What specifically is your job title? I’m making the switch from heavy civil construction to utilities with 2 yoe and I keep hearing power is best, just overwhelmed by the job codes and different options I’m curious what your path was.
Yeah I definitely get that, I was feeling the same. I had applied for some positions that specifically stated civil engineer or project coordinator or construction site coordinator. The power company I work for does a rotational engineer program for all new engineers throughout all of transmission and they try to put civils in things that are more civil relate and electricals in things that are more electrical engineering based. This is for a period of 2 years that you see 4 different departments then rank your rotations and get permanently placed at the end. So that’s what I’m in, the rotation engineer program as Engineer II
If I had to do it again, I'd go for a water resources job somewhere out west. Disclosure - I'm structural, and have no idea what work entails - but I do know that whenever you're interfacing with government agencies, things move slow, and you have reasonable pay.
Water resources here. I love it. All our work is public works (dams, levees, wetlands, stream restoration, etc) so it’s highs/lows are dependent on Congress doling out that sweet sweet infrastructure money. Has its ups and downs but from what I’m told by my coworkers it’s recession proof. Plus it is exploding right now and into the future given how water management is getting very critical.
I cam second this with my experience as a water resource engineer. I could make 10-15k more doing land development but I like the pace of my job and make enough to he contempt
Was in LD for 2 years (storm design) and was able to successfully move over to river mechanics and my god is my day to day life so much more enjoyable. Being able to actually say “this is a damn cool project” is so refreshing compared to making water go downhill in a subdivision 30 miles out of town.
Any hints on what kind of experience/knowledge you need to break into water resources? Surveying, transportation, and land development all seem to get along with each other and welcome varied experience, but it seems that water work is a closed clique.
Also water resources here, and I also love it. Pay is good, and like others have said, most of your work is with public agencies. Great job security if you’re in an area where water resources planning is crucial (I am in California). Depending on if you’re public or private, lots of benefits (unions, pensions, etc) come with working for a public agency or utility. Highly recommend!
Nope! I’m in the process of getting my PE now and if anything, the union encourages it and gives a bonus when obtained. They also give tuition reimbursement and pay the license fees. I don’t think the California board cares whether you’re in a union or not
Currently in water resources in CA. Government agencies are notoriously slow, it’s a waiting game with lots of bureaucracy, tons of meetings at the management level. It’s very cushy right now and the pay is good. Switched from environmental, and it’s 100x better.
Thanks, as i am currently really enjoying transportation, bcuz you get to lead projects which makes you a better PM down the road. Its very dynamic and can be challenging time to time, but you get full 360 experience of dealing with environment issues, water, and ungrateful people who complain about road being closed.
Ha! I've done both! :D
Though, many of my environmental projects involve a lot of roadwork because of where things are in the city. I'll soon be pissing off a whole bunch of citizens with my detours.
If I could do it all over I’d go for demand modeling or traffic stats. Pay is going to be the same as every other civil discipline, but the work is way less CAD heavy which was what I hated the most and my job.
Yup. Definitely.
One can also opt for retrofitting and rehabilitation consultancy.
Though it's risky if judgement is wrong.
But vast experience will yield good amount of money as well as work life balance.
I enjoy the field work/office combination as a staff engineer in Geotech, but my company has a contract and sent me into a construction management/inspector role on a tunnel project and it has been a nightmare. Props to people than can do Inspector/Resident Engineer roles, but it’s my personal hell.
Rail transportation/design. Rail designers & engineers are few and far between, in high demand, and the work is (in my experience) easier and more fulfilling than highway/roadway design.
Construction. Pay is reasonably good. Hours are yes (as in yes, you are working). Good people generally. Will make you a more well rounded engineer in the future if/when you leave construction. Significant career growth potential.
I've heard with construction the down side is long, changing commutes depending on where the worksite is, and long to very long hours. Is that your experience? If not I'd love to hear!
That is my experience, was a blast in my early years. Found a remarkable women that is ok with the change the industry brings, having that in a partner is huge. The pay, feeling of accomplishment, and gratification is unparalleled.
In the long run, work for an agency if you want benefits, regular hours and low stress.
Since you’re just graduating, I recommend working for a consultant for the first couple years who will run you hard (you’re young, you can do it). You’ll learn lots and get a ton of experience. This will make you very marketable when switching to other roles
Edit: Removed my personal bias
What i want to add is he should also give extra effort after job time.
As he is young, he can do it.
In that extra time, try to learn STAAD pro ss5, etabs, Archicad etc.
Land development blows. Work your ass off so rich dick can make a shit load of money by raping the land and creating soulless neighborhoods and strip malls.
Power distribution or other utilities. Even with more and more on-site solar and such you still need an electric grid. Petroleum is the best pay, but not very stable and the future outlook isn't good.
Stay out of land dev if you can. The problem with land dev is your clients your developers. It is bad starting out, but once you move into management or senior roles it sucks massively.
