Civil Engineer's Road To Success

Until and unless someone makes it a point to tell you their experience or what is to be done, it's all a simple feeling to that of a black hole. There are tons of things I wish I knew before the clock turned it's timer down.

In the world we live today, people are so busy moving thrice as faster than the older generation. We dream more than our capabilities and some succeed with their extra hard work and true motivation from deep inside. And, I'm happy to share what I know.

Let's start with a simple question.
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What is Civil Engineering?

Civil Engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams and buildings.

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FATHER OF CIVIL ENGINEERING IN THE WORLD

JOHN SMEATON (1724 - 1792)

John was a British Civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbors, and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. He was the first person to coin the term 'civil engineers'. One of his most notable works is of the construction of the lighthouse on Eddystone Rocks. He was never married and died due to a stroke. 

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FATHER OF INDIAN CIVIL ENGINEERING

MOKSHAGUNDAM VISVESVARAYA (1861 - 1962)

Sri. M. Visvesvaraya, was an Indian Telugu brahmin engineer, scholar, statesman and the Diwan of Mysore from 1912-1918. He is a recipient of the Indian Republic's highest honor, the Bharat Ratna in 1955. 15 September is celebrated as Engineer's day in India in his memory. He was the chief engineer responsible for the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mysore as well as the chief designer of the flood protection system for the city of Hyderabad.

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BRANCHES OF CE

1. Construction Engineering - Deals with planning, construction, and maintenance of structures.
2. Structural Engineering - Deals with structural analysis and design of structures. 
3. Geotechnical Engineering - Study of soil, foundations, bearing capacity, etc.
4. Transportation Engineering - Deals with planning, construction, and management of transportation facilities.
5. Water Resources Engineering - Deals with design and construction of hydraulic structures like dams, canals, water distribution system, etc.
6. Environmental Engineering - Study of environment-friendly designs, sewage management, pollution and their treatment.
7. Surveying - Deals with surveying and leveling of lands using various instruments, mapping & contouring of terrains, etc. 
8. Municipal Engineering - Deals with urban/city planning & management, township, etc.
9. Coastal Engineering - Deals with coastal or marine structures, embankments, etc.
10. Tunnel Engineering - Deals with planning, design, construction, safety and maintenance of tunnels. 
11. Earthquake Engineering - Study of seismic forces, earthquake resistant structures, etc.
12. Material Engineering - Study of material strength, properties of materials used in construction, ceramics, etc.

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DETAILED VIEW ABOUT CIVIL ENGINEERING

   

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8 THINGS A CIVIL ENGINEER MUST KNOW

1. CGPA

          Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is something we must be careful about. Most universities opt for minimum 75% cutoff in their bachelor degree. Make sure you stay cleared from all your arrears before your final semester. One arrear could stop you from attending your graduation ceremony along with your batch mates.

For those who have low CGPA, it's alright. Just work hard on your GRE or other entrance exams that you're opting for. For GRE, if your scores are between 310- 320, your CPGA isn't considered. Make sure you have no arrears but constant improvement and put all you got for GRE.

P.S: I love the part where he says 'Never look into the teacher's eye while being scolded'.

Hope this video helps the lil freshers out there.

2. SOFTWARES

          This is something you must learn no matter what. A bachelor degree would introduce you to basics but there are a lot we must beg to remember. I would say, the best place to get all the software saved in your hard disk is during your university period. It could be through your project work or internship or an external course. Make sure you know at least 4 to 5 software.

Even if you don't know how to work on them, just YouTube the required software and there are tons of videos where they teach you from basics to the best knowledge you must have.

Here are some of the list of software you must know.

• Autocad 
• Revit
• STAAD.Pro v8i
• 3ds max
• Etabs
• Primavera
• Ansys Civil
• SAP 2000
• MS Project
• Google sketch up pro
• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) 

3. LOR

          Letter of Recommendation (LOR) is an important aspect of continuing the next level of your bachelor degree. You need to make sure you have at least 3 LOR from the faculties who know you well and who would be willing to write the perfect LOR helping and supporting you in achieving your goals. 

