thinking about majoring in civil engineering

Fabulous question! Honestly, I had almost no idea what civil engineers do when I was in high school. I simply found math and physics not as ambiguous, open-ended and subjective (and thus difficult, for me) as writing essays, and not as memory-intensive as history and biology. I had two older siblings studying engineering (mechanical and electrical) at the time I applied to colleges, so I figured I would be fine going into engineering. But I had always wanted to pursue a field that would serve society, long-term. Civil engineering (CE) is a wonderful place to do that, because so many CE products and processes are in the service of communities, and of the planet. By the time I was a junior in college, I still did not know what I would do, within the wide field of civil engineering. I had taken many courses in structural engineering, materials engineering, geotechnical engineering, and water engineering, but it was transportation (where I had experienced just one course) that stole my undergraduate heart. Thank goodness I had an opportunity to think about what this specific area of civil engineering offers the world, before I graduated. There are so many meaningful ways to service society through transportation policy and practice that I was finally able to choose my field.

Hi Jeremiah! I had no clue what civil engineering was up until secondary school. It was when I had to finally decide what majors to choose for my bachelor's degree that I googled about all options I had. I just knew that in civil engineering courses, I would be exposed to everything related to building structures from scratch. Here I am now, a geotechnical engineer, explaining people what geotechnical even means! You asked a great question. Your awareness would definitely lead you to your interests soon :)

I had no idea what civil engineering was. I went to college as an engineer but hadn't declared which engineering major I wanted to do. I kind of just ended up falling into the major and I love it. There are SO many amazing career paths you can go down in civil. There's structural, land development, environmental, water resources, geotechnical, coastal, transportation, construction, and even forensic engineering. I liked civil because I can work anywhere in the world with my degree (everywhere needs buildings) and the market is continuing to grow. Just make sure that the college you go to has an accredited civil engineering program (not every school does). If you don't go to an accredited program, you can't get your professional engineering license.