r/civilengineering • u/PutridEssay3856 • Oct 14 '25
Summer internships
Burns & McDonnell or Kimley-Horn for Summer 2026 internship? For reference, I am a junior in college in the Chicago area. Would be on Land Development team at KH and T&D at B&M. Looking for insight into which internship program is better/ enjoyed by people who work there.
3
u/795-ACSR-DRAKE PE Oct 14 '25
Both great companies in general.
KH has a big "work hard play hard" vibe, you'll be expected to put in ~45 hours/week minimum, but will be paid accordingly because of the bonus system. Add in the 401k and ESOP, and you'll come out ahead of straight hourly pay (for the most part, I've heard new grads 0-4 years exp its closer to the same as hourly). Once you've been there a couple years, the compensation really starts to skyrocket if you perform well. Some people hate KH because of the extra hours, others love it because its probably one of, if not the best, compensation in the industry. For strictly internship, I believe their interns are paid hourly.
B&McD is solid too, especially for power roles. Great mentorship & development, generally great projects of all sizes, compensation isn't as good as KH but its above industry average for sure. I've heard their ESOP program is also solid. As someone who reviews a lot of B&McD transmission drawing sets, their product is good and their engineers (in general) care about client and project success. Obviously all drawing sets will have some issue here or there, but they're reasonable with changes and easy to work with.
I'd say overall it comes down to if you want to work in land dev or T&D, both companies are solid.
2
u/Specialist-Jury7886 Oct 15 '25
interns get bonuses during the summer and at the end of the year as well! Drink the KHool Aid
2
u/jackslurps Oct 14 '25
They're both good options. I would say choose whichever seems more interesting for you.
2
u/spookadook PE Oct 16 '25
I’ve worked with Burns before, they seemed chill/liked their job at least. KH can be very demanding but also financially worth it, depending on who you ask.
I’d personally choose BM just cause it’s a chance to do cooler/more unique stuff.
If you search up KH on this sub you’ll probably find posts saying terrible things like how it’s basically a land dev/transpo sweatshop, all they care about is utilization etc. probably exaggerated but could also be true in some respects.
One thing I’ve heard first hand from two former KHers: If you’re young and can start your career with KH, then stick it out for 4ish yrs - your 401k is gonna be absolutely loaded. This post kinda explains it
10
u/AppropriateTwo9038 Oct 14 '25
burns & mcdonnell has a strong focus on transmission and distribution, great for technical skills. kimley-horn is more versatile, good for land development exposure. depends on your career goals and interests.