This should be the process you start from your end of your third year. I don't know why I end up knowing these towards the end but make sure you at least give them a month ahead of time. Remind them about how you were in their class and let them know your challenges and how you overcame your weakness as well as what degree you're going to opt for. 

Most importantly, once you're placed in the university you apply for, make it mandatory to mail each faculty back with a thank you note and letting them know which college you got accepted.

4. SOP

          Statement of Purpose (SOP) is another important letter written by you that could go up to 3 to 4 pages. It holds almost the same importance as your LOR. It's basically an essay about you explaining in detail. Be very honest about yourself and mention your weakness and how you got over it and the simple reason on why you opted your course. 

It must be deep enough for the reader to want to know you more. Try not to use complicated English or copy from somewhere. Provided, it tells the reader how good you are at writing skills and the effort you took to make it interesting. 

5. RESUME or CV

          Curriculum vitae is the first step in opening doors to your dream life. It's where you tell a person all about you, where you have studied, what are your hobbies, your interests, your academic achievements, your personal traits, and so on. It could go on to 2 to 4 pages according to your will. It must be honest, again. 

Try designing your own CV rather find any online support. Start from scratch. Scribble down all your details on pen and paper and then transfer it to your CV format. Remember, people should feel good about reading your paper till the end and want to hire you. 

6. LINKED IN

I recently found this to be something I should really work on. I have heard about this from few family friends and ever since then, I was curious. Though, I did believe it was for elderly people who were successful in life. But, I was wrong.

Watch the video below and hope to see you on LinkedIn as well.

7. ENTRANCE EXAMS

GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is a standardized test that is an admissions required requirement for most Graduate schools in the United States. Some colleges in Dubai also require the GRE score. This exam aims to measure verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing. 

The scoring scale is from 130 to 170 for each section. You get to chose which score would be visible to your respective university. 

Validity: 5 Years

Timing: 3 hours 40minutes

   

GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is an all-India examination being conducted and administered by the Indian Institue of Science and seven Indian Institutes of Technology. It is a 3 hours paper consisting of 65 questions carrying a maximum mark of 100. The question paper will consist of both MCQ and Numerical answer type questions. The score is valid for 2 years. To be honest, I haven't done any research on this topic but I hope there are better information online.

8. ENGLISH TESTING EXAM

There are two exams I know that strongly supports your future studies abroad. There are many but these are the most preferred ones as of now. Again, make sure you sign up for ETS account and keep in touch with all their information, test patterns, and test centers around you. These exams are just to test how well you could be capable of understanding their language with their respective accent. 

Do research well before you chose one of these exams, on where you wish to pursue your higher studies. 

TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language) is a maximum 4 hours exam of a total score 120. It consists of four parts.

- Reading (60 - 80 mins)

- Listening (60 - 90 mins)

- Writing (50 mins)

- Speaking (20 mins)

Here is some top universities cutoff score in TOEFL:

• Harvard: 100/120, with minimum 25/30 in each section.
• Oxford: 109/120
• Stanford: 100/120
• Berkeley: 68/120
• Boston University 80/120
• London Business School: 105/120
• INSEAD (France): 105/120
• Liverpool Hope University: 79/120

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is a 2 hours 45 minutes test. There are two types of test: General and Academic. The score is valid for 2 years. It consists of 4 parts.

- Listening (30 minutes) 40 questions.

- Reading (60 minutes) Given 3 different types of texts.

- Writing (60 minutes) Table/Graph/Diagram for 150 words and Essay for 250 words.

- Speaking (11-14 minutes) Face-to-face conversation in general topics.

World's Top 100 Universities IELTS Requirements

*Work more on writing and speaking skills. 

TIPS: 

• Start reading books, newspapers, etc.
• Watch movies with their respective accent.
• Watch BBC documentaries.
• Build your vocabulary using 'WORD POWER MADE EASY' by Norman Lewis. Trust me, it's a life-saving book for passing these two exams and you'll be impressed by how many words you know by the end of this book. 

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All the best :)

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