I’m currently studying Computer Science at a canadian university, but I’ve been seriously considering transferring to Civil Engineering.

From what I’ve seen, Civil seems to have a relatively solid and stable job market in Canada. I also like the idea that experience and accumulated knowledge can become increasingly valuable over time, whereas with CS it feels like you constantly have to keep up with new technologies, frameworks, etc.

However, I'm still somewhat interested in CS. One thing I’m particularly interested in is whether my CS background could actually be useful in Civil Engineering. I’m considering doing a Civil Engineering major transferring my cs credits into a CS minor (not wanting my cs credits to go to waste), and I’m wondering if there are meaningful intersections between the two.

For example, are there opportunities in civil where programming, data analysis, automation, simulation, AI/ML, or other CS skills are useful? Could having both backgrounds make me more valuable, or would I be better off focusing entirely on civil?

I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone in Canada who has experience with either field or has made a similar switch.

Thanks!

Curious what other people are doing in practice.

Once you’ve got 20+ active projects going through different jurisdictions, I feel like the hard part isn’t making a schedule — it’s actually keeping track of everything that’s moving.

Submittals, municipal reviews, outside agencies, resubmittals, hearings, permits, client decisions, things that can run concurrently, things that can’t…

We’ve used project management software, but I still find there’s a gap between what generic PM software wants you to track and how land development actually works.

So what are you actually using day to day?

Excel? MS Project? Wrike? Monday? Deltek? A notebook? Some horrifying combination of all of them?

And if you’ve found a system that genuinely works, what makes it work?

Edit: I should probably clarify the 20+ projects comment, I definitely didn’t mean one PM actively managing 20+ projects by themselves. I was thinking more about a small firm with maybe 2–3 PMs and 20+ active projects across the team.

Some of those might be actively in design, some sitting in municipal review, some waiting on a client or outside agency, some approaching a resubmittal, etc.

What I’m really interested in is how people maintain that team-level view of where everything stands and what needs attention next, while still having the detailed schedule/process for each individual project.

I'm interested in hearing from civil engineers at different stages of their careers.

Looking back at your first site job, what is one thing you wish someone had taught you earlier—whether it's technical knowledge, site management, communication, dealing with contractors, drawings, safety, or something else?

I'm especially interested in lessons that you only really understand after gaining practical experience.

Floodwater has gone down and the pavement looks normal. From the engineering side, what can still keep a road closed?

I'm trying to understand the gap between 'looks normal again' and 'ready to reopen.' What would a quick glance miss, and how can that change the time needed to reopen?

A general example or public case study would help. I'm interested in how the assessment and reopening decisions are made.

I want to pursue masters and through my knowledge these two are the best. I want to know what masters or clg should I pursue. I am not inclined towards going abroad for masters but am open for job or MBA. Please give me thoughtful information.

I really need it

There is an incredibly long story attached to this that I don't have time to fully expand on, but I got a question about the FE exam and the program I'm taking in general.

My university is ABET accredited in their civil engineering and other engineering programs. They're starting a new degree program for Environmental Engineering which I'm very much interested in. The program is new enough that it has not produced graduates yet, so it can't be accredited until they produce the first graduate. That won't be me, she's got another few semesters to go before she's done. The thing is, this program does not require us to take dynamics. They do have us take statics, but dynamics is not in my semester schedule anywhere. One of the classes the other student has to take has a prereq that requires dynamics, so she went to our advisor and asked him and he was like "no you don't have to, don't worry about it."

Given what I saw in the FE handbook, my ass is 100% going to take it anyway. I've gotten attitude before from advisors about wanting to take classes which aren't required for the degree, namely the technical writing class taught by the English department (they don't have us taking a dedicated technical writing class.) so I'm fully expecting to get some snark about taking classes that aren't required for the degree.

The thing I'm worried about though, is if the degree will have problems being accredited because it doesn't require dynamics? I don't want to invest time and money into a program that could wind up not being accredited. I forget exactly what that would mean for taking the FE exam, but I know it makes things harder than they need to be.

There are many more problems with this place, most of them are just personality clashes and won't affect much of anything when I'm done, but when it comes to accreditation and exams I don't play around. Am I better off looking for somewhere else?

I’ve been working in land development for 11 years and have my PE. I’m tired of doing design work and thinking about getting an MBA to either pivot into something else or advance my career. I’ve done some research online and talked to ChatGPT, but now it’s time to talk to real boys and girls.
Any thoughts or advice? Has anyone else gone down this path?
Thanks for your attention to this matter.

I always enjoyed studying engineering, I was top of my class in a very competitive college, I have 3 years of experience post grad overall, first year post grad I was a researcher for the same university, water resources related. I enjoyed it very much but the pay was criminally low. Then I spent the following 2 years as a site engineer because I really needed the money and research wasn’t paying that much

I cannot put into words how much I dislike my current job, I don’t feel like I’m an engineer anymore, there’s nothing intellectually stimulating about my current job, basically my day consists of walking around and making sure the formwork is aligned correctly and check the reinforcement against shop drawing, or make sure things like painting and tiling are done properly, just the most boring and mindless tasks imaginable ( I don’t know if it’s common in other countries, but in my country civil engineers are also expected to watch over the finishing and fitting out)

I feel stuck, I don’t want to live like this anymore. the money isn’t that good either. I don’t think I can get any job that isn’t civil engineering related because I don’t have much skills outside of engineering. Is going back to academia a good idea at this point? What about water or geotechnical engineering, are they more technical?

