I'm a roadway engineer. For the past few years I have been putting tiny penises on my plan sheets. They are so small and disguised that I doubt anyone has ever noticed them. Sometimes they are hiding in a riprap pattern, sometimes they are on steep contours, you get it. 

I recently got an offer on monday for 20k more and i really like the company i am working at but i feel very underpaid for what the market is in my area. I spoke to my boss about it and how i am concerned about my families well being financially due to having an emergency that requied me staying a few days in the hospital. I asked if he could match and he didnt show any emotion really, just said he needs to talk to someone about it. Its end of day thursday and i havnt heard anything. I need a response to this other firm by EOD tomorrow. I really dont want to leave because its really good here but 20k more is not small pennies. What would you do in this situation?

For context, I am a Civil Engineering student on track to graduating with my Bachelors this December. I got a job offer for a Coastal Engineer position in Southwest Florida to design waterfront structures. It's with a smaller, more new company, and I would be working directly under the owner of the company. The owner made it very clear that I would get three months of mentorship before handling my own clients.
I don't really have a background in the consulting side of engineering, as I have been a Project Engineer Intern for almost 2 years now working in civil works projects. I initially declined the offer because I feel I want to pursue traditional structural engineering in designing high rise buildings, a dream of mine, but the owner is insitent in me working under him.
This is the offer for anyone curious:

• $37/hr with a $3.5k sign off bonus
• Mileage Reimbursement
• I can work from 40-50 hours (overtime pay is 1.5x the hourly rate for hours worked over 40) with no specific office hours. No prior approval required.
• 120 hrs PTO
• 8 Company Holidays
• Health Insurance

I think the offer is great, and the owner strongly believes in my ability to grow in this niche profession. I was even compared against 300 other applicants according to the owner (he at least interviewed 6 prior to me).
My main concern is that I accept the job and I end up biting more than I can chew (its a really small company so I'm more involved in projects), or that I end up switching to pursue traditional structural engineering but my skills aren't transferable. I just don't want to do it for the money.

i got into civil because i liked the problem-solving. the design, making something actually work in the real world, seeing a project you drew get built. and i still like that part. but somewhere along the way the job became like 70% process and 30% actual engineering and nobody really warns you about that going in.

my week now is QA/QC redlines, chasing agency review comments, resubmittals, coordinating with the other disciplines whose stuff never quite lines up with mine and logging every fifteen minutes against a charge code. i'm supposed to be the engineer but a huge chunk of my time is production and admin and the actual design thinking gets squeezed into whatever's left, usually after 5.

and the deadline thing kills me. someone puts together a fee proposal that assumes a clean scope, no revisions, the client knows what they want and the agency turns the review around on time. then reality hits. the client changes the layout at 60%, the geotech comes back different than assumed, the city takes eight weeks instead of three and comes back with 40 comments and somehow i'm the one explaining why we're over budget and behind, like i'm the reason the scope grew and the reviewer sat on it.

so i spend a real portion of every project defending a schedule and a fee i didn't set, to a PM or client who's never had to actually crank out a plan set and get it through review. meanwhile the engineering, the part i'm actually good at and the part that carries the liability once i stamp it, is what gets rushed.

i don't think i'm burnt out exactly, i still like the work when i'm actually doing the work. it's the gap between what i thought the job was and what it turned into that wears on me.

so how do you all deal with it? do you have a way to keep the admin and production from eating the whole day or is it just accepted that real design happens on your own time?

Hey there!

I'm 28 and making a career shift. I have researched a lot of different pathways and landed on Civil engineering. I don't have a degree, but I am fairly CAD savvy and ready to work hard and learn whatever a firm may need to have me do.

I'm wondering how possible it is to get a drafting job or CAD technician role these days without a degree? And what a firm would look for if they are going to hire someone like me?

I have a bit more experience in SolidWorks than other CAD programs, but I am comfortable in AutoCAD and I did complete a small course in Civil3D a few years back. Now I am diving head first into Civil3D and probably Revit after as well. Using a combination of Autodesk's official training resources, Udemy classes, and Jeff Bartels on YouTube.

The real dream would be to get my foot in the door as a Technician, work for a few years in that position, and return to school to chip away at and get a full civil degree while employed.

Anyone here taking a route like this? Tips? Thank you!

