A. INTRODUCTION
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Twenty greatest engineering achievements of the
20th century in 2000. These are:
1. Electrification
2. Automobile
3. Airplane
4. Water Supply and Distribution
5. Electronics
6. Radio and Television
7. Agricultural Mechanization
8. Computers
9. Telephone
10. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
11. Highways
12. Spacecraft
13. Internet
14. Imaging
15. Household Appliances
16. Health Technologies
17. Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies
18. Laser and Fiber Optics
19. Nuclear Technologies
20. High-performance Materials
Among the twenty, clearly Number 4 and Number 11 are
the contributions of civil engineering. Even Number 1,
Electrification, the generation and transportation of
electrical power, cannot be achieved without the civil
engineering contribution to the designing and
constructing power transmission towers and lines. Same
is true for Number 2 and Number 3.
B. CIVIL ENGINEERING EDUCATION
Today’s civil engineering is linked to advances in
understanding of physics, mathematics, and the social
and political forces of its time.
Civil engineers typically earn a Bachelor of Science (B.S.
degree with a major in civil engineering, though some
universities award a Bachelor of Engineering. Students
usually pursue their studies for four or five years.
Degree should include units covering topics in three
major categories:
Foundational — mathematics, natural sciences,
humanities, and social sciences
Technical — materials science, mechanics, experiments,
problem recognition and solving, design, sustainability,
contemporary issues/historical perspectives, risk and
uncertainties, project management, breadth in civil
engineering areas, and technical specialization
Professional — communication, public policy, business
and public administration, globalization, leadership,
teamwork, attitudes, lifelong learning, and professional
and ethical responsibility
After completing an accredited degree program, the civil
engineer must satisfy a range of requirements (including
work experience and exam requirements) before
becoming registered or licensed.
The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and
Surveying (NCEES) in the United States administers the
civil engineering professional engineer (Civil PE) exam.
After passing the EIT (Engineer in Training) exam,
the prospective engineer is tested with a:
∙ Breadth Exam (Morning Session): This exam contains
questions from all six areas of civil
engineering: Construction, Geotechnical, Structural,
Transportation, Water Resources, and Environmental
∙ Depth Exams (Afternoon Session): These exams focus
more closely on a single area of practice in civil
engineering. Examinees must choose one of the
following areas: Construction, Geotechnical, Structural,
Transportation, Water Resources, and Environmental.
[NCEES]
Once licensed, the civil engineer is designated the title of
Professional Engineer (in the United States, Canada, and
South Africa), Chartered Engineer (in most British
Commonwealth countries), Chartered Professional
Engineer (in Australia and New Zealand), European
Engineer (in much of the European Union), and
Professional Engineer in many Asia countries. There are
some international engineering agreements between
relevant professional bodies that are designed to allow
engineers to practice across international borders:
∙ Civil Engineering Associations
∙ American Society of Civil Engineers
∙ Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
∙ Chi Epsilon, Civil Engineering honor society
∙ Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
∙ Engineers Australia
∙ Institution of Civil Engineers (UK)
∙ Institute of Structural Engineers (UK)
∙ Institute of Transportation Engineers Royal Academy of
Engineering (UK)
∙ Transportation Research Board
∙ The Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
The advantages of registration or licensure vary
depending upon location. For example, in the United
States and Canada most licensing organizations use
something like the following quote: ‘‘only a licensed
engineer may prepare, sign and seal, and submit
engineering plans and drawings to a public authority for
approval, or seal engineering work for public and private
clients.’’
This requirement is enforced by state and provincial
legislation. In other countries, no such legislation exists.
Most professional associations of civil engineers, such as
the American Society of Civil Engineers, the British
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the British Institute of
Structural Engineers (ISE), the Philippine Institute of Civil
Engineers (PICE) maintain a code of ethics by which
members are expected to abide or risk expulsion. In this
way, these organizations play an important role in
maintaining ethical standards for the profession.
