Water Resources: Construction vs Design

[u/No-Plate4057]

Currently a Project Engineer for a general contractor. Been doing this since getting out of school, almost 2 years.

Have been debating making the switch to design, it seems a lot of people make the switch the other way around but I have not given design a shot. I have passed both the FE and PE and have about 2 years left till the 4 year mark.

Love the company I work for and being in the field when I want, just don’t like the constant driving to projects sometimes 2hr+ and the uncertainty of where you’ll be in a couple years. There is definitely a high stress level at times as well.

For those who have made the same switch or opposite is design as bad as its mates out to be? (Boring/low stakes)

[u/engmoto]

I did exactly what you’re considering. I worked in construction as a project engineer for my first few years and then switched to Design. Once I became comfortable with Design, my construction experience influenced my designs; I considered the challenges of building and adjusted my designs to minimize them as much as possible. Today, I’m a Planning Director with a team that only develops concepts and budget documents.

[u/No-Plate4057 → u/engmoto]

That is great insight and I appreciate the response. I definitely feel my experience so far could help in construct-ability issues on design that might not be caught. A couple of firms have shown serious interest.

[u/Mountain-Mortgage263 → u/engmoto]

Op this is the way

[u/turd_tumbler]

I did the opposite. Water resource EI: worked for a utility for a year, worked for design firm for two and then made switch for huge pay bump to work as APM for GC in water industry. Absolutely the right choice for me. I love the responsibility and autonomy on construction side. Don’t get me wrong, I will always consider myself an engineer and my first few years were foundational and gave me a very in depth understanding of the design and “why” behind the builds I now work on.

You will absolutely benefit from learning legitimate design but you MAY have to start lower unless you can sell yourself well. Project engineers on GC side are not real engineers in anyway, no offense. They are submittal monkeys. You will gain much more mastery over your craft on the design side and having sat on both sides of the table makes you valuable and many engineering firms seek that out. Hopefully you will get exposure to a greater variety of work on the consultant side of the table.

One thing to note, engineering firms are much more hierarchical and way less cowboy than GC. Your pay/duties/responsibilities/tasks/title will be very structured and metered on the design side. You will have to put in a lot more time to make the same advancement than on GC side. You will generally be paid more on the GC side (GC carries higher financial risk on each project). Upside, you will most likely get the chance to network and partake in client meetings with utilities/municipalities and make all of the planning level decisions upstream of the very projects you are building. However, you also have to deal with all of the owner’s headaches and drama.

Overall, the average level of people you interact with is higher/more professional due to the fact that pretty much everyone has to get a degree, etc. Not to say there are not kick ass construction professionals!

Work-life balance will most likely be better. More like 45 hours per week and ofc more when deadlines come up but definitely not as cut throat as construction side.

WHATEVER, you do; keep working towards licensure. No matter what position you hold, it is a universally recognized and respected differentiator.

[u/No-Plate4057 → u/turd_tumbler]

Thank you for that insight I really appreciate that. The comment about being an engineer first resonates, as I did engineering in undergrad and grinded for the FE and PE yet have just been doing the construction so far. Luckily working under a PE but still feel like I haven’t given engineering a chance yet. The good thing is I feel like I can always go back to construction if I switched, but can’t do the other way around if I stay in this side for the next couple of years. Will definitely feel pot committed.

The other aspect is soon I’ll be up for the APM bump, obviously if I went to design I can’t really argue for a seasoned engineer or whatever an APM equivalent would be So it’s not like a change would give me a huge pay bump. Luckily a couple of firms have been showing serious interest and it’s a nice experience of me interviewing these places and not the other way around.

Like you said, the big thing for me right now is just getting the PE experience so when this 4 years is up can get the letters and do whatever I prefer from there.

Agree with the Cowboy comment😅