What is Civil Engineering?
One of the oldest and broadest Engineering discipline, Civil Engineering involves planning, designing, constructing, maintaining and supervising infrastructures which includes facilities essential to modern life like highways, bridges and tunnels, schools, hospitals, airports and other buildings, sewage systems and water treatment facilities. Subsequently, the course also involves protectingpublic and environmental health as well as improving existing infrastructure.
According to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc, the Civil Engineering Market size is expected to grow up to USD 11.72 trillion by 2025.
Various colleges in India offer Civil engineering at the UG and PG level, thus leading to BTech and MTech degrees respectively.
Civil Engineers generally have a lot of specialisations to choose from like:
Construction Engineering
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Coastal and Ocean Engineering
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Geotechnical Engineering
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Fire protection engineering
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Structural Engineering
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General Engineering
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Bridge Engineering
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Irrigation Engineering
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Land development
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Materials Engineering
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Transportation engineering
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Urban Engineering
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Hydraulic Engineering
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Water resources Engineering
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Environmental Engineering
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Required Skillset for Civil Engineering
Technical skills, Project Management, Critical Thinking, Communication skills and Creativity are the fundamental skill sets to become a successful Civil Engineer. However, if you want to set yourself above in the crowd, here are some desirable qualities you must possess:
Leadership Skills
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Negotiating Skills
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Attention to Detail
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Good Time Management
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Problem Solving Skills
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Ability to Visualise
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Team Player
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Passion for Learning
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Civil Engineering: Eligibility Criteria
If a syudent is planning to have a career in Civil Engineering then he/she should have to pursue an undergraduate engineering program (BTech) after cpmpletion of which students can opt for a job or for a postgraduation program in the same stream. Some colleges also offer Diploma in Civil Engineering.
Diploma in Civil Engineering
There are many institutes that offer a two-year diploma course in civil engineering.
Eligibility
- The aspirants must have passed class X or its equivalent examination with a minimum of 45% marks each in Science and Mathematics as compulsory subjects. The students must have also studied English as one of the compulsory subjects.
BTech Civil Engineering
It is a four-year full-time undergraduate program divided into 8 semesters.
Eligibility
- Aspirants must have passed 10+2 or equivalent examination from any recognized central or state board with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as compulsory subjects.
- The admission process of the BTech program is done through the entrance exams such as - JEE Main, JEE Advanced, MHCET, KCET and other exams.
MTech in Civil Engineering
It is a two-year full-time post-graduation program.
Eligibility
- The students must have passed a BTech degree with a minimum passing percentage in the aggregation of all subjects studied in the undergraduate program.
- The admissions are done through the entrance exam such as - GATE score merit list.
Course curriculum for Civil Engineering
In India, the Civil Engineering course curriculum might differ across colleges, institutes and Universities. However, the fundamentals of the programme remain the same.
According to AICTE, “A range of credits from 150 to 160 would be required for a student to be eligible to get Under Graduate degree in Engineering. A student will be eligible to get Under Graduate degree with Honours or additional Minor Engineering, if he/she completes an additional 20 credits. These could be acquired through MOOCs”.
Here’s an overview of the topics you would likely study in a Civil Engineering programme across eight semesters. Please note that the syllabus and structure may vary from college to college.
Semester 1
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Semester 2
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Mathematics I
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Mathematics II
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Chemistry
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Physics
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English for Communication
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Programming and Data Structure
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Basic Electronics
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Basic Electronics
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Mechanics
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Engineering Drawing and Graphics
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Engineering Drawing and Graphics
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Electrical Technology
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Electrical Technology
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Introduction to Manufacturing Processes
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Introduction to Manufacturing Processes
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Semester 3
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Semester 4
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Water and Waste Water Engineering
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Transportation Engineering
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Hydraulics
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Structural Analysis
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Solid Mechanics
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Water Resources Engineering
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Breadth I
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Surveying I
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Mathematics III (Module 1)
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Surveying II
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Semester 5
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Semester 6
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Design of RC Structures
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Design of Steel Structures
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Soil Mechanics & Foundation Engineering
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Elective II
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Elective I
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Elective III
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Breadth (IT)
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Elective IV
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Breadth II
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Elective V
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Project I
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Semester 7
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Semester 8
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Elective VI
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Breadth III
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IT & CAD Applications
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Breadth
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Elective
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Project III
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Project II
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Comprehensive Viva Voce
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Industrial Training/Seminar
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Top Entrance Exams for Civil Engineering
Most of the colleges offering Civil Engineering courses admit students on the basis of National or state level engineering exams. There are many colleges who also conduct their own entrances for admission to BTech programmes.
Some of the popular engineering entrance examinations aspirants should consider appearing for admissions to UG and PG level Civil engineering courses are:
Civil Engineering: Types of Job Profiles and Recruiters
Civil engineers get recruited by Construction Firms, Defence Forces Development Boards Municipal Bodies etc. They work in public and private sectors in all branches of design, construction, maintenance of roads, highways, bridges, dams, canals, docks, airports, housing complexes and in environment management etc. Civil engineers also work in quality testing laboratories, Military and defence services and as consultants.
Take a look at some of the job profiles that civil engineers land into after graduation.
Job Profile
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Job Description
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Average Annual Salary
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Structural Engineers
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They design, plan and supervise the construction of infrastructural projects like buildings, bridges, and so on. They also take care of alteration and extension to existing properties or structures.
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The national average salary in India for Structural Engineers is around INR 4-5 Lakhs for freshers
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Geotechnical Engineers
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The primary responsibility of Geotechnical engineers is to create projects and find solutions to the problems that are related to geology.
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The average salary for Geotechnical Engineers is around INR 3-4 Lakhs for freshers
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Site Engineers
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The take responsibility for security, safety, health, organizing, supervising material and people working at the site. They are part of the site management team.
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The average salary for site Engineers is around INR 2.5-3 Lakhs for freshers
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Construction Engineers
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The main task includes - to plan, direct, and supervise large construction projects. They act as leader and middleman on construction projects and ensure everything about the project is safe, smooth and structurally sound.
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The average salary for Construction Engineers is around INR 3.5-4 Lakhs for freshers
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Lectureres/Professor
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A civil engineering lecturer/ professor imparts knowledge of the subject that would include teaching students about the nuances of civil engineering.
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The average salary for Lectureres or Professors in Civil Engineering stream is around INR 3.5-4 Lakhs
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Some of the companies that hire civil engineering graduates are:
L&T
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Maytas Infra Ltd
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TATA Consulting Engineers Ltd
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Land Transport Authority etc
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Schlumberger
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Jacobs Engineering
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Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd
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Shapoorji Pallonji
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Jacobs Engineering
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Jones Lang LaSalle
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