In the Philippines, the licensure examination for Civil
Engineers were administered by the
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). The
licensure exam usually take place twice every year,
usually during the month of May and November. The
current format of the examination is usually taken for
two consecutive days and the examiners need to answer
three major subjects that they took up during their
undergraduate studies.
The three subjects were actually a combination of the
different fields of Civil Engineering.
The first subject is Mathematics, Surveying and
Transportation Engineering which is usually taken
during the first day of the examination from 8:00 AM to
1:00 PM for a total of 5 hours to answer seventy-five (75)
questions. After the first subject, the examiners will take
one hour break for lunch and for preparation for the
second subject which is the Hydraulics and Geotechnical
Engineering that will start at 2:00 PM until 6:00 PM, a
four (4) hour exam for fifty problems. The third and last
subject Structural Engineering and Construction will be
taken on the second day of the examination with the
same time schedule and number of problems of the first
subject
To pass the examination, examiners should get an
average of 70% rating and above. Another condition
is that for each subject, examiners should not get a score
lower than 50% even if their average rating is higher than
70%. So if the first subject has 75 items, the examiners
should correctly answer 37.5 questions which will then
be round up to 38 questions. Each subject also has a
corresponding percentage for the final rating of the
examiners. Mathematics, Surveying & Transportation
Engineering and Structural Engineering & Construction
each has a 35% for the final rating while Hydraulics &
Geotechnical Engineering covers the remaining 30% of
the final rating for a total of 100%. Once the examiners
passed these conditions, they will then be given the title
of Registered Civil Engineer (RCE) after they took their
oath and receive their Professional License ID released by
the PRC.
Even in countries where licensure has little or no legal
bearing on work, engineers are subject to contract
law. In cases where an engineer’s work fails he or she
may be subject to the tort of negligence and, in extreme
cases, the charge of criminal negligence. An engineer’s
work must also comply with numerous other rules and
regulations, such as building codes and legislation
pertaining to environmental law.
C. CIVIL ENGINEERING CAREERS
There is no one typical career path for civil engineers.
Most engineering graduates start with entry-
level positions, and as they prove their competence, they
gain more and more significant tasks. In some fields and
firms, entry-level engineers are put to work primarily
monitoring construction in the field, serving as the ‘‘eyes
∙ Works closely with surveyors
and ears’’ of more senior design engineers. In other
and specialized civil engineers.
areas, entry-level engineers perform routine tasks of
analysis or design and interpretation. Senior engineers ∙ Designs grading plans, drainage,
can execute complex analysis or design work. They also pavement, water supply, sewer
can work in project management of design projects, or service, electric and
management of other engineers, or specialized communications supply, and land
consulting. Civil engineers are in high demand at financial divisions.
institutions and management consultancies because of
∙ Visits project sites, develops
their analytical skills. They can find many career
community consensus, and
opportunities in high technology for the same reason.
prepares construction plans and
Areas of civil engineering specialization have changed specifications
over time due to society’s needs and the complexities of
projects and technologies. Currently, the ASCE Coastal ∙ Helps manage coastal areas
incorporates the following Institutes:
∙ Defends against flooding and
∙ Architectural Engineering (AEI) erosion
∙ Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers (COPRI) ∙ Designs ports
∙ Construction (CI) ∙ Also works to reclaim land
∙ Engineering Mechanics (EMI)
Construction ∙ Plans and executes the designs
∙ Environmental and Water Resources (EWRI)
from transportation, site
∙ Geo (G-I) development, hydraulic,
environmental, structural and
∙ Structural Engineering (SEI) geotechnical engineers
∙ Transportation & Development (T&DI) ∙ Writes and/or reviews
The activities and responsibilities of civil engineers contracts
working in these various areas are included in Table B.1 ∙ Evaluates logistical operations.
