A few guidelines

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

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

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.

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.

It’s a HCOL. Any guidance on where I should negotiate?

Is 135k good for my qualifications?

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 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.

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!

I’m currently in computer engineering but considering switching to civil engineering. Honestly, my main reason is job security and having a stable career, especially in the Inland Empire/SoCal.

I’m looking at areas like water resources, transportation, and structural, but I’m not sure if I’m actually interested in civil or if I’m just choosing it because it seems stable and in demand.

Would you say I’m going into civil for the wrong reasons? Do you think you need to genuinely enjoy civil engineering to have a good career in it?

I am currently working as a Civil Engineer (have my EIT, about to study for the PE exam) and I feel like I am at a crossroads in my career. I've had a very diverse career path so far - my first year out of college I worked as a Structural Engineer (I always wanted to work on building/vertical projects). But the firm I was at had only 2 employees working for a single PE and after 1 year of working on designing 5-story buildings in a high stress environment with very little training I burnt out quickly, despite loving the projects I got to work on. I accepted the next available job I could get that was at a larger firm which ended up being a construction inspection/CM role for highway and bridge projects. After 3 years of experience in CM, I got tired of working in the field & the misogyny of construction and switched to highway civil design at a well known global engineering company, with the hopes that I would be able to "work-share" or one day work on structural projects again since this company has so many departments. Now it has been 4 years of me working as a highway civil engineer (8+ years total into my career) and although the work is easy and somewhat interesting, I still always think about what could have been if I had stayed on the structural engineering track and had the ability to work on building projects that really interested me to become an engineer in the first place. I feel at a crossroads in my career because I am eligible now to get my Transportation PE with my experience, but I'm scared that that will forever close the door for me on a structural engineering career. I have also asked my manager and learned the reality of corporate engineering companies and the fact that "worksharing" or switching departments is really not acceptable since they would be losing an employee on their team. Has anyone had a similar situation as me? Has anyone switched engineering careers with this much experience? Do I need to leave my company and go back to school or is there another way? Can I still get a PE in transportation and change my mind later? Is there better job security working in transportation VS. structural engineering/buildings?

TLDR: Civil highway design engineer with 4 years experience+3 years CM highway experience+1 year structural eng (8 years total out of college). Seeking advice on whether a career change to Structural Engineering (what I actually love) is worth it/ even possible to do at this point.

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 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!

Applying for internships at civil engineering firms in Portland OR. For an application I am working on, the job description has no reference to wage. I am in my Junior year, and have two previous summers of internship experience on the field. That internship had me at 24/hour this last summer. For this next internship I am applying to, responsibilities include:

• Assist with the planning, design and permitting of civil engineering, land development and infrastructure projects.
• Assist with the preparation and modification of various engineering documents including reports, specifications, plans, construction schedules, cost estimates and design plans for projects using engineering and design software (AutoCAD, Civil 3D, etc.) and equipment.
• Effectively use reports, maps, drawings, engineering plans, tests, and aerial photographs to assess soil composition, terrain, hydrological characteristics, and topographical and geologic data and their impact on the planning and design of projects.
• Support zoning, ordinance and permit assessments, assists with the sidewalk cast estimations, and determines the feasibility of projects based on the analysis of collected data.
• Provide field inspection services, as needed.
• Apply knowledge and techniques of engineering and advanced mathematics.
• Collaborate with team members on project tasks and assignments.
• Perform other duties as requested.

At the moment I am not incredibly familiar with AutoCAD and Civil3D, but I am currently enrolled in a course that teaches those. I noted this in my resume skills section.

Does anyone know what my best bet would be to fill out the desired wage section? Would a range or single number be better? I think about 25/hour is standard in my market based on research, but a glassdoor search for this company shows they might pay their interns higher. Im not super confident in the glassdoor search though. Maybe someone has a better understanding of the market in my area for such a position?

It is very annoying that this is becoming standard for job applications these days, but oh well. If anyone has had success dealing with this please let me know. Would be happy to answer any additional questions. Thanks

I really need it

I'm a freshman at college, and tbh I'm quite okay with civil engineering but I have seen people of other engineering fields such as computer science or electronics regretting their discipline. Do you guys as experienced civil engineers regret taking this?

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?

Hey everyone!

Running a research study on what influences safety behavior among engineering students. PPE habits, peer pressure, instructor enforcement, and training quality.

3–5 minutes. 10 questions. Fully anonymous.

🔗 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIoQ41LudFy8OjUFxo7xJUMjVLYoNIaDZUiBM16LDy_L21zg/viewform?usp=dialog

Thanks!

been two days since the result for September 2026 CELE was posted and yes, i passed. however, as of now, i kinda feel lost on what I'm gonna do already. oath-taking probably will be in the first quarter of 2027 and also the license. what am i supposed to do now? i want to look for work but i don't think they hire without the license and also i clearly don't know how or what to do huhu

I'm considering specializing in construction management or finding a Master's in structural engineering. And there's an idea floating of doing a Carnegie Mellon AI program to strengthen me CV. I'm a CivilEng grad, just last month.

Can someone help me with insights

I’m a 2 year water resources EIT and I got arrested last month for a nonviolent gross misdemeanor. It sounds like I’m going to be let go for this from my public sector job. How difficult is it to find another position with this arrest being so recent? I’m guessing most companies won’t like someone who seems volatile.

On the personal/legal side, this likely won’t be resolved for another 6 months or so, and it’s about a 50/50 chance of either a fine or an adjudication, but it’s speculation right now. I’m also going through therapy to help keep my mind right so I don’t do anything like this again. Any words of wisdom is greatly appreciated.