How to Become a Civil Engineer

What do I do in college to prepare to be a Civil Engineer?

• Major in civil engineering.
• Gain experience either through internships or summer/part time jobs.
• Join engineering student associations.
• Continue to research and reach out to professors. Visit public works and civil engineering company web sites.  Look online at job requirements for civil engineering positions.  Consider visiting a company and requesting an informational interview to get recommendations for your education.

How do I find a good school to be a Civil Engineer?

• Ask your school career counselor or search the Internet.
• Visit the Minnesota State website which provides information on 37 public colleges and universities with 54 convenient campuses throughout Minnesota.  http://www.minnstate.edu/
• Locally there are several great universities:
  • University of Minnesota – Twin Cities cege.umn.edu/
  • University of Minnesota – Duluth https://scse.d.umn.edu/
  • University of St. Thomas – St. Paul http://www.stthomas.edu/engineering/
  • Minnesota State University – Mankato mnsu.edu/programs/civilengineering.html
  • University of Wisconsin – Madison engr.wisc.edu/
  • University of Wisconsin – Platteville uwplatt.edu/ems
  • Iowa State University, Ames cce.iastate.edu
  • University of Iowa, Iowa City cee.engineering.uiowa.edu
  • South Dakota State University, Brookings sdstate.edu
  • North Dakota State University, Fargo ndsu.edu/majors/civil/
  • University of North Dakota, Grand Forks http://engineering.und.edu/civil/

What is the job potential and pay for Civil Engineers?

• Job opportunities are GREAT!
• See how much money you can expect to make as a civil engineer here: https://www.indeed.com/salaries/Civil-Engineer-Salaries

 What are the different things I can do in a Civil Engineering career?

• There are nine different disciplines within civil engineering that focus on different specialty areas.
• Typically, civil engineering college students take the same courses for the first three years in college and spend their final year taking courses that specialize in one of the seven disciplines below.