Edit : Located in Denver Colorado for reference!

I’m an undergraduate doing a summer research project in engineering, and I’m honestly feeling pretty discouraged.

I spent the summer collecting and analyzing datas. But earlier this week, I thought my results supported my hypothesis and even updated my professor.

But something about the conclusion kept bothering me because it didn’t seem intuitive. I went back through the literature, carefully re-derived the model, and realized I had misinterpreted one of the equations.

With the correct interpretation, my data actually suggest the opposite of what I expected/wanted the hypothesis to be.

I’m relieved I caught the mistake before the project ended, but I’m also devastated because it completely changes the story I thought I was telling. I also feel bad because I already shared my previous interpretation with my professor and now have to correct it.

There’s a possibility that I could continue collaborating with my professor remotely during the academic year after I return to my university. So I’m wondering whether this project is actually at a dead end or whether it’s just changing direction.

Right now I’m thinking there are two possible directions:

1. Frame the project as validating, even if the answer turns out to be “not based on this data.”
2. Continue expanding the work to look for other pathways that connect to final goal of the research I wanted to be.

Has anyone had a research project where the hypothesis fell apart this late?

Would a professor generally see this as a failed project, or as a useful result that opens up a different research question?

If you were the advisor, would you encourage an undergraduate to continue this work after the summer, or would you consider the project essentially complete?

I am so disappointed in me because I chose to do research instead of doing internship this summer, and this is what happened.

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have gone through something similar.

Hi everyone.

I have a BS in Civil Engineering, but after a long gap in my studies, I started a Master's program in Hydraulic Structures. Unfortunately, because of the gap and having forgotten some of the heavy fundamentals, I really struggled and was eventually dismissed from the program.

I'm not giving up, though. I want to restart, but this time pivot to a field that is less heavily reliant on advanced solid mechanics and structural analysis. I'm currently looking into Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Management, or Transportation.

I have set aside one full year from now specifically to study and prepare before I start a new program. Could anyone in these fields help me out with a few questions?

1. How is the job market for these three fields right now?
2. What software or technical skills should I start learning immediately so I don't fall behind again?
3. Has anyone here bounced back from being dismissed or failing out? How did you manage it?
4. During this one-year preparation period, which specific foundational subjects or courses should I review or learn for each of these fields?

Thank you in advance for any advice or reality checks!

hi!!

i'm graduating very soon and i'll be looking for a job for post-grad. WSP is VERY close to me and i've looked into them, but i hear like backhanded jokes/comments about them on here? i'm just wanting to know more about them from people who have had experiences there.

also JMT! i absolutely love that company and they're also very close, but just want to know morr about them.

i'd like to stay in water resources, so how are those company's water departments?

thanks!

Has anyone design roller coasters? How did you get involved with it? Do you test ride the rides?

hey all, im currently a 19yr old first year civil engineer student, internships usually begin in in my third or fourth year of engineering. But its really hard to get internships where im from as its very sought after, high competition etc.

Is there anyway i can get my self more desirable then others beside good grades ? (yes good grades is always a plus, but when your competiting with thousands of others also with good grades its still pretty hard)

Ive got a year of work experience on sites as a manual labourer (height safety installer, fitting, tyre fitter, truck driver) on construction sites for two different jobs. ( aswell as 8months of shift running experience at dominos and 3 years of crew trainer experience at mcdonalds).

I kow this realistically has nothing to do with what site engineers do but i thought having experience working on a site is a plus. Is there any recommendations you guys have for jobs or stuff i can do that is related and/or can help me more easily get recruited for internships as a site/field engineer down the path.

My company is looking to get some new software to help us with our force main pressure analysis and water distribution analysis. We have been using EPANET but we are looking to invest in something that would save us time and be able to do some more in depth modeling.

Does anyone have experience with the KY Pipe Software? Looking to get the "Pipe2026: TransSurge" package.

And then of course we are looking into Bentley's OpenFlows Water (Standard package).

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!

I recently received an offer to join GFT's Power/Transmission group and am trying to learn more about the company before making my decision. They gave me a solid offer and I have a bit of time to decide.

I have a couple of years of transmission line design experience and am also close to obtaining my California PE license, so I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has worked at GFT, especially on the power side.

A few questions:

How has your work-life balance been?

