I’m an engineer with about 2 years of experience in land development, and I’ve recently become curious about some other areas of the industry, particularly transportation engineering.

I know it’s common to hear about people leaving and coming to engineering entirely, but I’m more interested in how feasible it is to switch disciplines within civil engineering once you’ve already started down a particular path.

A few questions for those who have made a similar move or have experience hiring:
- How difficult is it to transition from land development to transportation engineering (or another civil discipline)?
- Does it become harder to switch the longer you stay in one sector?
- At what point do employers start viewing you as “too specialized” to make a change?
- How much of my land development experience would still be considered relevant if I applied for transportation roles?
- Would any of my previous experience essentially not count toward career progression because it’s in a different discipline?
- If I switched after 5–10 years instead of now, would I likely have to take a step back in title, responsibilities, or compensation?

I’m not necessarily planning to make the jump immediately, but I’d like to understand how flexible civil engineering careers are and whether it’s something I should explore sooner rather than later.

So I got an offer from HDR, and I wanted to know how often they give raises. I would be within the broad engineering department (I don’t want to give away my identity lol). Are raises really department dependent? Or it is a company wide thing? does my direct supervisors determine if I get a raise or not? Or is it determined by company policy as a whole.

Thank you!

I'm looking to take my civil FE and apply for my EIT license. I have 2 years of experience as a part time water resources engineer intern. I just got my bachelor's in environmental science from UC Davis.

So... will my part time job count as 2 years of work experience?

And is it possible to say I've had at least a year's worth of engineering college level education if I've taken upper division hydrology courses and other college level physics, mathematics, GIS, geology, and surveying classes? Between community college and university I have about 7 years of full time classes under my belt.

Or should I try to get my masters in specifically civil engineering? Any advice would help. I am in CA. Thanks!

Just hit substantial completion today and couldn't be more proud of this project.

Interned as a CMT and was extended an offer at a large international firm with multiple business lines. Pretty firm on pursuing my masters in structural engineering with hopes to work in properties and buildings. Considering taking the offer contingent on that they can accommodate me pursing my education via evening classes. Compensation and benefits are fair and all with a clear path to work as a PM in 3-4 years time; however, I would ideally transition to a structural group within the firm given the opportunity. Company also has tuition reimbursement still working out the details on that but I am fairly certain I would qualify. I graduate this next spring and am taking my EIT this fall.

Would working as a CMT stunt my career or be a mistake? I know it’s far from the real design work I want to do but I figured some field experience for a year or 2 while I wrap up my masters could be somewhat valuable despite not being quite translatable. Should I just try to intern in a different group within the company since I already have my foot in the door? What’s the wisest career move here?

Feel like it’s definitely a strong financial move; I’m just hoping it wouldn’t hinder my long term career. Would love to hear yals thoughts!

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

For anyone who's done or is doing a civil engineering degree in the UK, how difficult would you say it was/is, and would you say you enjoyed it?

Hi, I'm hoping to get some advice and interested in hearing peoples thoughts on progression to become a well rounded engineer and succeeding in the field.

I'm currently working for a large consultancy in the UK in the water sector. I have a few years experience with them out of uni with a masters degree.

Generally I enjoy the work and feel like I'm developing my skills, my experience has been more in the early design stages with optioneering, concept and outline design with a bit of a gap at the detailed design and construction end which I really want to fill. I know those opportunities will come and I'll fill that gap in my experience soon with the amount of work in the sector. But I'm tempted with looking at moving to a contracting firm to see if it's for me, although I do enjoy the flexibility and hours working at a consultancy.

However, I do want to get people's thoughts and how to become a well rounded and knowledgeable engineer. Do you feel you have to work as both a consultant and contractor to get the full range of experience or are there some of you that have just stuck as one for most of your careers?

For context, I graduated last year with a degree in Civil Engineering and immediately started an MS in Data Science program. My goal has always been to work in the transportation field, where I can combine my civil engineering background with the analytical and data skills I’ve developed. applied to nearly 300 roles ranging from transportation and traffic engineering to construction project roles.
The frustrating part is getting rejections even for positions that mention only a high school diploma requirement and 0 years of experience.

I’m also preparing for the exam through the Texas Board next month, but at this point, I’m starting to question whether it will make a difference or help me move forward in my career path 😔😢

I’m lost here , for example ; there is literally like 30-35 applications I sent to WPS for Entry level role , all got rejected even for those that clearly says entry level 0 YOE …
I tailored my resume to match the job role, highlighted the relevant keywords, and added some civil engineering-related projects I’ve worked on, but still nothing happened.

I don’t need sponsorship ( USC) !

Any advice from people in civil engineering, transportation, or analytics would be greatly appreciated.

Edit 1: out of 300 I applied , Only had a screening call from KH and they went silent for weeks and a month…..

I’m a licensed Civil/Structural PE with about 2 years of experience in structural consulting, primarily in heavy civil/marine infrastructure. I recently interviewed for a structural engineering role with a precast concrete manufacturer (product/manufacturing side), and it seems like it may result in an offer.

The compensation would be significantly better than my current consulting role, but I’m trying to think beyond just salary.

For those who have made the jump from consulting to the product/manufacturing side:

- Do you enjoy it more than consulting?
- What does your day-to-day work look like?
- Do you miss consulting at all?
- Did you feel like your technical skills continued to grow, or did they become more specialized?
- If you wanted to return to consulting later, was that difficult?
- How are the hours, stress level, and work-life balance compared to consulting?
- Has the move helped or limited your long-term career opportunities?

