By Justin Augustine

Have you ever taken the time to stop and look at the world around you? I’m not talking about the people or even the birds and trees; what I’m referring to are those concrete giants that emerge from the earth beneath us that cast shadows on everything that they survey. I’m talking about the structures that make up our cities, freeways, airports, water and waste management systems and even our homes. We often take these marvels for granted, but some of us look at these and wonder in awe.

The brains behind the infrastructures that make up the modern world around us are the individuals known as civil engineers. Their primary duty is to find efficient and cost effective solutions to an array of needs expressed by industry, government and the public, from transport to waste management.

The man with a building plan

Johan Jordaan is a civil engineer employed by Golder Associates in Africa, a global environmental engineering group. “I entered the profession in January 1997, working first for the National Department of Transport and thereafter for the National Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.”

Now civil engineering is a discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, which includes roads, bridges, buildings, dams, and natural features that require a bit of support or preservation.

“Civil engineers serve a vast number of market sectors, including the public sector (various levels of government), mining, industrial, water, energy, waste, construction and oil,” explains Johan. Civil engineering encompasses a vast variety of duties and opportunities as Johan explains: “Ask ten civil engineers what they do from day to day and you’re more than likely to get ten different answers. The advantage of the field is that there are endless opportunities for specialising and creating product lines to address the needs of an increasingly complex world.”

Building your career

Becoming a civil engineer requires a degree in civil engineering and a lot of mentorship under a qualified engineer. “Young engineers are placed in developmental programmes and mentorship and strong leadership is essential. With time the engineer will develop

core technical competencies specific to the needs of the market served by the organisation, and begin to work as a member of an integrated team which includes other complementary technical and scientific professions,” he says. Johan goes on to explain that there are those in the industry that flourish as technical practitioners, but also those who prefer to pursue more managerial roles within the industry. “The good news is that there is room for both of these types in the industry,” assures Johan.

A career on the drawing board

Although this is Johan’s dream career, the career of a pilot and veterinarian did cross his mind early in life, but with a little help of aptitude tests, he finally found his passion in life – civil engineering. “I’ve always taken a keen interest in the built environment, even from my childhood days, observing construction with awe and building underground parking for my toy cars,” smiles Johan.

Building up and breaking down

The ups to such a challenging career can be obvious in the end results of projects. A civil engineer can marvel in his or her work when it takes shape and develops into an effective solution to a complex problem. Another is the moment one can officially call themselves an engineer. “A momentous moment in my career (and in fact, in any engineer’s career) was when the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) informed me that the Board approved my registration as a professional engineer.” On the other hand, this is a largely deadline driven industry, where you need to keep a cool head and manage the stress accordingly. Impatient clients and late delivery of services from other departments within a construction project add additional challenges to this career.

Set your sights and survey your possibilities

Johan’s advice to aspiring engineers would be to equip one academically, take interest in the world around you, think out of the box, go out and visit a consulting engineer’s practice, be dedicated, find the right tertiary institute to suit your study­ing needs and read about the profession. “In a complex and ever-evolving world, engineering challenges, including the technical aspects, provide an exciting career prospect which will reap satisfying rewards and make a difference to humanity now and for generations to come,” concludes Johan.