Ah, Civil Engineering how good you have been to me! How tenderly you caressed my jovial first year attitudes and how affectionately you welcomed my childlike naivety as to exactly how much beer…is too much beer.

First year civil, like most other engineering streams, welcomes you to the wonders of Matlab and the joys of chemistry (Weird? Pointless?). It also introduces first year engineering mechanics, which has enough torque questions involving expensive European cars to fulfil all an aspiring civil engineers dreams (Hectic, oh my God, Bro!). But don’t worry; you’ll also get to diagnose some rocks in Geology if you behave especially well. You will discover quite quickly however that no course is a write-off; each deserves its due effort (because diagnosing rocks DOES lose its fun after a while, contrary to popular belief).

The ‘Civil Bro’ engineering department is also home to SUCE (Sydney University Civil Engineering) which, dare I say, is the ‘raddest’, ‘hippest’ and most ‘generic piece-of-slang’ society in existence (I dare). SUCE organises some of the best bbq’s you will find down in engineering, which is quite a big call considering most societies run regular bbq’s and competition is fierce. SUCE bbq’s frequently involve that all important secret ingredient that really makes a bbq; beer…liquid gold refreshment packaged up nicely for those lucky enough to enjoy. They’re also currently the only society who run bbq’s with steak, how lucky those SUCE members are indeed! A $10 life membership incorporates these FREE bbq’s, you can do the maths, but I will assure you that I ate/drank my $10 worth at the very first one I went to. Membership also entitles you to free entry to the SUCE end-of-semester parties, much fun had by all (and even more beer).

 Civil engineering has all the components to ensure your time at uni includes more alcohol-fuelled mayhem than you can imagine, but also houses the facilities and helpful staff to make the daily grind just that little bit easier and worthwhile. One indisputable reality remains, uni life will be more fun than you could possibly imagine, just don’t take it for granted…get involved in everything, no regrets.

Jesse Dixon


An Old Engineering Joke
An engineering student was walking across campus when another engineer rides up on a shiny new motorcycle.
"Where did you get such a rockin' bike?" asked the first.
The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said "Take what you want."
The second engineer nodded approvingly "Good choice, the clothes probably wouldn't have fit."