systems Evaluation and Analysis
- Technology Design
- Coordination
- Professional Judgment and Decision Making
- Persuasion
