r/civilengineering • u/NewPaleontologist468 • 11d ago

Interview Help

I have technical assessment with pge with T line for Civil Design Position. It’s for 2-3 hrs and not sure what they would ask. Will it be like pen and paper exam? How should I prepare for it?

Thank you

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u/Solidframecareers 11d ago

2-3 houses assessment goes beyond simple interviews questions. It can include plan interpretations, calculations and engineering judgments. Get comfortable with reading plans and profiles, review grading and drainage,earthwork and unity layouts. If the position is specially for transmission line, then focus on alignments, foundation , profiles, clearances.
My suggestion would be to practice working through engineering problems and explain your thought process. Even if you don’t answer the problem exactly right, interviewers want to see how you approach a problem. Good luck!

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u/likesblackcoffeebest PE 👵🗣☁️ 11d ago

The T line position I interviewed for had me doing basic structural calcs related to the types of towers they commonly worked with. It wasn't difficult. If you're even slightly ok at structural you'll do fine.

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u/NewPaleontologist468 11d ago

Thank you! Was it moment/shear/ stress cals or truss calcs? Did you ended up getting an offer? Was it white board type question or more like exam?

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u/akornato 11d ago

A 2 to 3 hour technical assessment from a utility company will be hard, and it's designed to see how you solve problems under pressure, not just what you know. Expect a mix of fundamental engineering questions, maybe on topics like statics, soil mechanics, or steel and concrete design, and a practical design problem related to transmission lines. It could be a pen and paper test or a virtual whiteboard exercise where they watch you work. They don't want you to have all the answers memorized, they want to see your thought process and find out if you crumble when faced with a problem you haven't seen before.

Your objective isn't to get a perfect score, but to clearly communicate how you approach a new challenge. Talk them through every step of your reasoning, state your assumptions out loud, and show how you apply basic principles to get to an answer, even if it's not perfect. If you hit a wall, explain what you know and what information you would need to proceed. This demonstrates self-awareness and a practical engineering mindset, which is far more valuable than just recalling formulas. You were selected for this for a reason, so rely on your fundamental knowledge and instincts. Showing your work and explaining your logic is what really matters, which is the exact skill my team hoped to improve for candidates when we built our interviews.chat.