City Planning 4 Career Opportunities with a Masters in Civil Engineering - CareerAlley

City Planning 4 Career Opportunities with a Masters in Civil Engineering - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that in the period 2010-2020, there will be more than 51,000 civil engineering positions available to be filled in the United States. Individuals who have a bachelors degree in civil engineering can be hired for basic entry-level positions, but the more lucrative, interesting, and rewarding jobs are reserved for those who have a Masters degree in Civil Engineering. Although civil engineers can be hired to work at the state or federal level, there are many interesting opportunities for those who have a Masters degree in civil engineering to work at the municipal level in the field of city planning. Many of the jobs that are available to civil engineers in the field of city planning cut across traditional disciplines and require an ability to work effectively with various departments within the City Administration as well as with State and Federal officials. This means that in addition to having a wide and deep technical knowledge, it will be useful for civil engineers to know how to coordinate complex projects with input from various levels of government. 1. Transportation Planning and Infrastructure Large cities function as a transportation hub that must work smoothly to coordinate a tremendous volume of goods and people flowing in an out every day. A successful city transportation plan must integrate highways, airports, and in many cases, goods that come into port by sea. A city must be planning constantly for the transportation needs it will be facing ten and twenty years in advance. The transportation plans must be integrated with the development of neighborhoods and coordinated with other cities, states, and federal jurisdictions. Civil engineers who have a background in transportation planning are essential for ensuring that the transportation infrastructure keeps pace with the growth of the city. 2. Environmental and Land Use There is growing pressure today for cities to become more sustainable in terms of using less energy and creating a smaller carbon footprint. As gasoline prices rise, it may become necessary to create cities that are smaller and more compactly designed. Urban sprawl may become unaffordable if gas prices continue to rise. While cheap gasoline fueled the growth of suburbs, expensive gasoline may reverse the trend. Many cities will be forced to shrink in terms of their land base and forced to build upwards, with much higher residential density than we see today. This process needs to be rationally managed to avoid social and economic disruption. Civil engineers who have extensive experience and understanding of environmental and land use issues can help prepare city planners to deal with these problems. 3. Neighborhood Planning Many cities in the United States today are expanding rapidly while others such as Detroit have been shrinking due to a net loss of population. As new neighborhoods are planned and built, civil engineers who are specialists in urban planning can provide the basic framework for the new developments in cooperation with other branches of city planners. New proposed subdivisions require intensive planning for the required infrastructure long before the concept can be turned to reality. 4. Planning Policy and Process A civil engineer who is a policy expert can provide guidance to city administrators by analyzing existing trends and creating various scenarios the city administrators must be prepared to address. If the planning policy is conducted effectively, administrators have a chance to make better choices and to ensure that funding is available to fund necessary projects. Although such a position may appear to be conceptual in nature, it allows the decision makers to be aware of infrastructure issues long before they cause serious problems. A recent article published by money.usnews.com indicates that the current unemployment rate for civil engineers is 9.4%. This is likely to change over the next decade, as there are many infrastructure projects in cities that require extensive upgrading. When money is made available for the massive upgrades that are required, there will be more employment opportunities for those who have a Masters degree in civil engineering and a desire to work in city planning. Author Bio William Stevens is a writer that produces articles related to the field of civil engineering. This article was written to explain the importance of this career choice, to hint on some of the job opportunities, and to encourage continued study in this area with a Masters of Civil Engineering Online. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Visit me on Facebook