Table B.1 - Civil Engineering Areas of Concentration ∙ Controls prices of necessary
materials, operations, and
Area Activities and Responsibilities
equipment

General Civil ∙ Focuses on the overall interface

Environmental ∙ Deals with the treatment of
of projects with their
chemical, biological, and/or
environments. ∙ Applies the
thermal waste, purification of
principles of geotechnical
water and air, and the
engineering, structural
remediation of contaminated
engineering, environmental
sites ∙ Works with pollution
engineering, transportation
reduction, green engineering,
engineering, and construction
and industrial ecology ∙ Reports
engineering to residential,
information on the
commercial, industrial, and
environmental consequences of
public works projects of all sizes
proposed actions and the
and levels of construction.
assessment of effects of
proposed actions for the purpose
 of assisting society and policy-
makers in the decision-making
process, i.e.,
writes environmental impact
reports (EIRs)
Geotechnical ∙ Deals with complex nature of
rock and soil, subsurface
investigation and testing,
foundations and earth structures
(dams, levees, engineered fills,
etc.) ∙ Depends on knowledge
from the fields of geology,
material science and
testing, mechanics, and
hydraulics to design foundations,
retaining structures, land
fills and similar structures
∙ Can specialize further to use
biology and chemistry to devise
ways of disposing of hazardous
materials and groundwater
contamination (called geo
environmental engineering)
∙ Contrasts with the relatively
well-defined material properties
of steel and concrete used in
other areas of civil engineering
Land Surveying ∙ Establishes the boundaries of a
parcel of land using its legal
(considered a
description and subdivision
distinct
plans.
profession in the
∙ Lays out the routes of railways,
United
tramway tracks, highways, roads,
pipelines, and streets as well as
States, Canada,
positions other infrastructures,
the
United Kingdom, such as harbors,
and most before construction.
∙ Employs surveying equipment,
Commonwealth
such as levels and theodolites,
countries)
for accurate measurement of
angular deviation, horizontal,
vertical, and slope distances. ∙
Makes use of electronic distance
measurement (EDM), total
stations, global
position system (GPS) surveying,
and laser scanning with
computerization, have
supplemented (and to a large
extent supplanted) the
traditional optical instruments.
Municipal or ∙ Involves specifying, designing,
Urban constructing, and maintaining
municipal infrastructure, such as
Engineering
streets, sidewalks, water supply
networks, sewers, street lighting,
municipal solid waste
management and disposal,
storage depots for various bulk
materials used for maintenance
and public works (salt,
sand, etc.), public parks, and
bicycle paths.
∙ Includes the civil portion
(conduits and access chambers)
of the local distribution networks
of electrical and
telecommunications services. ∙
Focuses on the coordination of
infrastructure networks and
services, as they are often built
and managed by the same
municipal authority.
Structural ∙ Analyses and designs the
structures of buildings, bridges,
towers, overpasses, tunnels,
offshore structures like oil and
gas fields in the sea, and
other structures
∙ Identifies the loads which act
upon a structure and the forces
and stresses that arise within
that structure due to those
loads
∙ Considers strength, stiffness,
and stability of the structure
when it is subjected to its own
 self weight, other dead loads, live
loads, including furniture,
wind, seismic, crowd or vehicle
loads, or transitory, such as
temporary construction loads
∙ Also takes into account
aesthetics, cost, constructability,
safety, and sustainability wind
engineering and earthquake
engineering
∙ Can specialize further (wind and
earthquake engineering).
Transportation ∙ Deals with moving people and
goods efficiently, safely, and in a
manner conducive to a vital
community.
∙ Plans this movement using
queuing theory, Intelligent
Transportation Systems (ITS),
and infrastructure management.
∙ Designs, constructs, and
maintains transportation
infrastructure, including streets,
canals, highways, rail systems,
airports, ports, and mass transit. ∙
Investigates and specifies paving
materials.
∙ Involves transportation design,
transportation planning, traffic
engineering, some aspects of
municipal/urban engineering.
