Qualifications for a Forensic Civil Engineer

1. Forensic engineer

Who can be a forensic engineer? Columbia University in New York puts it as follows,

An engineer's success in the field of forensic engineering is the result of the combination of many components in his or her background:

• First, a good education in engineering and its related subjects;
• Then years of hands-on experience in analysis, design, construction, testing, inspection, condition assessment, and trouble-shooting;
• Understanding of the design-construction process;
• Comprehension of legal implications;
• Good communication skills;
• A knack for problem solving;
• A positive attitude to team work;
• A strong sense of ethics;
• Self-confidence without arrogance;
• Confident and credible disposition; and,
• A high level of intellectual sophistication.
• Detective skills
• Other skills such as familiarity with psychology and sociology, photography etc.
• Personality characteristics such as flexibility and objectivity, ability to face questioning under stress (as expert witness), and to work effectively with others.

To this I will add, a desire, almost a passion to share one's expertise to benefit a cause he believes in, be it to improve design, to affirm safety, to right a perceived wrong, and so on.

NOTE: The male pronoun and references there from will include the female counterpart, except when context defines one or the other gender. - NK

2. Forensic Civil Engineer

A career choice source  lists the following as job requirements to be a forensic civil engineer:

• Education - Bachelor's degree in civil engineering. A master’s or a doctorate in some aspect of civil engineering - structural, geotechnical, or earthquake engineering - is often an advisable educational qualification in a competitive job marketplace. During these courses, he should become familiar with the way different types of materials behave under stress. The candidate should also have a strong mathematical ability, IT and communication skills. He will need to explain complicated technical matters to lawyers, legislators and the general public as part of his job.
• License - Candidate must obtain a Professional Engineer license in the state where he is employed. [Where such licensing does not exist, some extra qualification like Membership in national or international professional societies, publications in journals etc. may validate credibility, as happened in my case.
• Fitness - Physical fitness is vital for the forensic civil engineer. He may have to climb on roofs, move or carry heavy loads up to about 50 pounds [18.7kg] at a damage site, and even crawl through confined, damaged spaces such as air conditioning vents. Site inspections have to be conducted in all weathers. Damage sites are dangerous, so he needs quick instincts to move very quickly to escape serious injury from any falling structures.

My journey to my current forensic involvement started in the 1960s in USA when I acted as consultant to accident investigators - not yet known as 'forensic engineers'. It was only by choice that I did not actually appear in court, reluctant to getting involved in legal tangles, especially as I had chosen not to become a citizen. But by proxy, I learnt many of the tricks and traps of the forensic engineering trade. So, when the opportunity arose for accident investigation in Singapore, one might say I was willing, ready, and able.