I’m particularly interested in hearing from structural engineers who moved into precast, steel, bridge products, or other infrastructure/manufacturing companies.

Looking back, would you make the same decision again? Why or why not?

Let's say someone worked maybe 3-5 years as a CAD tech, materials tester, estimator, whatever, and then went back to school for a bachelor's in CivE. Would that prior experience make a big difference on the job hunt? I assume it doesn't get you any closer to becoming a PE since you weren't an EIT for it, but I was wondering how favorably it's seen on a resume anyway

Looking for honest advice from people who have actually been through the process, not what the websites say.

Has anyone gotten into a Canadian MEng or MS in civil engineering or a related field with a GPA below 3.0 but 5+ years of professional experience?

Did the work experience actually move the needle, or is GPA a hard cutoff in practice regardless of what programs claim?

Any programs that were more flexible or realistic than others? Online options especially appreciated.

Not looking for the official answer, looking for what actually happened for you.

Currently working for a different state DOT and am in a senior roadway design position that will top out at ~$175k. Considering moving states due to the VHCOL. Looking for feedback on those who have or currently work for UDOT. Also, what are the senior level positions and could I apply directly?

Hey All,

After 3 years in the land dev industry, I began a new position this Monday in the Civil Aviation field. Land dev definitely burnt me out, and I was eager to begin learning a new role in a slightly different practice area that should still allow me to utilize most of the skills I have learned since graduating. Everything has been going well so far with the onboarding process--I was excited to hit the ground running getting my hands dirty on some smaller projects, But I just learned this afternoon from my group lead that both my direct reports at my local office who I assumed I would be learning from will be resigning by early/mid August. My lead told me our group has a number of teams throughout the country that I can transition to, so there should still be work available for me, but I'll be the only civil aviation engineer at my current office.

My supervisors leaving were the ones who interviewed me, I took the offer because I felt like they would be a good team to work with-- and I've experienced no red flags so far since starting... except for this new development, which certainly has me worried. Both were out of office this afternoon so I was unable to discuss this with either of them today, but I definitely will try to discuss this with them both separately off-the-record later this week to get a better understanding for why they are leaving so abruptly. The company was acquired at the beginning of the year, and the full migration to our new branding/emails/etc. will happen here in the next few weeks. I'm thinking that may have something to do with it? Not keen on the full acquisition details. What confuses me is why they decided to extend me an offer if both were probably making active plans to leave at the same time I had applied and was interviewing? I know everyone has to do what is specifically best for them so I'm not taking it personally, but now I'm a little worried for what my future is going to look like moving forward. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? Is this a sign I should jump ship or still try to stick this out? Some outside perspective from y'all may help me process this situation. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

I'm considering getting a Master's degree in Civil Engineering, but I'm not sure if it would be worth it. I already have a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and most of my professional experience is as a Quality Engineer in automotive manufacturing for 10 years. I'd like to switch careers and work in Civil Engineering for a local municipality or maybe a federal government organization.

Should I just work on passing the FE then apply for EIT roles? Or should I pursue a Master's degree in Civil Engineering, pass the FE and apply for EIT roles then? I'm not sure what to do.

I appreciate any advice.

Hey,
As the title says im graduating may 2027 and I’m not sure when I should applying for jobs.
I know right now is definitely early but Just saw WSP posting for entry level job at my city and I really want to apply
Also, if im gonna start applying now or before winter, is it ok to add my winter internship to my resume with “expected dates”?

Also this might be a really weird situation but, I applied to Langan before for CAD designer and got interviewed by HR over the phone, at that time I was a sophomore at college and didn’t really want the job when I got the call due to being busy with school so my interview was horrible, nothing particularly bad that I remember but just generally bad, ever since I have been applying to their internships and getting the auto rejection email, is it possible HR hated me so much they blacklisted me? ☹️ Langan is one of the top companies I wanna get into, is it ok if I email same HR if she still working there? With my resume

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to get some honest feedback because I'm struggling to understand where I stand in the Canadian job market.

I recently graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from China. I have two internships related to transportation planning and structural engineering, but all of my experience was in China (not in Canada)

I recently became a Canadian permanent resident and will be moving to British Columbia shortly.

I've tailored my resume to Canadian standards, I'm planning to register as an EIT with EGBC, and I've been applying for Graduate Civil Engineer/EIT positions.

However, I've already been rejected from some graduate positions without receiving an interview.

I completely understand that the market is competitive, but I'm trying to understand what employers are likely seeing on my resume that makes them pass on my application.

Is it mainly because:

my degree is from China?

I don't have Canadian work experience?

my internships aren't considered equivalent?

there are simply too many stronger candidates?

or something else?

If you were reviewing my resume as a hiring manager, what would immediately concern you?

More importantly, what would you recommend I do over the next 3–6 months to become someone who actually gets interviews for graduate civil engineering positions?

I'd really appreciate honest feedback, even if it's blunt.

Proving my earlier point, QS salaries are higher than (consultant) civil engineers. Both are desk based roles, both require good numerical skill sets, an understanding of guidance, and practical experience.
One requires a masters degree, the other does not.
Yet QS salaries are about 10-20% higher. Why?