Water Resources ∙ Combines hydrology,
environmental science,
meteorology,
geology, conservation, and
resource management in the
collection and management
of water as a natural resource.
∙ Relates to the prediction and
management of both the quality
and the quantity of water in
underground resources (aquifers)
and above ground
resources (lakes, rivers, and
streams).
∙ Analyzes and models very small
to very large areas to predict the
amount and content of water as
it flows into, through or out of a
facility such as pipelines, water
distribution systems, drainage
facilities (including bridges,
dams, channels, culverts, levees,
storm sewers), and canals.
D. CIVIL ENGINEERING AS A
PROFESSION
Until modern times there was no clear distinction
between civil engineering and architecture, and the term
engineer or architect referred to the same person. In the
western world, the origins of civil engineering as a
profession can be found in the years immediately
preceding and including the Industrial Revolution,
the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The scientific
discoveries of the Age of Enlightenment and the
new commercial needs of the Industrial Revolution
converged to create an ideal environment for
innovation.
These organization, as well as those in other countries,
helped to formalize civil engineering as a profession. The
geotechnical engineer and author, John Philip Bachner,
lists five characteristics of a profession and their
attributes. These are:
1. Systematic body of theory
a. Skills flow from an internally consistent
system.
b. Spirit of rationality; expansion of theory.
2. Authority
a. Extensive education in systematic theory
highlights the layperson’s comparative ignorance.
b. Functional specificity
3. Community sanction
 a. State-sponsored boards. but also a study of legal issues. Virtually all major civil
engineering projects must go through environmental
b. License or registration.
impact studies and public hearings. For these studies and
4. Ethical codes hearings, at least a preliminary design must be prepared
and presented.
a. Ethical
2. Design. At least two stages are involved in the design
▪ professional. phase: preliminary design and final design. Sometimes it
b. Client-professional is necessary to have an additional intermediate design
stage. The preliminary design is to create an outline of
▪ impulse to perform maximally. the concept, scope, structure, materials to be used,
c. Colleague to colleague. method of construction, and cost and timeline estimate
of the project. The preliminary design can be part of the
d. Cooperative planning phase. The final design includes all detailed
designs of every structure involved in the project and
▪ egalitarian
every associated facility such as electric and mechanical
▪ supportive facilities.

5. A culture 3. Construction. The actual construction phase includes

a. Social values
b. Services valuable to the community
▪ making presentations and conducting
meetings
d. Symbols
▪ argot, jargon
▪ insignia, emblems
▪ history and folklore
Knowledge of civil engineering history and culture helps
civil engineers communicate the importance of their
profession to the world. Noted engineering historian,
Henry Petroski, suggests that engineering history is both
history and engineering. Additionally, familiarity with
civil engineering history can assist with the practice of
the profession.
E. CIVIL ENGINEERING PROCESSES
All civil engineering projects go through four main
phases: planning, design, construction, and
maintenance/operation. These phases sometimes
are intertwined and overlapped.
1. Planning. As any civil engineering projects, private or
public, involve public interest and major funding, the
planning phase could sometimes run into many years.
The very first stage of the planning phase is a feasibility
study, which usually includes not only a financial study
the physical erection of all the structures and in the
meantime the observation of all applicable safety and
environmental regulations during the construction
phase.
4. Maintenance. When the construction phase ends and
the owner takes over the project, the maintenance/
operation phase begins. The owner of the project usually
takes over all responsibilities, but the contractor is
usually bound by a warranty agreement. During the
warranty period interaction between the owner and the
contractor could be very frequent and intense. Beyond
the warranty period, the physical structures require
constant maintenance. A well-known example is the
constant painting of the cables of the Golden Gate Bridge
in San Francisco
F. ATTRIBUTES OF A CIVIL ENGINEER
1. Analytical and Organized. The application of the vast
amount of knowledge in civil engineering to solving real-
life problems requires an analytical approach and an
organized mind. Civil engineers are generally very
organized in their daily lives as well.
