CEA - Mental Health Challenges in Civil Engineering

We’ve all at some point wondered how the process to become a civil engineer in other countries goes and what requirements and examinations people need to meet and pass in order to get the desired initials, whether they are P.E, C.Eng., etc. Today, we’ll take a closer look at how this process takes place in the UAE, as well as a deep dive into a really important topic most civil engineers simply, and mistakenly, ignore: Mental Health.

Abdulrahman Atif and Ghanim Kashwani are two civil engineers from the UAE who have been friends since the old college days, and they’re the hosts of the Civil Engineering Vibes Podcast. They both got their bachelor's degrees from the American University of Sharjah, and while Abdulrahman got his Masters from Heriot-Watt University, Ghanim got his Ph.D. from the same university. Focused on the ever-changing modern world, the goal of their show is to talk about topics most universities nowadays do not have in their core curriculum but that should be addressed, such as entrepreneurship, the need for programming skills, as well as career and personal development.

By elaborating on a period of Abdulrahman’s life in which he went through severe depression and mental health issues, both because of the stress of the work and some personal matters, the three of them dive deep into the reasons we may have mental burn out as civil engineers and how simply letting go of the stigma related to mental health can be beneficial. After all, it’s okay to go to therapists. Once we get past that, they argue, we can avoid those uncomfortable periods.

Resources (some links are affiliate links)

Ghanim Kashwani - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghanim-kashwani-90739389

Abdulrahman Atif - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdulrhmanatif

Civil Engineering Vibes - https://www.civilengineeringvibes.com

Institution of Civil Engineers - https://www.ice.org.uk

Heriot-Watt University - https://www.hw.ac.uk

American University of Sharjah - https://www.aus.edu

The School of Greatness: A Real-World Guide to Living Bigger, Loving Deeper, and Leaving a Legacy, by Lewis Howes - https://cutt.ly/8bDZlNg

Engineer Your Own Success: 7 Key Elements to Creating an Extraordinary Engineering Career, by Anthony Fasano, P.E. - https://engineeringmanagementinstitute.org/book

Dream Big (Netflix Documentary) - https://www.netflix.com/br-en/title/80217136

Practical Engineering Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMOqf8ab-42UUQIdVoKwjlQ

The B1M Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6n8I1UDTKP1IWjQMg6_TwA

Podcasts From the Engineering Management Institute - https://engineeringmanagementinstitute.org/podcasts

Man of Iron: Thomas Telford and the Building of Britain, by Julian Glover - https://cutt.ly/GbDZIz8

Built Bar. Use the code CIVAC to get 10% off - http://civilengineeringacademy.com/built

Haven’t joined up in our free community? What’s wrong with you? J/K. Ok, just go there and join a group of like-minded civil engineers! - https://ceacommunity.com

Reach out to Isaac - isaac@civilengineeringacademy.com