Role of Civil Engineers in Construction Industry

Construction is one of the oldest activities in the world. Some lasting examples of construction projects are the pyramids in Egypt, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Eiffel Tower in France—all which remain awe-inspiring examples even today. In the United States, the construction industry is generally more concerned with the building and construction of structures like houses, offices, apartments, factories, roads, and bridges. In recent times, major construction projects have included the Suez Canal, the Golden Gate Bridge, the underground railway channel between Britain and France, and the North Sea Protection Works.
Broadly divided into three major segments, the construction industry includes general contractors, heavy and civil engineering contractors, and specialty trade contractors. In 2004, there were about 818,000 construction companies in the United States. Of these, 57,000 companies were involved in heavy and civil engineering construction work. Overall in 2004, the construction industry accounted for around 7 million jobs in the country.
Civil engineers form an important component of the heavy and civil engineering construction industry. Civil engineers provide innovative and cost-effective solutions to a variety of construction-related problems. Civil engineers design, plan, and execute a wide range of construction projects like roads, bridges, buildings, airports, dams, and sewage systems.
Construction projects encompass a variety of government, defense, public, and private programs on a national as well as international scale. The construction industry employs a substantial number of civil engineers. Of the 1.4 million jobs that engineers held in 2004 in the United States, around 16.4% of jobs were in civil engineering, which constitutes the largest percentage of engineering jobholders in the country.