2. Bold in Conception and Careful in Details. Seeking
solutions to real-life problems requires a bold conceptual
design. Every new project is different and requires the
exploration of different solution outlines. In carrying out
the details of the design, the civil engineer must be
careful in every step to ensure safety and accuracy.
3. Creative but Conservative. Finding new and
economical solutions to civil engineering
problems requires a creative mind that thinks beyond the
accepted and regular practices, but the reliability
and safety of the created product requires a conservative
assessment in every aspect, because for every civil
engineering product, failure is not an option.
4. Dependable and Trustworthy. Civil engineers depend
on each other in teamwork. Everyone is entrusted to
produce reliable and accurate work. Civil engineering
projects are all time-sensitive. On time delivery is highly
valued and even financially rewarded as may be written
in a contract.
5. Ethical and Honest. The impact of a civil engineering
project is usually wide ranged and concerns the public
interest because it entails the creation of a new built
environment, large or small. A civil engineer must be
ethical in practice and honest in character in order to
earn the public trust. In Chapter 6, engineering ethics
issues are described.
6. Forthright but Personable. Civil engineers need to
communicate with others effectively. Very rarely does a
civil engineer work alone. The teamwork necessitated by
the nature of the engineering work requires a civil
engineer to possess excellent interpersonal skills to be
able to fit in and work well with others.
7. Passionate About Work. The authors never met a civil
engineer who is not passionate and proud of what they
do. Because civil engineer products are everywhere and
visible, it is possible to see a civil engineer pointing to a
building, a bridge, a river, or other structures and proudly
announcing his/her contribution.
G. RELATED DISCIPLINES
Some of the disciplines that interact or overlap with civil
engineering are described here.
1. Applied Mechanics. Mechanics is one of the early and
basic areas in physics. It studies the nature and effects of
force. Applied or engineering mechanics emphasizes the
application aspects of the theory of mechanics. Civil
engineering structures are subjected to the effects of
gravitational force, wind, and earthquakes, and effects of
temperature change. Various applied mechanics areas
ranging from the fundamental statics, dynamics, fluid
mechanics, and mechanics of materials to
more advanced areas such as thermal stress and wave
propagation have direct applications in
structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, water
resources engineering, environmental engineering,
and construction engineering.
2. Architectural Engineering. Architectural engineering
specializes in the aesthetics and structural design of
buildings. The structural design aspect of architectural
engineering overlaps with structural engineering. The
aesthetical design aspect of architectural engineering
applies the knowledge developed in architecture studies.
Architectural engineers also study and apply knowledge
in electrical and mechanical systems to building designs.
3. Agricultural Engineering. Agricultural engineering
traditionally entails two technical areas:
irrigation engineering and mechanization. Irrigation
engineering is part of hydraulic engineering while the
mechanization of agricultural engineering is part of
mechanical engineering. Since the advent of
DNA engineering, the use of basic molecular biology
techniques to change the properties of a specific crop
becomes an important addition to agricultural
engineering and a new and broader field
of bioengineering emerges.
4. Aerospace Engineering. Aerospace Engineering entails
aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering,
which develops vehicles that fly through the earth’s
atmosphere and beyond, respectively. The structural
analysis and design of the flying vehicles, airplanes, and
spacecraft, is most similar to that of civil structural
engineering. The difference is in the nature of forces
acting on the structures.
5. Biomedical Engineering. Biomedical engineering
specializes in the applications of engineering to the
medical field, including medical imaging, surgical devices,
and implant devices. The structural analysis and design
of medical devices and implants overlaps with civil
structural engineering in the basic tools used and differs
in the nature of forces acting on the devices.
6. Naval Architecture. As briefly described before, naval
architecture specialized in the design of ships. The
analysis and design of ship structures is similar to that of
civil structures and uses similar computational tools. The
difference is in the nature of forces acting on the
structures