Preparation

High school students who wish to prepare for some phase of engineering at the college level should attempt to complete the following high school credits: one unit of physics, four units of mathematics and one unit of chemistry. Incoming freshmen prepared to enroll in calculus frequently complete their civil engineering degree in four years. Students who have studied two years of pre-engineering at another institution can normally complete the civil engineering degree in two additional years.

Career Opportunities

NDSU civil engineers are widely regarded as hands-on, can-do, project-ready graduates, who are very successful in finding excellent jobs. Our students are highly sought for internships and coops, with most students having completed multiple work experiences. Most have selected a job before graduation and others within a few weeks of graduation. The work varies in regard to type of activity and location. Civil engineers can work in the office, in the field or a combination of the two. They can work primarily with a number of intricate designs or with people in management or sales.

Job placement of recent NDSU civil engineering graduates indicates a variety of work experience. About 40 percent of the graduates have gone to work for consulting engineering firms and another 40 percent with city, state and federal government. The remainder are employed by industry, contractors and the military or have gone to graduate school at NDSU or other universities. Most graduates are involved in more than one type of civil engineering activity. Some students accept jobs in which they are not involved in a specific civil engineering activity, but use their engineering background in other activities. Job placement of graduates seeking employment has recently been 100 percent.  The starting annual salaries accepted by recent civil engineering graduates average around $60,000 and $62,000.