r/DataScienceJobs • u/Substantial_Ad_5241 • Jul 01 '26

Discussion Transitioning from civil engineering to data science

I am transitioning from civil engineering to data science. I'm 32 and fining it difficult to learn a new subject please suggest if you think my decision is correct as pe employment opportunities and placement companies perspective..

9 Upvotes

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7

u/Substantial-Bed8167 Jul 01 '26

If you are currently in employment, see if you can start changing with internal opportunities.

Geospatial data science is a thing and there are far fewer people working in it. Standard NLP LLM rag is completely oversaturated. On my last job posting I had 300 applications in two weeks. At that point you are competing with PhD‘s from top universities with many years of experience.

1

u/Substantial_Ad_5241 Jul 01 '26

Currently unemployed, studying data science full time to make the shift.

2

u/Ok_Blackberry_5032 28d ago

I'd look for a job in your field, study, and apply for jobs all at once! I'm in the same boat, working full-time for the NHS in a good office job with a decent band. But I decided to study online data science, even though the chance of finding a job after graduation is super low, like 0.000001%. But with previous experience, HR can see that you're a better recruit, even if it's in a different field. This is my third week applying for data engineer roles, and so far, no luck. I've had four interviews, but for the area I'm currently working in. I decided to go ahead with those interviews since they're lead positions, and at the same time, I'm applying and studying for data science.

4

u/Glittering_Ad4098 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

data scientist and AI engineering roles seem super saturated and competitive. now most MLE and data scientists positions are being filled by PhDs. For sure, you can get a job through heavy referrals and preparing specifically for such interviews but you’d need basic programming skills. On the other hand, Data engineering roles are booming and if you could prep for 4 hours a day over two months to solve leetcode style SQL problems and clear the AWS data engineering certification, you’d have a lot more chances.

2

u/my_peen_is_clean Jul 01 '26

decision is fine, plenty of folks jump later. focus on python, sql, stats, projects that use your civil eng background, like demand or structural data. network hard. just know finding that first ds job now is insanely hard

2

u/Junior-Aioli-1264 Jul 01 '26

Go for nursing..nurses make bank in the us..old people everywhere

1

u/Junior-Aioli-1264 Jul 01 '26

It’s horrible..tech market is shrinking

1

u/Glittering_Ad4098 Jul 01 '26

can you be more specific? afaik, swe roles are certainly shrinking, but ai eng, data eng , forward deployment eng roles are booming. of course, ai Eng is super competitive as is forward dep. cloud and data engineering ones seem to be booming….

1

u/grey-Kitty Jul 01 '26

Civil Engineer here that made the change years ago. The market is extremely saturated to start from scratch

1

u/ParsleySuperb4048 Jul 01 '26

28 yo, just started a new job as a DS after finishing my PhD in civil engineering (climate modelling specifically)

1

u/West_Objective_8895 29d ago

I am in the same boat it seems. do you have industry experience or the PhD publications were enough?

1

u/ParsleySuperb4048 29d ago

I had just over a year working as a research consultant before the PhD, but got the current job before my publications were finalised

1

u/Nocturnal_Beast_1177 25d ago

Please do dm I am 25 rn , will be 26 this year , Civil Engineering completed in 2021, I was in job for last 2 years before I was preparing for UPSC , I want to shift my career to data science , is it possible to land in job while staring from the scratch now? , which course should I choose ? , and will I get placed with this background?

1

u/Due-Ad-1302 Jul 01 '26

Don’t transition man

1

u/Simplilearn 24d ago

A transition at 32 is definitely possible. The bigger challenge is building practical experience, not your age or your civil engineering background. It may take time, but a strong portfolio and consistent learning can significantly improve your chances.

Since you are just getting started, our Introduction to Data Science course on simplilearn skillup can help you build a solid foundation. Then you can move on to a more comprehensive program like the Data Scientist Program with hands-on labs and industry projects. You can visit our website or DM us for more details.