Cyclical nature of different CivE areas

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Civil engineering is generally known as a fairly cyclical field based on construction booms and busts. I’m wondering whether some of the main areas of CivE - environmental, structural, geotechnical, transportation, water - tend to be more volatile than others.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>In order from most affected by economic cycles to least:</p>

<p>Construction
Structural
Geotechnical
Transportation
Environmental
Water</p>

<p>edit: Keep in mind that not all recessions impact Civil Engineering. During the 2001-2003 dot com bust and recession, construction activity was booming, and there were plenty of civil engineering grads with good job offers.</p>

3

<p>As structural engineers, my husband and I have found that when one sector of construction is down, another tends to go up. We designed SO many houses during the first half of this decade. Now that market has totally died, and we’re doing more industrial work. For years, we didn’t do a single industrial project. It really helps if you work for a firm that can do a broad variety of work. Our first employer did mostly papermill work. When that industry started its long decline in Maine, the company really struggled and eventually got out of design work totally (that’s why both of us were laid off the same day!).</p>

<p>We try to stay flexible and in contact with large firms in the area. They know they can count on us to do their overflow work. That’s how we landed the design of a 4-story hospital building this month, for example.</p>

4

<p>MaineLonghorn has the right idea. The impacts of the economy will not be felt differently among disciplines, but rather sectors. </p>

<p>Think about it this way - to do a residential skyscraper would require the following personnel:</p>

<ul>
<li>Contractors & construction managers to build the building</li>
<li>Structural engineers to design the structure of the building</li>
<li>Geotechnical engineers to design the foundation of the building</li>
<li>Transportation and environmental engineers, if your municipality deems the project to potentially have a “significant impact” on the surrounding area.</li>
</ul>

<p>The same roles will be needed in the design and construction of a bridge, which is impacted by the economy to a lesser extent.</p>