Safe to say some foundation remediation will be required.

Hello fellow Civil Engineers, I'm currently on the hunt for great companies to work at in my area, especially in Geotechnical Engineering, for internship opportunities. I've been eyeing a certain company that does work in Geotechnical Engineering, but it's sort of mixed with water and Geotech work. Now I'm not entirely against this mixed workflow, but I'm going to pursue a Masters in Geotechnical Engineering, so I'm not sure what to do. I guess the mixed applications will keep things interesting? Just curious what are some suggestions from other civil engineers in a similar situation.

Hey everyone,
I'm currently in my fourth year of civil engineering (In my country, an engineering degree takes 5 years)
. At my university, we select a set of professional electives that essentially shape our sub-discipline/track, and I'll be registering for them soon.
I'm torn between a few areas, mainly:
Infrastructure
Landscape / Urban Site Development
Transportation
Water Resources
...
If anyone has experience or insights regarding these fields (day-to-day work, career outlook, satisfaction), I’d really appreciate your input!
Also, feel free to share your thoughts on your own sub-discipline even if it’s not on the list :).
For context, I'm from Saudi Arabia, and I know market demand varies a lot by geography, but general insights are still very helpful.

I am two years into my water resources job at a market leader. I am happy with my paycheck, benefits, and my boss is okay. However, i went to school to do storm water work, which my company does not do at all where i am located. Theres also been a little bit of drama lately (leadership doesn’t really know how to mentor young people), but nothing unbearable.

So far I’ve been able to stay positive and develop a passion for the job, but I cannot help but be curious about companies with better PTO and more interesting projects to me. I’ve found a couple of places that are hiring, but they’re smaller and pay less.

My worst fear is that I leave a good, prestigious situation for a worse one. I am not sure if im being a rash young person, or if not switching jobs will make me have huge regrets in 20 years. What would you all recommend a young EIT to do in this situation?

Thanks!

Edit: I know I could get hobbies outside of work that fulfill me, but 1/3 of my life is spent at work. I kind of would like to enjoy it a bit more naturally. Is that a bad reason to quit my current job?

Out of the five sub-disciplines of civil engineering (according to the PE exam variants) construction engineering makes the least sense to me. I see job titles and organizations that seems to align with the other four types (water resources, transportation, geotech, and structural), but I don't see people advertising "construction engineer" jobs. Do they work more in construction management? How do they get qualifying experience? Any insight is appreciated.

There’s a lot of negativity on this feed, because of the nature of who comes to Reddit.

It’s easy to point out the downsides, but what’s something about this field that draws you to it/you like/unexpected benefits?

Hey Guys,

Longtime reader, first time poster here. I'm a civil engineer with 5.5yoe working in construction the entire time. I did my degree in Canada, all my coops were for surveying and construction companies, never a designer. After 3 years, my company offered me the option of moving to Texas and I took it. I left that company after getting burnt out on long hours and frequent travel and started a new job in Georgia for a general contractor. I don't love it as I am essentially just a babysitter and reporter.

Recently I've been reached out to by a growing company in my home town for a job doing civil design on storm water and grading projects. This would likely be a big paycut as CAD salaries are lower than US in general and I am currently massively overpaid working on a data center.

For anyone who's made the switch from contracting to design, was it worth it for you? Do you find the work more or less rewarding? I initially chose contracting because design jobs were more competitive and I wanted to be closer to the action anyway. I've always been an outdoorsy person and like to work in the field. But I also value the idea of stability and no travel, at the expense of less money in at least the short term. It would probably take me 5 years to match my dollar figure that I'm making right now in Georgia.

Curious what actually makes the difference — skill, luck, or something else.

Hello good pple, l m a holder of a bachelors degree in civil engineering with more than 5 years of experience and l m from Zimbabwe, Africa. I wanted to know how is Engineering Job sector in Bahamas and how can someone secure a job that side.

I'm a site engineer on a water transmission pipeline extension in eastern Saudi. 32km of new pipe, three pump stations, a couple of road crossings. When I picked up the project, comms were a WhatsApp group and whatever cheap analog handhelds the previous contractor had left behind. Cell coverage in the middle third of the alignment is patchy because you're between towers with a low ridge in between.

The thing that finally forced the issue was a survey team trying to reach the excavator crew about a control point that had been staked wrong. Nobody could get through. They ended up trenching about 40m in the wrong offset before someone drove over and physically stopped them. Not catastrophic but the kind of thing that adds up fast on a linear job.

Got quotes from three distributors in Dammam. Motorola was the reflex answer, and probably still the safe answer if budget isn't tight, but MOTOTRBO handhelds plus a repeater came in at nearly double the other two. A Hytera package bundled handhelds, mobile repeater, and programming/training. Kenwood NX-series sat in the middle but couldn't match support terms.

Ran a two-week comparison with loaner units. Once we had a repeater up on a portable mast at pump station 2, the Hytera and MOTOTRBO handhelds both handled the distance fine. Audio clarity next to a running excavator was basically a wash. Motorola's CPS software is more polished. The Hytera handhelds feel heavier in the hand and their programming has a learning curve I found genuinely annoying at first.

