John Nerison ⋅ Boise, ID Retired from POWER Engineers, Inc. www.powereng.com ⋅ 40 years experience

Kathryn,

I do volunteer tutoring for engineering students. You can find more information on my webpage www.engineeringtutor.biz. Be glad to help you.

I can also advise or answer questions about civil engineering. My CE degree was obtaing in 1968 so have seen a lot of engineering since then. John

Gordon Lum ⋅ Elk Grove, CA Willdan Engineering ⋅ 30 years experience

Kathryn-
Welcome to the broad CE field. During your senior year, I hope you will take the Fundamentals of Engineering (aka, Engineer In Training) exam. By passing this, it would distinguish you from other CE students. As far as working while in school, I would start by looking up traffic counting firms in your area because they often need part-time help (my son has been managing a crew of data collectors for over a year). By collecting traffic data, you would be exposed to traffic engineering (TE) and be better equipped to become a registered CE. Feel free to ask me follow-up questions regarding TE. Thx for serving.
-Gordon

Brad Wilder ⋅ Lexington, KY Intech Contracting ⋅ 8 years experience

You may want to look into state government agencies that have programs for civil majors. In Kentucky, the state Transportation Cabinet has a program that offers scholarships for civil majors. In exchange, the students get a summer job with the cabinet and then are obligated to work there a certain number of years after graduation. I think you work for however many years you take the scholarship. It's a great way to pay for school, get some experience, and have a job waiting for you at the end. I don't know what other states might have programs but it could be worth looking into. Your school's leadership or advisors should know. Other than that, I know our company values any kind of related experience for recent grads that provides some exposure to the area of the industry you are interested in. This could be actual engineering internships, jobs as a construction inspector, working in an engineering or construction office, engineering technician, etc.

Dale Krysinski ⋅ Zelienople, PA Hatch Mott MacDonald ⋅ 33 years experience

To expand on what Brent had to offer, the type of positions you should look for within civil engineering consulting firms are probably called "technicians" or "specialists" or possibly "designers/draftsmen" (if you have some CAD skills). Working with a surveying company on a survey crew is another possibility. You may also want to check with your university - they may have some positions available for lab assistants or teaching assistants (although the TAs are usually reserved for grad students, your military experience might help you convince them to give you a shot). Another track might be to find a job for a couple years outside of civil engineering that lets you utilize your skills gained in the Navy - and then in your junior or senior year of engineering school, look for internship positions by engineering consulting or manufacturing companies.

Hope that helps. Best of luck to you, and thank your for serving our country. Dale

Brent Hudson ⋅ Buffalo, NY ⋅ 25 years experience

Hello Kathryn,
My family and I thank you for your service. CE is a great field, highly sought after with a lot of opportunities. Look around for large construction management companies in your area. Also check with larger manufacturing companies and their operations/engineering departments. Both of these will employ CEs and probably engineering techs, which do a lot of engineering work but are not technically engineers. Environmental consulting firms have CEs, and have a lot of work for people learning how to become engineers. You can also check with your state and local government, both of which will have engineers in their highway/public works departments. Get in and learn all you can about the field. Engineering is mostly common sense with some math stuck in to it. It's a great field and I have had a lot of opportunities open to me because of my education. It is going to get tough working, going to school, and raising your daughter. I did it as a single father so you can do it too. Good luck. Brent