To answer your question, you don't need to be an artist to be an engineer. You may be asked to draw engineering drawings, but this involves the use of computer-aided design (CAD) tools. If this is relevant to the engineering discipline you are studying, your university would have classes for it. You'll notice that there are no drawing skills listed as a requirement for civil engineers.
Drawing by hand can be useful when designing buildings, but most companies today use computers that can draw plans. Being able to draw isn't really an essential requirement for a civil engineer. He doesn't come to a job interview and take a drawing test as part of the admission. Your work no longer requires you to draw structural drawings on paper like engineers of the previous century did; in the modern engineering era, we have computer-aided design and drawing tools.
Such software will do the job of drawing the things we need for the job. You should worry more if you don't know how to use your calculator than not knowing how to draw, because simply drawing pictures isn't exactly what civil engineers do. EngineerSupply was founded and started in 1999 with the idea of adding engineering supplies, surveying equipment, drawing supplies, art equipment, industrial equipment and construction tools into a combined catalog. Drawing technicians can specialize in electrical or electronic drawings, mechanical drawings, architectural or civil engineering drawings.
Using technical drawing skills, an engineer can design bridges, dams, and other construction projects with digital design software or manual processes. Civil engineering is the oldest type of engineering and offers you the possibility to work on all types of projects, both small and large scale. Once engineers complete technical drawing projects, they print and send digital copies to company management and executives. To gain as much experience as possible in your field, you can participate in an internship involving technical drawing.
When a layman asks a civil engineer to draw a structure or system out of thin air to discuss a concept, do your best to interpret the drawings in figures and in words, because the drawing will most likely end in scribbles. Throughout the process, engineers and designers also monitor the program for problems that may affect the outcome of the project. The engineer distributes these drawings to a manufacturing department to produce the parts, to an assembly department to assemble the parts, and then to any supplier, file or other departments in the company. If you've always dreamed of being part of the design, construction and operation of large infrastructure that people use every day, then a career as a civil engineer might be right for you.
To a certain extent, you'll need to be able to draw or make sketches while you're still in civil engineering school in order to pass your subjects. Engineers used to make these drawings by hand, but now they do them in computer-aided design (CAD) software. Perhaps the best way to find out what you need to know is with Quora civil engineering graduates who say they use drawing as a means of technical communication. You will need a bachelor's or master's degree in civil engineering and then get licensed by a professional body.
This level of detail is possible because engineering drawings follow certain international conventions that help engineering professionals understand what the drawing conveys.
