A civil engineer career

A Civil Engineer career is a very good career to pursue. Construction engineering is one of the oldest engineering specialties and construction is one of the most important industries in any country. It is, perhaps, the only sector in the economy in which employment is projected to grow. As the population grows with the need to build more structures, more civil engineers are needed. Also, more professionals will be required to construct, maintain, or repair water and sewagesystems. New graduates can expect 100% placement.

Civil engineers plan, design and construct many types of facilities: commercial (office buildings and shopping centers), institutional (hospitals and schools), industrial (factories and refineries), residential (homes and apartments), civil (highways, bridges and utilities).

Although construction may be regarded as a single activity, in fact it is multitasking. Civil engineers usually work in offices creating designs and structural plans. However, they also work at construction sites to monitor workers and troubleshoot.

Construction engineers must do their job well as they are directly responsible for the health of people. They should build things that won’t damage the planet. Buildings and structures should withstand outside forces like wind and their own weight and they should be safe. Becoming a good construction engineer isn’t simply getting a Diploma in construction.

Civil engineering, like all engineering disciplines, is a science. Therefore, the student who wants to be a civil engineer needs to study math and the sciences. A civil engineer needs to understand materials science and to have the ability to calculate the stresses on that material.

Complete the sentences using the words from the box.

employment, sewage, placement, utilities, troubleshoot, damage, withstand

1. The project could seriously ___ the environment.

2. The structure was designed to ___ winds of more than 100 mph.

3. A fall in full-time ___ has been observed.

4. Public ___ such as gas, electricity and phones are an important part of any city’s infrastructure.

5. ___ is waste matter from homes and factories, flowing away through sewers.

6. We speak about a job ___ program to help those who are unemployed when we mean finding them a job.

7. To ___ means to find and correct faults in a mechanical or electronic system.

Speak about the career of a civil engineer using the following words which describe his job duties.

to plan, design and construct different facilities;

to create designs and structural plans;

to monitor workers and troubleshoot;

to understand and to keep to safety standards.

Can you say now that this career is the right one for you? Prove it. Make a dialogue with your partner and discuss why you have decided to go into this career? Are job chances for civil engineers good in the near and far future?

Unit 6. Careers in Computer Engineering.

1. Ask your partner the following questions to evaluate his potential to become a computer engineer:

1. Do you love technology and the innovations that come with it? 2. Do you have good analytical skills? 3. Are you interested in computer hardware and software? 4. Does the future of computer engineering look very bright? Is it the fastest growing sector of the economy?

Also, answer the questions given in Ex. 1, p. 8.

If the answers are “yes” and your partner does not struggle in math and science, can he pursue a career in computer engineering? Dwell on it. Right down your arguments.

A COMPUTER ENGINEER CAREER.

Careers in Computer Engineering are very hot right now and they look like they will only get hotter. The future of computer engineering looks very bright. Computers have really blown-up during the last decades and they are expected to continue to grow in popularity. So computer engineers are in demand and can pretty much expect to be in demand. Careers in computer science are great. They pay well and they are interesting jobs. Since the popularity of computers continues to grow, the need for computer engineers will exist for a very long time, if not forever.

As you may guess, computer engineering careers deal with computers and software. Computer engineers develop and improve software programs and hardware that make computers run. They learn both the technical side and the theoretical side of working with computers. They focus on the design, development, and integration of everything that is related to computer software and hardware. Hardware engineers develop the hardware of computers, including motherboards, graphics and audio cards and drives, later programmed by software engineers. From operating system software, such as Windows and Linux, to individual computer programs, such as Photoshop and Microsoft Office, software engineers turn piles of hardware into functional computers.

Computer engineers work in a variety of places from corporate offices to government laboratories or may work on a freelance basis. In addition to a formal education, aspiring computer engineers should use their free time to keep up on the latest trends and changes in software and hardware development. To know recently developed software programs, patches, and computer chips is essential as the knowledge base of computer engineering is constantly evolving.