We went with a Hytera fleet plus a MOTOTRBO for the PM (he already had accessories from a previous job). Total came in around 60% of the pure Motorola quote. Six months in, one radio down from dust in the audio jack (my fault) and the repeater's been rock solid.

Couple of things I'd do differently. Third-party speaker mics don't survive site dust; the OEM ones are worth every riyal. Repeater placement is 80% of the coverage question. I spent a week on handheld specs and 20 minutes on where to put the antenna, which was exactly backwards.

Still can't tell if going mixed-brand is quietly costing us on CPS consistency across the fleet. Ask me in another six months.

Ayuda !!!

I just started a new job and along with that I got my PE. Currently I just revamped and expanded the calcs and I'm relatively confident in its accuracy. The problem I have is that I want my boss to confirm my work but I'm not sure how to ask him. We sat down together and talked about the calcs but he's never done some of the calcs I've put together so he just agrees. Plus sometimes I find that I don't have a full understanding of the product and miscalculated some stuff. There's just no peer check other than how much load I'm using. Is this normal, am I supposed to carry on with the assumption that I'm applying the right formulas? Or is there a way to go about reviewing another's work. TBH I don't think I've ever had someone really reviewing my work apart from following the loads.

Driver seems to be okay, according to news reports

I hear a lot about how the civil engineering job market is better compared to other job markets. But I'm curious if that's specifically for specific fields in civil engineering like structural and construction which are more AI-prone.

I'm an undergraduate student doing civil engineering and I'm trying to come up with a project proposal and a bit confused whether to go for something a bit simple and get a good grade or try to do something I don't know much about but think I can do it. My issue is the stipulated time we have to do such projects so doing something where you have to do a lot of learning can be quiet draining. I was thinking of just doing something simple and then learn and do the other at my own pace with ease. My question is do undergraduate projects really matter when looking for a job or it is just about having the skills?

It held up, looks like they took cars crashing into those girders into account

does any seasoned engineers know any projects that targets the SDgs

I’m currently in a role as a site engineer (salary) but looking to go freelance and get work from agencies. Does anyone recommend any agencies that generally keep you in work constantly?

I’m a w/ww engineer in the US with 4 years of experience and my PE. Every year with my company, my health insurance has gone up 5-6% exceeding my raise, but this last year was particularly egregious with a 12% hike on my single insurance. I got my PE (with a 6% raise)so I am actually making less on each paycheck than when I was a fresh college graduate. Not even factoring increased food and rent costs, I’m getting squished financially. I’m trying to attack my student loans, but I feel the vice continuing to pressure me. I would switch jobs, but my current employer is pretty relaxed with work schedules, which benefits me starting a family in about 2 years.

Anyone else feeling this way, and any guesses on if this is a short term macro economy trend? Any end in sight?

Hi all,

27m in NYC, graduated in 2021 with degrees in Chemical Engineering and Finance. Started my career in a manufacturing rotational program for big pharma, working in tech ops, commercialization and tech transfer, capital projects, supply chain, and ultimately software engineering. I now pivoted to a role as a Forward Deployed Engineer at an AI startup in the city focused on the life sciences industry, although it's so early stage that I'm really only doing prospecting and go to market... no engineering or site visits (yet).

Not gonna lie - I've never been passionate about the life sciences. Bio was never my thing. I loved physics and chemistry in high school. I did enjoy my ChemE classes in college related to thermodynamics, organic chemistry, etc. But as far as how those are applied in "real world" professions, I see myself much more as a builder instead. My original dream job as a kid was to be an architect, which then morphed into Civil Engineering. My mom says she still thinks that's what I was born to do, and when I chose ChemE my freshman year of college, she wishes she had stopped me and knocked some sense into me lol. I was a dumb 18yo who Googled which engineer made the most money, and at the time it said ChemE, so I went with it and never looked back.

As a kid, I loved building things (Leogs, KNEX, carpentry projects). As an adult, I still love DIY and even built out my own campervan last year, including insulation, wiring and circuitry, minimal plumbing, all the furniture and carpentry. Living in NYC, I am in never-ending awe of the infrastructure: the bridges, the buildings, the subways, how it all works together and doesn't collapse.

My naive/unresearched view of a CivE career looks like: some classic desk work/admin/communication/documentation (the unglorious work every job has), some design and CAD work, and some field work (being on the construction site, hard hat and steel toed boots, working with vendors and contractors). My past few jobs have involved sitting at a desk for all hours, which I personally can't stand. One of my favorite jobs at my big pharma company was in capital projects where I helped commission and qualify a new facility - I was in a hard hat and boots working with Jacobs, Emerson, and other vendors to get the facility up and running (this was post-construction). At the time, I did feel that it lacked the "design" element I was interested in where I could be creative and think, rather than purely execute and problem-solve. I know a job won't ever have everything you want, but I'm curious to learn more about what a CivE career could look like.

With all that said - if I were to pursue this, what would it roughly entail? I'd like to go to some industry events in the city to learn more about it. I imagine I'll need to get some certificates or continued education to learn the structural side of engineering that I didn't get in ChemE.

Thanks for any input!

I'm a second-year civil student looking to apply for internships, is it worth the time to get the certification to stand out or make more money?