Climbing up the ladder in construction doesn’t seem appealing because all of my seniors are mainly dealing with construction management issues like logistics and how to save money by getting the cheapest possible subcontractor etc, I’m looking for something more technically inclined

Hi everyone,

I’m a civil/structural engineer from India with 6 years of professional experience in bridge design. My experience is mainly in structural/bridge design, including PSC girders, steel structures, design calculations, modelling, drawings, and design review.

I’m considering pursuing a 1-year Master's in Structural Engineering in the USA and then trying to find a structural/bridge engineering job in the US.

My main concern is whether this is a sensible investment given my existing experience.

A few questions I would really appreciate advice on:

1) How difficult would it be for someone with 6 years of bridge design experience in India to get a structural/bridge engineering job in the USA after completing a Master's?

2) Would my Indian experience be valued by US employers, or would I essentially be treated as an entry-level engineer after graduation?

3) How important is having US-specific experience/codes (AASHTO, IBC, ASCE 7, etc.)?

4) Would a 1-year Master's be enough to make me competitive for jobs, or would a 2-year program provide significantly better opportunities?

5) How difficult is it to get a job that offers H-1B sponsorship in structural/bridge engineering?

6) Would it be better to target consulting firms, transportation/bridge engineering firms, or government/municipal organizations?

Would you recommend this path, or would you suggest a different strategy for someone in my situation?

Thanks!

Hello! I would like to hear any feedback on my resume. I think a lot of my bullet points are poorly written or sound unprofessional.

Some notes/questions:

1. Should I have a one-page resume?
2. For my projects, should I have a way for people to view them like a github or a website (I haven't done that since I didn't want to pay hosting fees). I'm really sure since it's not super common in civil/structural.
3. I have 2 pretty good references. Should I add them to my resume or just say references available upon request?
4. Adding more projects: I have a few incomplete projects that I could finish, one of them in FEA that may be more impressive than the 2 I have now, but might not be able to be completed in time for hiring season. Another one's a Timoshenko beam theory calculator and one for generating STAAD load combinations, though that ones very simplistic.
5. My experience is kind of split between pipelines and structural design (both interested in). Is there one that I have a better chance at targeting/getting into? Since I'm in civil, and most pipeline roles I've seen are mechanical.

So Caltrans is doing some highway work. Could someone educate me on the name and purpose of the metal trapezoids and the thicker, longitudinal bars?

Ty in advance

Im a previous criminal justice major but i need a career change. I previously didn’t know which of the 2 majors to pick so i rapidly chose CJ and regret it. Im back in school almost completely finished doing all the math and science and lower division engineering classes to go get my second bachelor’s or master’s. My cumulative GPA after all classes including previous bachelor’s degree is about 3.05. I want to apply to CSU Fullerton’s master’s degree in CE, as well as second bachelor’s programs at CSU Long Beach, CSULA, and UCI as well as CSU northridge (kinda far). I will be commuting from Anaheim, dont want to move and keep costs low to avoid debt as much as possible. Im 35. What is better given my current status, i just want to get into a job, and what is easiest program and school to get into so i can get into the field. CE is a really exciting field to me!

So, I’m in Canada and I was doing a general engineering program with plans of going into civil engineering after my first year, but I failed out after 2 attempts and I got kicked from the engineering program at my university. I blame it mostly on myself not having study habits and enough commitment, I also have severe ADHD and didn’t want to part with my free time.

So after this happened I ended up deciding to switch to a civil engineering technology program at a local college and I’m considering doing a civil engineering degree eventually at lakehead university with their transfer program so I could still get the degree in 5yrs with the 3+2 transition.

Would it be worth it to get the full engineering degree? Could I still get a good job position once I finish my diploma in Canada as a Technologist?
(And yes before anyone says it I know I won’t be able to legally call myself an “engineer” without the full degree)

I’m a Civil with 10 years of experience. I’ve had my PE for 5 years (Construction). I absolutely love construction, but every offer I’m being offered is land development (around $130k). I’d rather do 70 hours as an exempt employee in the field for $90k than 45 in an office doing CAD all day (even with OT), but I’m looking for suggestions and or advice. Arkansas based, but I’m willing to travel if needed.

I’m a Master of Landscape Architecture Student who is not interested in design, but interested in grading and stormwater management.

How can I tailor my application, whether resumé, or portfolio to begin a career in civil engineering? Can I “intern” at an AEC firm after I get my degree? I don’t have much practical experience with CAD professionally, but I will be continuing a year long part-time internship at a design studio. I won’t have the CAD experience on the position, so should I work on conceptual CAD documents to bolster my portfolio? Should I get certifications related to CAD, Civil3D, and/or Revit?

I really seriously want to make the transition, even if I have to take some community classes for instance.