learning about civil engineering

Hi Kelyn! Thanks for your question! I am glad to know that you are interested in civil engineering. Civil Engineering has many different sub fields within it and you don't really pick a field until late in your college career or sometimes even when you go to get your first job. Civil engineering consists of structural, construction management, transportation, environmental and water and wastewater engineering. There is a lot of options in this field. I work in between the construction management and transportation fields. We call it land development. So our clients are usually developers that own a piece of land and want to build on it and we take them through the process of approving plans with local agencies. So on a day to day basis I am designing things for those plans such as: water, sewer and stormdrain systems, stormwater management(ponds and bioretention areas), roads and streets in both plan and profile and grading(topography) of the site. After the plans are approved and are in the process of being constructed, I also get a chance to go out to the field and see all my work actually come to life which is one of my favorite parts of the job. Although most of the time I am in the office. 

The catches... I would say are that you have to work hard. Like any job you have deadlines that have to be met. I usually work a typical 8 hour day 5days a week unless I am under a deadline then I will have to work extra to be able to get the job done. 

I like you am a quiet person. I like to sit back and watch things unfold. But when I am at work I tend to be a little more proactive in what I am doing. I do have to communicate with clients and other engineers on a daily basis. This is something that gets easier with times and the more you learn. 

I think that if civil engineering is really what you love to do then you should work your hardest to get there. Civil engineers are always in demand because we design the very things that are necessity to society. I encourage you to take internships and co-ops while you are in college to be able to decide which area of civil engineering you like the best and it also gives you an opportunity to get some hands on experience of the daily life of an engineer. 

I hope this helps you! let me know if you have any further questions!
Thanks,
Christina