From designing structures to inspecting newly constructed buildings, a junior civil engineer assists a senior civil engineer in his or her daily duties. The “junior” designation denotes that the employee will be closely monitored while learning real-world civil engineering applications. With little or no supervision, the junior civil engineer will eventually perform all of the duties of a senior civil engineer.
A person in this position’s primary responsibility is to design structures. Buildings, bridges, and roadways are some of the projects that an engineer may work on; for each project, the structure and its measurements must be drawn out using an engineering computer aided design (CAD) program. Each design will be examined as it progresses by the senior civil engineer, who will offer suggestions for improvement or changes.
Communication with construction and development companies is another important responsibility of a junior civil engineer. Workers on the job site may come across a design flaw, such as an incorrect wall length, which will slow down the rest of the construction process. So that the crew can resume construction, the engineer must review the design and correct the error. After the engineer has located the error in the design program, he or she must inform the foreman of the construction crew, who will explain and delegate responsibilities for the alternate building plan. Any miscommunication between the construction crew and the junior civil engineer can lead to a subpar structure.
An engineer’s typical work day begins in an office, where project designs are developed; however, the engineer must also see his or her designs come to life on the job site. After a portion of the work has been completed, a junior civil engineer will visit the construction site to measure certain structural dimensions to ensure that the computer generated values match the real-world application. Visiting a job site also helps to strengthen the bond between the engineer and the construction crew, resulting in a more pleasant working relationship for future projects.
In addition, the engineer must keep track of daily construction costs as they relate to the engineering schematic. A particularly difficult engineering design may be prohibitively expensive to implement in practice. As a result, an already-started construction project may need to be altered; the engineer will refine the complicated design into a more cost-effective plan. For complex redesigns, the senior civil engineer will usually collaborate closely with the junior civil engineer.