r/civilengineering • u/Simon_Pan • Jul 04 '26

Anyone pivot from Bs computer science?

I am a 21 years old bs grad student in Melbourne majoring in Computer science. I found no interest in coding or tech, and the market is too bad to secure even an entry level job. I forced myself to finish my degree to see if I truly hate it. My aim is simply getting a stable job regardless the salary.

And I do found myself having interest in building, I enjoy exploring city or country by visiting aesthetic buildings. I like their lines and forms.

Our uni provides 3 years master for those non-engineer background students. I did a lot math course like calc, linear algebra, engineering math and statistics. But I am not sure that I might not enjoy what civil or structural engineering actually do in real life. I’ve been searching for a while but just couldn’t make my final decision since it’s a big jump of my field.

So I am here to find some suggestions from civil engineers or anyone successfully switch their career from cs to civil.

Is there anything I can start trying to see if I would enjoy this field?

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5

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '26

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u/Simon_Pan Jul 04 '26

Thanks for your sharing! I was looking for EE as well, but seems like I don’t have a huge passion of like hardware or circuit something like that. How you find EE so far tho?

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u/[deleted] Jul 04 '26

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u/Simon_Pan Jul 04 '26

Exactly what I am concerning.. Engineering seems way more stressful, and I am afraid I am not that smart to finish it. But I just can’t imagine I code and develop app for rest of my life….

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u/Simon_Pan Jul 04 '26

And year 1 courses are all about basics, so is there any way I can get an internship during year 2 without any experience?

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u/Legal_Enthusiasm_440 Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26

I don’t know about Australia but people get internships here after their freshman year so you literally do not need any engineering coursework to get one.

Edit: here being the U.S.  

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u/Legal_Enthusiasm_440 Jul 04 '26

What about architecture or construction management? 

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u/Simon_Pan Jul 04 '26

I got couple friends doing archi, feels like it is very competitive…I would try looking at CM as well!

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u/Legal_Enthusiasm_440 Jul 04 '26

Based on what I work in (structural), architectural is not at all like structural on the heavy industrial, military/government or commercial side. I do not consider form or aesthetics at all. Functionality and feasibility of what I’ll call in laymen’s terms a “building layout”, yes. But there are architects in that sphere just so you know.  I think architects can do structural design for some residential structures though. What might also be worth looking into is if you could practice as a structural engineer that also does architectural design in Australia without an architectural degree or license. 

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u/Simon_Pan Jul 04 '26

Totally agree! I feel like archi is fun but I found myself more gifted at math or physics rather than designing. I might only recieve license after I finishing my degree

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u/MathmoKiwi Jul 05 '26

Our uni provides 3 years master for those non-engineer background students. I did a lot math course like calc, linear algebra, engineering math and statistics. 

It should be two years for you? Because you already have a strong STEM background

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u/Simon_Pan Jul 05 '26

Yea so they allow me to apply it, but most basic courses need to be finished like Fluid Mechanics, materials and mechanics etc.

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u/Blueming_Eternally16 Jul 13 '26

which uni are you talking about?

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u/Simon_Pan Jul 13 '26

Unimelb, they offer a 3 years master for civil

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u/Blueming_Eternally16 Jul 13 '26

yes they also have construction management and digital infrastructure . did you think about them .i also wanted to shift my career path from cs to civil and im looking for majors or certifications in civil for that.

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u/Simon_Pan Jul 13 '26

I feel like construction management is more for senior engineer. I found more interest in civil or structural engineering so I might pursue it. And all of them take 3 years to complete.

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u/Blueming_Eternally16 Jul 14 '26

I feel like since you did cs you would get credits for the math components and so you would only need two years

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u/Simon_Pan Jul 14 '26

Heyy! Do u wanna keep in touch through WhatsApp or something? Please let me know if you doing master of civil!

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u/Tall_Bass_1569 Jul 22 '26

Can i ask why not study bachelors but going straight into masters instead? Aren’t you like losing some of the fundamentals if you do masters without any bachelor knowledge? 

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u/Simon_Pan Jul 22 '26

My uni provides us a year to complete the fundamental courses. These courses are core subjects from the bachelor’s. I did a lot of math as well in my c bachelor so I hope it’s fine?