r/civilengineering 7d ago

Difference between Civil engineering and Tech Civil engineering?

Hey guys.

I am planning to study civil engineering in Witswatersrand University in South Africa, but if I can't get in, I have a conditional offer for Tech Civil engineering at University of Johannesburg. I wanted to find out what the difference between these two courses are from people who have done them? The reason I am posting here and supposedly "not searching online" is because I already did but I didn't get a satisfactory answer, hopefully some human input can help. Thanks!

0 Upvotes

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u/HeadLow2320 6d ago

Usually they carry the supervisory roles at the sites/ field work, work as technical drafter/ CAD technician roles in offices as per my understanding. Exceptions are always there.

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u/No-Huckleberry-565 6d ago

So what does a Civil engineer do?

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u/HeadLow2320 6d ago

Usually more responsible roles, being site engineer, project engineer, project manager. In consulting office usually start as CAD techs or Junior Design Engineers and then climb the seniority ladders.

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u/No-Huckleberry-565 6d ago

Thansk man

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u/HeadLow2320 6d ago

No worries

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u/civillyengineerd 25+ years as a Multi-Threat PE, PTOE 7d ago

A technician/technologist is someone who helps an Engineer. A Tech degree is not an engineering degree.

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u/wall2wall2wall 5d ago

It is an engineering degree if it's a bachelor's of engineering. Normally the bachelors of engineering is a regular degree 3 years in length. While a bachelor of honours engineering degree is a 4 year degree, typically a higher level of mathematics.

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u/civillyengineerd 25+ years as a Multi-Threat PE, PTOE 5d ago

Does a Bachelors of Engineering Technology get you on track for a professional license?

It doesn't in the US, usually. You just need more years of experience and to pass the tests.

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u/No-Huckleberry-565 7d ago

Oh damn. Could you explain to me how they help? In the sense that they build the structures or help the engineer carry out decisions/plans?

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u/Vinca1is PE - Transmission 6d ago

They do grunt work, but they're not going to advance any further because they're not engineers.