When you think about careers that are vital to everyday life, you might think of doctors or police officers as the most influential. What you might not immediately picture is the civil engineer. From designing bridges to effective water treatment pathways, however, civil engineers are invaluable to living a convenient and safe life. And because they tackle such varied tasks, the skills these engineers must master are also diverse.

Let’s look at the five most important skills for civil engineers!

1. Project Management
When projects are running smoothly, everyone is happy, and things seem to simply “fall into place”. When they don’t proceed as planned, however, it invariably falls to the engineers to fix things. That’s why it’s so important that these professionals have a good understanding of project management and how to provide effective guidance and resolution as quickly as possible. This includes being able to manage diverse teams while communicating with clients and maintaining their confidence.

2. Technical Skills
A civil engineer should have a firm grasp upon physics and mathematics because they’re responsible for creating safe designs that work as intended. Making a mistake at any point during the design process could lead to fatal, accidents in the future. To this end, being skilled in techniques like working with maps, models, and CAD software is also important. All of these technical skills combine to create the toolbox of a great engineer.

3. Creativity
Civil engineers essentially apply engineering solutions and principles to built environments. That means that sometimes, creativity is vital to finding smart design options. Understanding how to design solutions that work for existing spaces on multiple levels can be the difference between landing the job and keeping clients happy and struggling through a project with lackluster results. Engineers must be able to adapt their thinking and their ideas to the existing environments within which they are working.

4. Communication Skills
In addition to project management skills, civil engineers should have polished communication skills. Because they spend so much time dealing with clients and management, civil engineering professionals who understand how to communicate effectively and efficiently are highly sought after. The ability to clearly express ideas and direction is included among the communication skillset.

5. Critical Thinking
Finally, civil engineers must be able to think critically about their clients’ needs and desires along with what solutions are reasonable in scope. They must be able to filter their creativity through practicality, in other words, and carefully consider how best to move forward with their projects. And, of course, finding smart ways to fix complex problems is vitally important in almost any project imaginable.

If you have any comments or questions please contact Deysi Menjivar at JMC² Civil + Structural Engineering at dmenjivar@jmc-2.com, (310) 241-6550 x221, www.jmc-2.com.