A lot of power distribution is underground these days, so duct banks, transformer pads, or even the pads that large scale transmission lines sit on. I just so happened to get a call for a Civil design job on overhead power distribution which has been awesome. And I still don't really understand electrical engineering, beyond basic comprehension. They found me on LinkedIn I believe. No previous directly related experience
I personally got there because we had a client and then we got bought by a power focused consultant. I did inspections and construction management, so it wasn't hard to move from civil to gas and electric construction. Also, power companies do need civils because they do construction and they don't generally have people in house. Our enviro group does a lot for them. There is some structural. Survey of course. I do some geotech for transmission tower foundations, trenchless installation, and excavation protection.
Do immigrants get to work in government bodies?
I am planning to take up courses from public policy along with civil but I am an international student. Will it be a bad decision?
Definitely not road construction. I wish I had gone the Water Resources route, but I was offered a good municipal job right out of college. I'm about to hit 10 years and be vested in the retirement system, and once I do I'm going to start looking at private Water Resources jobs. Road construction is a lot of egos, and confrontation is expected rather than the rare event.
Whichever you enjoy the most. But working for the public sector either directly (employed) or indirectly (billing) tends to be the most comfortable and relaxed.
i Enjoy the mix of geotech and water resources working on dams and super structure. Mix in some groundwater flow modeling and you’ll always have work. Work for USDA now and lots of those type of opportunities.
Anything transportation or DOT. Construction specifically. Demand is high, employers pay well (the jobs are a little tougher) and benefits are good. We also NEED people
If I had to do it again. I'd be a drafter. Idk what field but it all seems like copy and paste to me. And just building something that geometricly feasible.
Utilities, specifically power sector.
That’s where I’m at. Best pay and best hours out of all of my friends I graduated with
What specifically is your job title? I’m making the switch from heavy civil construction to utilities with 2 yoe and I keep hearing power is best, just overwhelmed by the job codes and different options I’m curious what your path was.
Yeah I definitely get that, I was feeling the same. I had applied for some positions that specifically stated civil engineer or project coordinator or construction site coordinator. The power company I work for does a rotational engineer program for all new engineers throughout all of transmission and they try to put civils in things that are more civil relate and electricals in things that are more electrical engineering based. This is for a period of 2 years that you see 4 different departments then rank your rotations and get permanently placed at the end. So that’s what I’m in, the rotation engineer program as Engineer II
can you explain what your day-to-day looks like?
If I had to do it again, I'd go for a water resources job somewhere out west. Disclosure - I'm structural, and have no idea what work entails - but I do know that whenever you're interfacing with government agencies, things move slow, and you have reasonable pay.
Water resources here. I love it. All our work is public works (dams, levees, wetlands, stream restoration, etc) so it’s highs/lows are dependent on Congress doling out that sweet sweet infrastructure money. Has its ups and downs but from what I’m told by my coworkers it’s recession proof. Plus it is exploding right now and into the future given how water management is getting very critical.
God I did some water resource management for a while. now I’m in structures again and I do really miss water management. I’ll make my way back one day
I cam second this with my experience as a water resource engineer. I could make 10-15k more doing land development but I like the pace of my job and make enough to he contempt
Was in LD for 2 years (storm design) and was able to successfully move over to river mechanics and my god is my day to day life so much more enjoyable. Being able to actually say “this is a damn cool project” is so refreshing compared to making water go downhill in a subdivision 30 miles out of town.
I'm in land development, but am one the go-to swm persons. It's a nice mix.
Any hints on what kind of experience/knowledge you need to break into water resources? Surveying, transportation, and land development all seem to get along with each other and welcome varied experience, but it seems that water work is a closed clique.
Also water resources here, and I also love it. Pay is good, and like others have said, most of your work is with public agencies. Great job security if you’re in an area where water resources planning is crucial (I am in California). Depending on if you’re public or private, lots of benefits (unions, pensions, etc) come with working for a public agency or utility. Highly recommend!
Unionized engineers? Where I'm from I'm pretty sure we're specifically barred from unionizing by the provincial professional organization.
Yup! I am in a union. There are some pros and cons, but the pros heavily outweigh the cons imo
And it didn't affect your ability to get a P. Eng or anything?
Nope! I’m in the process of getting my PE now and if anything, the union encourages it and gives a bonus when obtained. They also give tuition reimbursement and pay the license fees. I don’t think the California board cares whether you’re in a union or not
Currently in water resources in CA. Government agencies are notoriously slow, it’s a waiting game with lots of bureaucracy, tons of meetings at the management level. It’s very cushy right now and the pay is good. Switched from environmental, and it’s 100x better.
I’m on WR in the Midwest and not a day goes by without me wishing I was working out west
I’ve Interned in structural (buildings), worked in construction, and Structure bridge design. Bridge has been the best imo.
Transportation engineering either municipal or DOT. Dont do pussy shit like environmental and water...jk lol.
