What is a general civil engineer?

[bdonnell86403]

Is there really such a thing as a general civil engineer? I'm from the southwest and what other people seem to refer to as a general civil is typically refered to out here as a civil engineer in land development. Can anybody tell me if there is a difference? In land development out here, they deal with subdivision utilites, roads, hydrology, et al or similar things in large commercial devlopments. Is that basically the same definition as a general civil engineer?

 

[cvg]

surveys, plats, grading, roads, water and sewer are all what I would consider general civil.

If you "specialize" in say:
treatment plants
pump stations
floodplain delineations
dams and levees
irrigation
water rights
bridges
expert witness
forensic engineering
many other specialties

you would be a specialist - not general

 

[MiketheEngineer]

My degree is in Civl - 32 years ago and licensed for 27 years - but I do almost only structural. That's the classes I took and that is where my experience lies.

Civl covers a LOT of territory.....

 

[sam74]

Around here it is General Civil or Civil Site Engineer. Here would be SE US. More like what cvg stated. Which really is a land development engineer.

I think it will depend on the makeup of the company you work for. My first employer had a survey, civil/site, environmental (which included a construction inspection), and building services group (which included mechanical, electrical,and structural) in one office and architects, land architects, and more survey personell in the next town over.

My new employer has a MEP group and building services group that includes architects, architect interns, structural, and civil/site. We also have another nearby office with all civil/site and survey.

You do a little bit of a lot of things but usually not structural. That is a little more specialized area. Although I know of a person who got his license passing the structural exam but landed in land development.

 

[msquared48]

O-7 thru O-10 in the Army Corps of Engineers...

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[cvg]

I would say that a "general civil" may also do a fair amount of public works, not just land development.

 

[bimr]

Maybe you are referring to...

General Curtis LeMay
General Marcus Agrippa
General Sir John Monash
General Henry Pleasants

....all famous civil engineer generals

 

[dicksewerrat]

G. Washington was a surveyor.

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com

 

[daniel7]

my degree is in site management and im a year out of college and i have gained experience as a engineer on a large commercial project of 7 business building we wiil say, and this also involves drainage from gradients to surveyin, so could i classify myself to be a general civil enginneer even though my 3rd level education wasnt civil engineering???

 

[jester86403]

I believe the answer is no. You can't call yourself a civil engineer without your PE and if you don't have an engineering degree you can't get your PE.

 

[daniel7]

i would classify myself as a site engineer , college is just design so you are cable to absorb information , i transfered to civil in my second year but was too far behind the coarse when i moved i transfered back for my own benefit,