Civil Engineering or Construction Management?

Need help choosing the right course to kick-start your civil engineering career? Here’s a look at the two main degrees that may appeal to you.

A degree in civil engineering or construction management prepares students for one of the most exciting fields. It’s also one of the most important professions to have, as you’ll be responsible for building the world around us, impacting people’s lives in a positive way. 

But which degree is the best one for you? Whether you’re studying at the undergraduate or postgraduate level, finding the right course is important.

Here we discuss some of the key differences between two very similar courses, to help you discover the right pathway for your personal and professional development.

Civil engineering degrees

This diverse degree programme examines the wider field of design and construction, with one single aim; to create a safe environment for civilisation. An undergraduate course will typically cover everything from roads, bridges and transportation to dams and reservoirs.

In very simple terms, a civil engineer is in charge of designing construction projects, but there are many different areas you can specialise in. As a general guide, it’s important for engineers to understand issues such as building codes and regulations, different construction practices, risk assessments, as well as being able to identify the right materials for building.

While civil engineers spend some of their time on-site, the general day-to-day running of projects is left to construction teams and their leaders. This means you are likely to spend a large portion of your time at your desk, in meetings and doing things such as data analysis.