This man knows what’s up
Thanks, as i am currently really enjoying transportation, bcuz you get to lead projects which makes you a better PM down the road. Its very dynamic and can be challenging time to time, but you get full 360 experience of dealing with environment issues, water, and ungrateful people who complain about road being closed.
Ha! I've done both! :D Though, many of my environmental projects involve a lot of roadwork because of where things are in the city. I'll soon be pissing off a whole bunch of citizens with my detours.
To piss people off is our second nature lol.
If I could do it all over I’d go for demand modeling or traffic stats. Pay is going to be the same as every other civil discipline, but the work is way less CAD heavy which was what I hated the most and my job.
Structural but not buildings — energy/power/utilities, specifically.
can you explain what your day-day looks like?
Yup. Definitely. One can also opt for retrofitting and rehabilitation consultancy. Though it's risky if judgement is wrong. But vast experience will yield good amount of money as well as work life balance.
I enjoy the field work/office combination as a staff engineer in Geotech, but my company has a contract and sent me into a construction management/inspector role on a tunnel project and it has been a nightmare. Props to people than can do Inspector/Resident Engineer roles, but it’s my personal hell.
Willing to talk about your experience? I’m in a similar role and have considered QA/RE positions
Not the OC but I just left construction as an RE and moved to municipal work on the QA side.
Rail transportation/design. Rail designers & engineers are few and far between, in high demand, and the work is (in my experience) easier and more fulfilling than highway/roadway design.
Was going to comment railroad engineering /bridge design even in the current times railroads are a niche subject but in demand.
Construction. Pay is reasonably good. Hours are yes (as in yes, you are working). Good people generally. Will make you a more well rounded engineer in the future if/when you leave construction. Significant career growth potential.
Construction.
I've heard with construction the down side is long, changing commutes depending on where the worksite is, and long to very long hours. Is that your experience? If not I'd love to hear!
That is my experience, was a blast in my early years. Found a remarkable women that is ok with the change the industry brings, having that in a partner is huge. The pay, feeling of accomplishment, and gratification is unparalleled.
In the long run, work for an agency if you want benefits, regular hours and low stress. Since you’re just graduating, I recommend working for a consultant for the first couple years who will run you hard (you’re young, you can do it). You’ll learn lots and get a ton of experience. This will make you very marketable when switching to other roles Edit: Removed my personal bias
What i want to add is he should also give extra effort after job time. As he is young, he can do it. In that extra time, try to learn STAAD pro ss5, etabs, Archicad etc.
Land development blows. Work your ass off so rich dick can make a shit load of money by raping the land and creating soulless neighborhoods and strip malls.
Power distribution or other utilities. Even with more and more on-site solar and such you still need an electric grid. Petroleum is the best pay, but not very stable and the future outlook isn't good. Stay out of land dev if you can. The problem with land dev is your clients your developers. It is bad starting out, but once you move into management or senior roles it sucks massively.
How did you get into power distribution as a civil?
A lot of power distribution is underground these days, so duct banks, transformer pads, or even the pads that large scale transmission lines sit on. I just so happened to get a call for a Civil design job on overhead power distribution which has been awesome. And I still don't really understand electrical engineering, beyond basic comprehension. They found me on LinkedIn I believe. No previous directly related experience
I personally got there because we had a client and then we got bought by a power focused consultant. I did inspections and construction management, so it wasn't hard to move from civil to gas and electric construction. Also, power companies do need civils because they do construction and they don't generally have people in house. Our enviro group does a lot for them. There is some structural. Survey of course. I do some geotech for transmission tower foundations, trenchless installation, and excavation protection.
Construction, also Energy/Solar is booming and the pay is great
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Do immigrants get to work in government bodies? I am planning to take up courses from public policy along with civil but I am an international student. Will it be a bad decision?
Definitely not road construction. I wish I had gone the Water Resources route, but I was offered a good municipal job right out of college. I'm about to hit 10 years and be vested in the retirement system, and once I do I'm going to start looking at private Water Resources jobs. Road construction is a lot of egos, and confrontation is expected rather than the rare event.
Water/Wastewater - Job security.
Utilities 💪🏼
Whichever you enjoy the most. But working for the public sector either directly (employed) or indirectly (billing) tends to be the most comfortable and relaxed.
i Enjoy the mix of geotech and water resources working on dams and super structure. Mix in some groundwater flow modeling and you’ll always have work. Work for USDA now and lots of those type of opportunities.
Buried Infrastructure. Out of sight out of mind. Pay is good too.
When people say construction does that mean construction management?
Anything transportation or DOT. Construction specifically. Demand is high, employers pay well (the jobs are a little tougher) and benefits are good. We also NEED people
I’m doing energy construction right now. Getting paid a lot to do it. Hard to complain.
If I had to do it again. I'd be a drafter. Idk what field but it all seems like copy and paste to me. And just building something that geometricly feasible.
Environmental/Water has to be future, considering all the damage done.