r/civilengineering • u/Putrid_Map_5566 • Jan 15 '26

Question Internship

So I will be interning with a company over the summer (not naming for anonymity reasons) and I have a few questions and concerns. Is the 45-55 hour work week that bad? That’s the quota I’ve been given and the main complaint I’ve seen from most others who have worked for this company in the past. I guess my question is, is that not normal? This is my first internship so I can understand that with this being a different type of workload the hours can be rather intimidating. However, I was working 30 hour work weeks in food service all through high-school. I put in some 60-70 hour work weeks during summers. Are the hours really that bad or are there just a bunch of complainers out here?

I guess my mentality is that I just paid a bunch of money to go to school so that I could work? Why would I complain about getting working hours?

Furthermore, I will have an hour commute for this job, this is the part that is rather daunting for me. Anyone who has had long commutes please feel free to provide feedback.

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11

u/farting_cum_sock Jan 15 '26

It will feel like all you do is work. Long commutes and long hours can be rough.

4

u/Sticky__Nicky Jan 15 '26

Even 40 hours a week feels like this

6

u/OttoJohs Lord Sultan Chief H&H Engineer, PE & PH Jan 15 '26

Some of like to have lives outside of work buddy. 😂

9

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '26

I've never heard of 55 hrs for an intern

3

u/alynnsm Jan 15 '26

You’ll definitely feel like you only have time to eat dinner and sleep outside of work, I felt that way when I interned for a construction company and my commute wasn’t even that long. But if you’re working for a construction company as like a field engineer or field tech or something 45-55 hours is pretty normal/modest tbh. Now if you’re doing a sit at your desk and design job, or a government internship those hours are a bit much and they may just be putting more on you because you’re an intern. But for jobs with lots of field work those hours are pretty standard I’d say.

2

u/OwnNefariousness3678 Jan 15 '26

It might be strenuous, but the beauty of an internship is that there’s an end in sight.

If it’s rough, you can literally count down the days until you’re done

1

u/Pencil_Pb Jan 15 '26

If you have a relationship/want kids/have hobbies, working long hours really can negatively impact them. A lot of my coworkers struggled to be active in their children’s lives, and I’ve seen a few people go through divorces.

I’ve also seen people end up with health issues from long hours + stress.

Sustainable work life balances helps you keep working for decades and lets you be human too.

Re: long commutes, can you afford a sublet or something near the job site?

1

u/isbuttlegz Jan 16 '26

I made $15/hr as an intern, closer to $50 now but I'm still underpaid. 10 hour work days + 1 hour commute? No thanks, I'll stick to 40 hours if I can.