Civil engineering—general .. . 
The largest group of Forest Service engineers hold degrees in civil engineering, 
and most new appointments are made from those qualified either under this 
classification or as highway engineers. Civil engineers occupy most of the 
permanent positions on National Forest engineering staffs. Those who begin 
their career in one of these assignments become eligible for progressive pro- 
motions as they qualify by ability, training, and experience. For those who 
wish to continue in staff assignments, higher grade positions are available in 
the Regional Offices as well as on the staff of the Director, Division of Engineer- 
ing, Washington, D.C., where national programs are planned and coordinated. 
Other Regional and Washington Office positions in similar grades are open 
to civil engineers who choose to qualify for the more highly technical engi- 
neering assignments by special training and experience. 
The civil engineers on a National Forest staff have an interesting variety of 
work assignments. For most improvement projects, their responsibility begins 
at the survey and planning stage and continues to completion with full respon- 
sibility for all phases. Thus the engineer is able to see his own work develop 
into a completed and usable facility. He may also have maintenance 
responsibility after construction is completed. Exceptions to this practice are 
made only when more specialized assistance is necessary. For example, a 
bridge or large building may be designed by engineers in a Regional Office. 
But even in these instances the Forest staff usually will make the site surveys, 
provide the basic design criteria, and supervise construction. 
In many areas road construction is the major activity. Other duties of civil 
and highway engineers employed by the Forest Service vary widely with the 
many diverse and challenging requirements. They may on occasion be 
assigned responsibilities in transportation system planning, cadastral (land 
line) surveys, topographic surveys and mapping, streambank stabilization, 
watershed protection, erosion control, or the design and construction of remote 
airfields or mountain ridgetop heliports. On occasion, they may have rugged 
fire control missions. These present many opportunities for the exercise of 
professional ingenuity and resourcefulness. 
Other beginning positions are available to recent civil engineering graduates. 
Among these are training assignments at regional headquarters and the 
Forest Service Photogrammetric Service Center in Alexandria, Va. The 
Alexandria office supports the work of all regions in topographic surveys and 
mapmaking. Photogrammetry and electronic measuring devices are used 
extensively in this work as well as in road surveys and design. Still other 
starting positions are in research. In all assignments maximum opportunity 
is provided for the beginner to obtain the experience needed to qualify for the 
professional license. 
708-080 O-63-3 
