Have you ever wondered how a bridge was designed or why a building was built where it was? If so, then you will most likely be interested in a career as a civil engineer.
On Monday, Nov. 25, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Andy Harkness, who is the Chief of Engineering & Construction Division, Pittsburgh District, spoke to BPHS students as part of the Counseling Department’s Career Spotlight series.
Mr. Harkness was born and raised in State College, PA and graduated from Penn State with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He would later go back and get his Masters degree in Civil Engineering from Pitt. He says if you plan on being a civil engineer or any other engineer, Virginia Tech has a very good engineering program.
In addition to his work designing different structures Mr. Harkness has also written multiple engineering manuals for gate design, precast concrete, prestressed concrete, float in construction, and engineering regulations for remote operation and dam safety.
However, civil engineers don’t just design buildings, bridges or roads, they can design locks, dams and other navigation projects. Mr. Harkness has had many different opportunities to engineer cofferdams and large movable structures for many different locks and dams in the Pittsburgh area. He has also gotten opportunities to travel to Brazil to assist with the evaluation of navigation opportunities on the tributaries of the Amazon River, as well as managing for the Atlantic Ocean Entrance Locks to the Panama Canal.
There are many different employment paths one could take; for example, you could work for a small firm, the department of transportation or even the US Army Corps of Engineers, just to name a few. On average, a civil engineer’s base salary starts out around $50,000 and goes up to the $120,000 range. The outlook is pretty average with a 19.4% growth between 2010 and 2020.
Civil engineers must be good problem solvers, be proficient in math, physics and chemistry as well as being organized and a good communicator; so, if that sounds like you, perhaps a career in civil engineering is the right choice.