Page 11 - A Career in Civil Engineering

offi cials about bicycle transportation improvements. This com-
plete street concept designs new roads and road improvements
to accommodate motorized vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians.
These types of studies are just some of the many types of work
performed by transportation engineers.

Marine Engineers
Marine engineers, who are also civil engineers, specialize in de-
signing ships for the US Navy, US Coast Guard, commercial ship-
ping companies, cruise lines, and other entities that put ships to
sea. Many marine engineers focus on the internal systems of a
ship, such as the steering, heating and cooling, propulsion, and

Geotechnical Engineers Dig Rocks

and Soil

One of the less common specialties of civil engineering is geotechnical en-
gineering. Geotechnical engineering focuses on the engineering qualities
and behaviors of rocks, minerals, soil, and water. Before a tunnel, bridge,
or dam is built, geotechnical engineers determine whether the ground
under and around those structures can support them. This is a particularly
challenging job when the rock to support a structure is deep underwater.
Geotechnical engineers often nd jobs with petroleum companies, min-
ing operations, the military, and builders working in areas challenged by
earthquakes, landslides, and other natural disasters. These professionals
are essential for unusual jobs, such as the storage of hazardous waste in
the desert or the construction of oil-drilling facilities in the ocean. Geo-
technical engineering is closely aligned with coastal engineering and the
construction of piers, oil platforms, marinas, wharves, and beach resto-
ration projects. The work of geotechnical engineers often overlaps with
that of geologists and petroleum engineers. Though it is its own discipline
within the broader eld of civil engineering, geotechnical engineering
reaches deeply, so to speak, into many other related industries.

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