Job description: Civil engineer

Updated on: 16 December 2025 | Published on: 10 December 2024

Construction Knowledge

Buildings, tunnels, roads, dams, water and sewage systems - these are all components of structures that are essential to daily life. In order to maintain these structures and ensure the well-being of people, experts are needed who are responsible for the construction, maintenance and, if necessary, the safe removal of these structures. These experts are civil engineers.

Buildings of all kinds, from subway railroads and high-rise buildings to residential buildings, must be safe and economically viable for users. This is where civil engineers come into play: they deal with construction projects and draw up construction plans, carry out static and building physics calculations and ultimately decide on construction methods. Even if the civil engineer pays great attention to the safety and technical conditions of the construction project, he must also keep an eye on the financing. Questions of technical environmental protection with regard to noise, water and soil protection are also of particular relevance and must be taken into account. In short, the profession of civil engineer, like many engineering professions, is extremely challenging and carries great responsibility.

What is civil engineering?

Civil engineering is an engineering science. It deals with the conception, planning, design, construction, calculation and operation of buildings. Fields of activity include structural engineering, construction operations, hydraulic engineering, transportation and geotechnics. Although civil engineers do not build the structures themselves, they are responsible for their planning and development. They often work closely with architects, who design the buildings, but ultimately have to ensure that the architects' plans are implemented and built safely and do not collapse, for example. As the field of work is so diverse, many civil engineers specialize and often work in just one or two areas, such as traffic planning, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, civil engineering, construction operations and construction management and others.

What does a civil engineer do?

The duties of a civil engineer can have some differences depending on their specialization. Regardless of their specialization, the tasks of civil engineers often overlap, for example in:

Planning construction projects: The civil engineer is responsible for the implementation of technical environmental protection, pollutant investigations and noise, soil and water protection and works closely with architects, authorities and urban planners.
Ensuring the stability of the structure: The civil engineer carries out calculations and measurements of the structures, taking into account all possible effects, in order to minimize the risk of collapse or other hazards.
Maintenance: Once a structure has been built, the work for a civil engineer does not stop. Public buildings in particular, such as bridges and railway structures, must be regularly inspected and, if necessary, repaired, renovated or otherwise kept functional and safe.
Tender preparation and review: If a construction project is commissioned, the civil engineer prepares or reviews suitable tenders, taking into account all necessary auxiliary, operating and working materials, before they are released for dispatch.
Energy-related renovations: If precautions have to be taken, for example to change a building's energy supply to a more environmentally friendly or modern alternative, a civil engineer is highly advisable for the project. An energy engineer is also often consulted.
Supervision of construction projects: The civil engineer not only takes care of the construction of buildings, but also supervises their construction itself. They ensure that work steps are carried out correctly and coordinate the work of the teams. They monitor the quality of the construction work and ensure that regulations and standards are followed and adhered to.

These are just some of the many responsibilities and tasks of a civil engineer. In summary, it can be said that this profession involves a high degree of responsibility and requires a lot of discipline and self-organization.

What skills does a civil engineer need to have?

Due to the nature of this profession, a basic understanding of mathematical and scientific contexts is essential. Technical understanding and manual aptitude are also required. The great responsibility of this position requires a high degree of independence and organizational skills from civil engineer candidates. Since technical drawings and plans must also be created to visualize construction projects, it is important to be confident in using CAD software. In construction projects, resources have to be allocated and schedules controlled, which is why it is also very important that the civil engineer has knowledge of project management.

How do you become a civil engineer?

Most civil engineers have studied civil engineering or civil engineering sciences, although degrees in technology and engineering also qualify you to work as a civil engineer. Universities and universities of applied sciences offer corresponding Bachelor's and Master's degree courses and, after completing a Master's degree, there is the option of completing a further qualifying doctorate.
In the course of the Master's degree, you should specialize in one area of civil engineering, as each sub-area has its own characteristics and requirements.

Conclusion:

After graduating, a civil engineer usually gets a job quickly and, due to the specialist knowledge acquired, management positions are often within reach after a short time. However, the profession of civil engineer also entails a great deal of responsibility: a single mistake can have major consequences that can have a financial impact or, in the worst case, even affect human lives. This is why this profession should not be underestimated and has great potential for stress. Furthermore, a civil engineer should not be averse to traveling a lot for their work. Construction projects do not always take place in the same city and civil engineers often have to be on site. However, if you are stress-resistant, happy to take on a lot of responsibility and enjoy traveling, this is a profession that can not only be extremely fulfilling, but also extremely lucrative with an average salary of €53,300 per year.

Want to find out more about engineering careers? Our articles on aerospace engineers and pharmaceutical engineers go into detail about the tasks, requirements and career prospects of these professions.