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

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!

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.

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

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?

Hello,

Talking to a few buddies from college who work in my area who’s employers including the NYSDOT say if they had proof of making student loan payments the employer had ability to pay $5500 a year/qtr or something towards it.

I asked my employer and they said they do not offer this, is this actually true / company dependent or is my employer just unaware of this tax benefit/grant?

I'm about to start my Civil Engineering diploma through Polytechnic. If you could go back to your first year, what would you do differently? Any advice, habits, or skills that would have made a big difference?

I am an EIT and I worked for about a year before I had a serious medical issue where I went on long term disability for a year and then came back part time for about 2 months before joining back full time. When (if) I pass my PE exam will my time on disability count towards my 4 years of experience? Or will I likely need to work an additional year to make up for that?

I'm new to Civil Engineering and would love to hear advice from seniors. What's one mistake you made that you wish you had avoided?

Asking because I have a research idea in mind but want to know how a seasoned engineer would go about doing it. By couple of infiltration rate I meant, less than 5 distributed around a valley of let’s say 200-300km^2 area. So it can only be used for ‘validation’ purpose so to speak. What dataset would you look for? What maximum resolution of data do you think this would be useful?

I know it depends on the branch and category, but what score is generally considered safe for getting a government polytechnic college?

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 am a Canadian civil engineer with +9 yrs of experience in land development, and I’m planning to relocate to the US - preferably Texas, North Carolina, or Florida. open to other states if needed

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!

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

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.

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?