Civil Engineers

High school students can become involved in civil engineering by attending a summer camp or study program in the field. For example, the University of Maryland, Clark School of Engineering offers several pre-college engineering and science summer programs for middle and high school students. Campers have a chance to interact with engineering students and faculty, visit engineering facilities and labs, and participate in hands-on projects. Visit https://eng.umd.edu/pre-college-programs/summer for more information. Another option is to participate in the Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Summer Institute at Drexel University (https://drexel.edu/engineering/academics/high-school-programs/summer-institutes).

Paid and unpaid summer internships in civil engineering may also be available, both locally or abroad.

Check out Civil Engineering Source (https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source), the American Society of Civil Engineers’ “News and Information Hub,” to learn about the work of civil engineers. The society also publishes Civil Engineering (https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine).

Participate in engineering competitions to develop your skills and build your network. They are offered by professional associations, youth organizations, and other entities. For example, SkillsUSA (https://www.skillsusa.org)—a membership organization for middle school, high school, and college students who want to learn more about technical, trade, and skilled service occupations—offers competitions in Engineering Technology/Design, Principles of Engineering/Technology, Related Technical Math, and other fields. The Stockholm Junior Water Prize International Competition (https://siwi.org/stockholm-junior-water-prize) is another interesting competition.

Participate in information interviews and job-shadowing experiences to learn more about the field.

After high school, another way to learn about civil engineering duties is to work on a construction crew that is involved in the actual building of a project designed and supervised by engineers. Such hands-on experience would provide an opportunity to work near many types of civil workers. Try to work on highway crews or even in housing construction.