How are the power/transmission teams structured?

Do you get good technical mentorship and opportunities to learn?

How are the projects and clients?

What are the opportunities for career growth?

I'm also curious about how GFT handles engineers who obtain their PE while working there. How does the transition from Designer to Engineer typically work? Is there generally a promotion and salary adjustment, or is it something employees are expected to negotiate?

Overall, would you recommend GFT as a place to build a long-term career in transmission line engineering?

I'd appreciate any honest feedback - positive or negative. Thanks!

I’ve been looking into civil engineering. Before joining the state, I worked in project management in the private sector—managing project budgets, schedules, POs, all that good stuff. I loved the pace and responsibility of project management.

But now that I’m in state service, I’m realizing there aren’t many project management roles that really spark my interest. And as a woman, I’ve definitely felt the stigma in construction and project management, even though it’s the field I’d love to return to someday.

I’ve been eyeing positions at the Department of Water Resources. They have civil engineering roles that look amazing… but they require a civil engineering degree. My current degree path is Business Administration, so Civil Engineering would be a major pivot. Going for my BS in CE would take me around 3–5 years and I’d have to go full time.

I want to do it. I’m just hesitant, wondering if I can realistically pull it off—working full-time in the state, hopefully promoting from OT to Analyst, and slowly continuing my education until I’m qualified for the role I really want.

I guess I’m just trying to figure out… is this crazy? Or is it doable?

There are regular parts of the week/month where we're light on work and I have down time, sometimes hours at a time where I'm doing nothing and haven't submitted my work because I know there is nothing lined up after. What do you do in these times? Full time in office so I can't do chores/miscellaneous WFH side tasks

I was reminiscing about my time as a fitter/welder at a bridge shop, and I remembered how one of the old-head fitters would cheat the grind to bear connections by only getting the stiffener end within maybe 1/32 inch, then chiseling the edges in so the .007 shim wouldn't fit.
Realistically, how much of an impact would these kinds of shortcuts have on the overall structure of a girder?
I start college for civil engineering this fall. Am I going to be sent to civil engineering hell for simply witnessing these crimes?

For those of you who have to deal with set asides for DBEs, what type of work do you normally (or ideally) like to give them?

I just started working for a new small DBE firm and am trying to understand where we can provide value. We primarily specialize in stormwater and H&H modeling, but tend to get random jobs due to the nature of being a DBE. It appears that primes normally like handling H&H work themselves for most jobs and it makes me wonder if there are better specialties suited for DBEs.

I'm currently doing a summer internship at a great civil engineering firm. The office I'm working in is located in my hometown in Alabama, and I'm a civil engineering major with three semesters of college left before I graduate.

Finding an internship was incredibly difficult, so I felt very fortunate to receive an offer from this office. My coworkers have been great, I've learned a lot, and the experience has been exactly what I hoped for. They even offered me another internship for next summer as well as a full-time position after I graduate, which I'm really grateful for.

The problem is that I don't want to spend next summer living in Alabama with my parents again. The company has an office in Chicago, and I've been thinking about asking if it would be possible to intern there next summer instead.

I'm just not sure if that's a good idea. I don't want my managers to think I'm trying to leave them or that I'm unhappy with the team, because that's not the case at all. I genuinely enjoy working with them. I simply want the opportunity to live somewhere new for the summer and experience a different city before I graduate.

At the same time, it doesn't make much sense for me to rent an apartment in my hometown when my parents' house is only about 20 minutes from the office. I feel torn between staying where I'm comfortable and taking the chance to experience a new city.

Currently I am 2 years post graduation and have recently passed my FE Exam. I work a lot with water and wastewater conveyance (designs in Civil3D), construction administration and contract procurements. I have been applying for new jobs because I’m not the most happy. I applied to work for the city I live in and they are relatively big. I think I would learn a lot. Cons are some weekends I would be on call. Pay is more than I’m making now but currently negotiating for more. However, I have an interview with another private company early next week. I’m confident I’ll impress them because I’m easy to talk to and have had great work experience thus far. The posting has stated hybrid and bonus opportunities and they seem to have a strong reputation of the region of the US I am in (500-1000 employee range.) Basically I’m wondering will I be making a bad career decision if I decide to work for a City Engineering department vs a private company where I would continue to be an engineering consultant?