Civil engineering is one of the prevalent engineering branches. It deals with analysis, maintenance, design, and the development of the physical environment.
Typically, the physical environment comprises dams, roads, canals, bridges, sewerage systems, apartments, pipelines, railway bridges, hyperloop structures, apartments, and tunnels.
In addition to learning everything it takes to be a civil engineer, some characteristics and attributes make for an excellent civil engineer. What are these attributes? Below we will enlist them one by one.
Communication
The primary role of a civil engineer involves communicating with several project stakeholders like citizens, planners, architects, contractors, and elected officials. Hence, they must speak efficiently and accurately to every group.
Further, they must try their best to keep up with the different needs of the projects. They should be well-equipped to communicate complex technical information to the audience with utmost sincerity, honesty, and transparency.
Whenever the communication is unclear, the outcome is delays and issues in the project timeline. It can hinder the entire project.
Further, speaking clearly, would not suffice. A civil engineer must also possess excellent listening skills. He must pay full attention to the citizen and reviewer’s concerns. It should be taken seriously and must be immediately worked upon.
So, while you take some civil engineering online courses to build on your practical and theoretical knowledge, you must also look for ways to better your communication.
Decision-making skills
Civil engineers typically balance several and frequently conflicting objectives like assessing the plan’s feasibility involving safety concerns and the financial costs. Regional and urban planners often seek viable advice from civil engineers on these matters. Hence, civil engineers must be capable of making wise decisions, employing their experience, technical knowledge, and best practices.
Must be a team player
You cannot carry out the whole civil engineering project by yourself. Hence, the workers and the engineers should work as a team that knows, at every instance, what would be the next move. When a group has an engineer who is a team player, there will be positive energy among team members.
This skill will prove beneficial on the hard days when the graph goes downwards. Tough days demand the civil engineer to motivate the team without letting the ship sink.
Creativity
An engineer’s creativity is a lot different from fundamental artistic creativity. Instead of focusing on a feeling or a message, a creative civil engineer will work on practical problems, for instance, ways to store higher data in smaller available memory.
Also, engineers should have the ability to look at the bigger picture, think of the best plausible solutions, and narrow down the available possibilities from trial and error.
Organization
During the project implementation process, the order is quintessential. Hence, the civil engineer must have a handy detailed plan stored digitally and physically. There should be blueprints and records of overall budgets on a routine basis.
Further, there should be a regular assessment of materials and suppliers to ensure no shortage. All of this requires the civil engineer to possess good organizational skills.
Technical skills
Civil engineering also requires you to be proficient in Physics and Mathematics. It helps you solve or identify engineering-related problems. Let us understand this with an example.
For instance, what if the structural engineer cannot compute how much weight can be distributed across the bridge? In this situation, the construction will not be accurate, and the bridge may collapse anytime. Would you want to be anywhere close to that bridge?
No, right.
In addition, it is also pivotal for civil engineers to be well-versed with CAD software, design techniques, drawing and models, and working with maps. They must be able to analyse in advance the possible problems and have solutions ready.
If you lag in any of the above-listed technical skills, you can check out some course suggestions on Tangolearn.
Problem-solving skills
A civil engineer is responsible for the top-level design, planning, operation, and construction of multi-faceted research and projects. Hence, they must have the ability to identify and solve even the most complex problems. They must employ their problem-solving skills and training to arrive at safe, cost-effective, and efficient solutions.
Project management skills
A civil engineer has to work on the project from start to end. They have to manage different kinds of work and clients, associate with several professionals and cater to the various requirements.
Further, they are supposed to work within the budget without compromising on the quality and meet the assigned deadlines. It is impossible to materialize these expectations if the civil engineer does not possess excellent project management skills.
Perfectionist
A civil engineer must always strive for perfection. They should aspire to finish each of their projects with accuracy and precision. But, in some people, this positive quality might even turn into a negative.
For instance, merely because civil engineers failed to strive for perfection, they go on and on correcting things and fail to meet the deadline. Instead, an excellent civil engineer would have sought help for the problematic issue and moved further with the project. It is good to be a perfectionist, but you must not forget the drill behind managing things right.
Leadership
Across different projects, a civil engineer will have to collaborate with diverse teams comprising contractors, architects, suppliers, trainees, other engineers, construction managers, and vendors. Knowing how to lead a group can be beneficial for the project.
However, you should not be overpowering and condescending. The people hired under you should feel appreciated, motivated, and heard for their role.
Also, as a good leader, you must know the right way to point out mistakes. Criticism should not be demeaning but constructive and positive.
So, these are the ten most vital attributes every civil engineer must possess. The list is exhaustive. So, it is possible for a civil engineer to possess more qualities. Nonetheless, if you are a civil engineer, please include them in your lifestyle to see massive success in your career.
Further, if you know of some skills to include in this list, please share them in the comment box below.
