Geotechnical engineering work involves working with land that there is planned to be Construction Work carried out on to ensure it is safe. There are several effecting factors that the Geotechnical Engineer must take into consideration when examining the ground, if the ground is found not to be safe then the build can not continue as it could cause health risks.

Below is some information on the type of things geotechnical engineer need to check for and how you can begin a Career in Geotechnical Engineering.

Geotechnical Engineering Checks

There are many checks geotechnical engineers will have to carry out to ensure the land is safe to build on and won't cause a danger for humans or wildlife once built and that it is also not at great risk to natural disasters such as earth quakes.

Geotechnical engineers test the soil as well to make sure there are no hidden tunnels that could fall through when built on or soft soil that could cause sinking problems when the build is complete. There are certain terms used for these Geotechnical Engineering Tests and some include the following.

Permeability Testing Land

This means geotechnical engineers will test the soil to see its ability for water to pass through and at what rate it absorbs the water. When the geotechnical engineering tests have been carried out the land is then classed as one of the following; Pervious Semi-Pervious and Impervious. It is from this testing and classifying that it is decided whether the land is safe to be built on, although the land can not absorb too much water as this would cause problems such as sinking etc. it needs to be able to absorb some water to relieve some pressure of the building.

Consildation of Soil

The consolidation of the soil shows whether the soil would compact with the weight of a building over any period of time and judges just how much the land would compact down. This kind of Geotechnical Engineering Testing is very important because it determines whether or not the land would cause the building to submerge.

Testing the Porosity of Land

This geotechnical engineering testing shows how much of the soil is earth, water and air, depending on the ratio of each material in the soil will let them know if it is stable land. Geotechnical engineers also carry out several other tests on the soil such as Nitrogen Gas Absorption, when all tests are completed they can let the owners of the land know whether it is safe to build on.

Career as a Geotechnical Engineer

To become a geotechnical engineer you would need a high level of knowledge in science. Before being able to take the Geotechnical Engineering Degree Course you would need to be able to access it as a career.

When you have the required qualifications you can then choose the area of geotechnical engineering you would want to specialise in as there are several specific roles within the sector. Some of the different roles you can choose between include Geotechnician and Geoscientist each play very different roles in the testing of the land.

The geoscientist concentrates more so on the collecting of the material where as the geotechnicians work is more based on the analysis of the samples. So it comes down to personal preference as to what part of the geotechnical engineering field you would like to work in depending on whether you would like to be based outdoors or in a laboratory.

The work involved with geotechnical engineering is vital to the construction of all buildings as the land must pass the Geotechnical Testing before the building can begin.

To find out more about Careers in Engineering visit the Career as an Engineer page.