Civil engineers design and create virtually all infrastructure, from bridges and highways to airports and sewage treatment facilities. Within civil engineering, there can a be a wide range of specialization: structural engineers may be involved in designing buildings to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes; transportation engineers may design highways; construction and geotechnical engineers may be involved with creating new towers and tunnels. Civil engineering is a gratifying field. The job outlook, opportunity for advancement, high salaries and sense of professional fulfillment led US News & World Report to rank civil engineering among its top 10 technology jobs of 2013. The Department of Labor projects 24 percent job growth for civil engineers between 2010 and 2020.

Civil engineers work in diversified areas such as structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, water resources and environmental engineering, transportation engineering, ocean and coastal engineering, and construction engineering.