About Civil Enginering at La Trobe Bendigo
What is Civil Enginering?
Here you can find out about the functions and working conditions of a civil engineer. If there's more you'd like to know, just contact us.
Southern Cross Station, Melbourne (photo-Andrew Kilpatrick)
What's the difference between a scientist and an engineer?
Theodore von Kármán, a person who bridged the gap between mathematics and engineering, said, "A scientist studies what is, whereas an engineer creates what never was." Or to use a literary metaphor, scientists write books on grammar, whereas engineers write novels.
Where do civil engineers work?
All over. In the city, in the town, in the bush, overseas. In offices, on building sites, in universities, on mountains, in deserts, in places the tourist never gets to (unless the engineer has been there first ;-).
Who do civil engineers work with?
They interact with other engineers (electrical, mechanical, environmental, mining, chemical, biomedical), architects, town planners, researchers, construction staff and managers, geologists, the Australian Defence Forces, community members, international aid agencies.
North Melbourne train station project
(photo–Carey Ashby)
So what does a civil engineer do?
A civil engineer designs and supervises the building of real dinkum stuff. She/he might also be responsible for the maintenance, repair, evaluation and dismantling of that stuff.
Real dinkum stuff?
Yeah, stuff like fire lookout towers, roads, water supply systems, water drainage systems, airports, tunnels under Sydney Harbour, bridges over the Yarra, sports stadiums, toilet blocks, marinas, towers for wind generators, elevated viewing platforms in rain forests. You know, stuff you can point a stick at and say, 'some of that's my work'.
Toilet blocks? How uncool is that?
Yeah, and what about a doctor facing a spoilt brat with a yucky nose? Uncool as. All the doctor can do is reach for a tissue. The engineer can use the task as an opportunity to try a different way of doing things.
I have an interest in civil engineering, but I also have this "help humanity" thing - you know?
When there's a disaster, say a drought in Sudan, a Tsunami in the Indian Ocean or a war creating a displaced persons crisis, civil engineers are needed to provide shelter, transport infrastructure, sanitation, water. Other workers on disaster sites speak highly of engineers - "I like engineers. They're 'can-do' people." Organisations (Non Government Organizations, NGOs) exist which place engineers in these situations. For example, three highly regarded NGO's which are keen to have civil engineers on their books are Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief (RedR), Oxfam International (Oxfam) and Engineers Without Borders (EWB). EWB in particular provides opportunities for engineering students to become involved with humanitarian work.
RedR engineers in Afganistan
Money, a person's got to live, you know?
The median salary for an engineer under 25 is $46,000, for other graduates under 25 it is $40,800, so you are above average from day one. (Data from Gradlink.) It is not uncommon for engineers to move into management positions during their career.
That's all very well - if I get a job. I could end up just an over qualified shelf-stacker in a supermarket.
Not likely. Check the Australian Government JobSearch site to be convinced. Or read "Robust economy proves boon for graduates" - The Age newspaper.
How come not everyone's enrolling?
Ask me a question I can answer. My theory is because the TV drama people can't see how to make a no-brainer half hour TV series about civil engineering it lacks exposure. Mind you, if you want real reality, do engineering.
Bendigo Bank Building under construction
(photo–Avinash)
What subjects should I be doing at secondary school?
Because the community likes its bridges to stay up, then engineering courses have entrance requirements in physics and maths. Secondary school students need to plan from year 10.
What's Bendigo got?
Excellent student-staff interaction. An excellent course structure. A blend of real world practice and theory. A proven track record of graduate placement. Scholarships. Awards.
Scholarships? Who gets scholarships?
Quite a few - check out the scholarships page. To give you an idea, a Bendigo engineering lecturer emailed a student with details of a vacation job with a major automotive manufacturer. The student emailed back: "I would love to apply, but I had a call from Earth Tech a couple of days ago offering me their $5,500 scholarship and three years of work!"