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Civil Engineer vs. Architect: Who Should You Hire?

If you want to hire a construction firm like Galloway & Company, Inc. engineering and architecture in Denver, you might, perhaps, wonder if you should hire a civil engineer or an architect to oversee the project. Of course, the success of a project relies heavily on having a potent team and excellent management.

When considering whether to put an architect or civil engineer in charge of your project, you must consider certain factors:

Project Management Qualification

Architects and engineers may get certified in project management during or after getting their degrees. A project management certificate qualifies a professional to oversee related projects from start to completion. Project management courses are mostly administrative, and further specialization might be required for advanced projects. The architect or engineer you hire should have a project management qualification that equips them with knowledge and skills.

Job Roles

Architects are tasked with conceiving, creating, and drawing plans for a project. Usually, their roles don’t end there as they may go on to monitor the implementation of their designs. Architects may take on administrative project management roles to oversee the construction process. In that capacity, they may not take over the roles of civil engineers. They, rather, focus on ensuring a smooth workflow and creating solutions for on-site challenges. Architects are core members of the project team in firms like Galloway & Company, Inc. engineering and architecture in Denver.

Civil engineers are focused more on the safety and durability of the project. Beginning with the design, the engineer analyses it to determine if it is possible to construct. Then, they further analyze the stability and strength of the project. Upon satisfying these, the engineer then takes the project from start to finish, ensuring that every tiny detail is followed exactly as the plan dictates. Structural engineers, as they are called, are quite capable of managing projects even without a project management qualification. That is possible because they have to supervise the construction workers strictly.

For example, Galloway & Company, Inc. engineering and architecture in Denver completes various projects with architects and engineers heading the project teams.

The question of who to hire in charge of a project team will, therefore, depend on whether you are hiring a firm and leaving the job to them. You may be hiring the team members yourself. Whatever your choice is, architects and civil engineers can lead a project team.