For many years, civil engineers have played an important role in the construction of roads, buildings, bridges, and other public infrastructures. However, with a growing population that needs to be housed and infrastructure that needs to be improved upon, there are plenty of opportunities for civil engineers to come up with innovative new business ideas that will help their communities. Here are some of the top business ideas for civil engineers out there.
General Contracting
If you are looking to get into the civil engineering field, general contracting is a great option. Your work will focus on completing all phases of a project. You may oversee subcontractors and ensure all materials are on-site. Construction managers, engineers, and others rely on general contractors for expertise in bringing projects to completion.
While building construction often occupies the majority of your time, there is still plenty of room for creativity and innovation with diverse opportunities in design and construction process management. If you’re considering a career in civil engineering, starting as a general contractor is a good move because it gives you hands-on experience with building designs while also teaching you how to manage those who execute them.
Architecture
- Become a licensed architect – Technically, anyone can design structures or buildings to meet various requirements, but if you want to be considered a professional in the industry, there are licensing requirements. Earning an architecture degree may help as well because it will provide more depth and understanding of what is needed to create quality buildings.
- Earn your Associate’s degree in architectural engineering – Architectural engineers work with architects on designing and making alterations to the structural properties of buildings and other structures, such as roads or bridges. You will work closely with architects on projects like determining whether a structure is strong enough to bear weight based on its structural geometry, conducting wind tunnel tests or doing seismic analysis of buildings in earthquake-prone areas
Public Transportation
When people think of civil engineering, they often envision bridges, highways, and other large-scale projects. However, there are also many opportunities in the transportation sector. Take public transportation as an example. Commuters rely on it every day to get to work or take a vacation with their family. Building new railroads is an excellent opportunity for civil engineers as well as improving the maintenance of existing transit lines and networks of railways. The construction costs can be high but these long-term investments will lead to a safer, more reliable transit system for the city. The result is that more commuters will feel safe using this form of transportation.
In addition, buses provide another potential business idea in this field because they transport millions of passengers each year while reducing traffic congestion and emissions levels in major cities across America.
Land Planning
The civil engineering field has many applications and opportunities. If you’re interested in designing or modifying the terrain of an area, then land planning is your ticket.
In this role, you can come up with a strategy for what happens to the land (for both development and environmental protection) before it becomes too developed. Your planning skills can also be applied to other areas of civil engineering: construction, transportation, city design, environmental impact assessment, and so on. Whatever part of civil engineering piques your interest most—planning or building—there are plenty of ways to explore your ideas further with a degree in civil engineering.
Construction Equipment Rental
Maybe you’re an engineer and have been managing construction projects on your own. Maybe you just moved to a new town and are starting over, or maybe you’ve been laid off and need to figure out what comes next. Regardless of the situation, if you have engineering expertise, there’s likely a way to turn that talent into some type of business opportunity. One option is to start renting equipment for other people who need it.
For example, most companies don’t want to buy their own heavy-duty bulldozers when they only need them for one project. Renting such a machine can be expensive–upwards of $1,000 per day–so borrowing one makes sense in many cases. If you can secure enough contracts for this type of rental service, then you could make this your main gig as a civil engineer.
Surveying
Whether you’re looking to create a career in surveying or simply do it as a hobby, there are several easy and inexpensive methods available. Surveying can be done by a variety of different mediums, from using specialized equipment and instruments to using high-tech GPS devices. Getting started is simple: all you need is basic knowledge of geometry and trigonometry.
The easiest method of surveying is called hand surveying. It requires a surveyor’s compass and chain, along with a measuring tape. This basic equipment can be purchased from any general supply store. In order to figure out an area using hand surveying, you need to have done either research on it or be able to guess an approximate size for it. A larger-scale map with some sort of guide can also assist in figuring out what you are working with on your plot of land.
The method of hand surveying is great if you’re doing a land survey, but it may not be as accurate. It’s best used to help with large projects that don’t require a highly exacting measurement of what you have available to work with.