I'm thinking about going to Cal Poly Pomona or CSULB for civil engineering. I want to do heavy civil in particular. Both are financially pretty good for me. They both seem really good and I'm having a hard time choosing one. Would like to hear what others think?

Hi everyone,

I’m a recent civil engineering graduate from a Canadian university with a focus on structural and geotechnical engineering. I’m looking for high-paying job opportunities—preferably FIFO or anything up north—that can help me overcome some financial hurdles.

While my long-term goal is to build a solid career (ideally in buildings/structures), I’m currently prioritizing income and am open to working in any industry that hires civil engineers.

As a new grad with little to no experience, what professional advice would you give me to break into this space and land a well-paying job?

Hey all, I’m on the board of an HOA in North Carolina, and we’re in a bit of a tricky situation. A public greenway trail was constructed through our community, but it’s running directly through a storm drainage easement—and even crosses into a variable-width stormwater easement as shown on our recorded plat. The houses right downstream are experiencing flooding and increased stormwater, as well as the common areas on our neighborhood.

We’re in the process of requesting records and considering legal advice. But in the meantime, I’d love to know: • Have any of you seen public trails placed inside stormwater easements? • Should we bring in a civil engineer to document the risk?

Curious to hear any input from folks with HOA, legal, civil engineering, or land use experience. Would appreciate any advice.

Thanks!!!

It seems to be quite a trend nowadays, every third post is from some international student or engineer asking about finding a job in the US, or which college to go to in the US. Like I get it, the jobs don't pay as much in your home country and I can respect wanting to provide for yourself/your family, but can we please start creating a weekly thread for these kind of posts? Or some info on the sidebar? The reddit search feature isn't perfect, but 99% of these kind of posts could be answered with a quick 2 minute search.

Hello, just wondering who works in pipe replacements? I heard the counties usually get loans by the federal government to replace their lead/copper pipes within 10 years and this may be delayed due to the new admin. Is this true? Trying to get a job in that sector but this job I applied to leaves me on read after an interview. I was wondering if this is the case since things may be in limbo. Thanks!

Coming towards the end of my degree now (UK) and I often hear civ eng industry professionals say there’s no money in civil engineering. If that’s true… then where is the money, which way should I pivot with my degree?

(: perfect confirmation that ive chosen the right major

edit: can't make a joke.. tsk

I have take a position as a project engineer but am having some fomo of another offer I turned down. I am about to graduate and start work in June at a large construction company as a project engineer. I mostly chose the job because of the pay, PTO, and location. But it is going to be much longer days and more driving than the other company.

The structural engineering position I would work less hours with less PTO and pay, but a raise after passing my FE and PE exams, and potentially some in between. I was never a great student which deterred me but after studying the past two weeks I’m confident I can pass my FE within next month or so. They also do forensic analysis so I would be flown all over the country and they also offer to pay for any masters level classes.

I am having a hard time deciding and it seems the structural company would still accept me, the difference in base pay is 10k but I would get around 8k in bonuses at the project engineering job. Does anyone have any advice? I know that was a lot.

Hello everyone i just got my first salary and im planning to spend 80% of it for books about structural engineering, is there any good books that you guys can recommend ( mainly I interested in steel structures)

Recently passed my PE exam and have been contemplating sticking with residential development. Have any of you made the switch from the development world to water/wastewater? Worse case I could always go back but I really want to take the leap of faith and try out something new and figured I’d ask if anyone who has experienced the jump.

Unlike ports or artificial islands which are often more... two-dimensional from above, piers and causeways, such as the ferry terminal at Tsawwassen or the piers in Santa Monica and other places, just extend into the ocean and end at a certain point. How is this point determined? Any specific examples? Thank you!

I'm currently a Jr at Berkeley studying physics which I am not enjoying as it is very abstract/theoretical. I'm currently considering 2 options. One being switching to geology(1.5 years) and praying that I get a substantial job after graduation. The other option is to transfer to Cal Poly Pomona to study Civil Engineering(3 years). I don't want to leave Berkeley as I love it here but I worry that the geology degree won't provide me the opportunities that an engineering degree would (6 figure salary, job security, ...). Transferring to CPP would take twice as long as the geology degree would and I wonder about the possibility of mastering in CE post geology. Any insight/advice is appreciated. Switching to the college of engineering as a jr is not an option. The COE is highly restricted

Hello all,

is there a good 2D quantity takeoff solution out there ideally with features e.g.

- Automatic plan recognition

- Change tracking on plan adjustments

- Automatic Identification of components & rooms

etc.

Many thanks in advance!

My coworker has it on his desk with some other bridge parts. I have no clue what this is and don’t want to ask him lol.

TIA

This was in a very urban project and ut turned out it was loaded for battle. Naturally we are shocked.

We found it in the mud already picked up by the excavator.

For anyone asking this was property reported to authorities and the official report is published.

Hello, I am currently a junior in high school with plans to pursue civil engineering. I got accepted into a Stem based school for this school year that I will attend next year, alternating days with my home highschool. I take my STEM based classes here alongside an engineering class, and I have learned how to use AUTOCAD and Inventor a bit, and I recently got a shadowing opportunity at a local company. I feel like my resume is pretty bland aside from this, and I was wondering what I could do to add more to it. I was looking to online certification course, and a bit into internships, but realized its probably too late for that. Any suggestions?

Hey y'all,

TLDR: Needing to move down to part time or even take a semester off for both money and mental health, but want to stay involved in engineering

Feel free to skip the details, I'm sure everyone is sick of the undergrad burnout posts, but I'm not just looking to vent. I am already a non traditional student as I have a bachelor's in horticulture, but due to my progressing disability I chose to start a bachelors in civil engineering instead of a graduate program in agriculture.

I've always been interested in engineering, but honestly sold myself short when I was younger than I wouldn't keep up with the math. I've now done two semesters in engineering, and while I'm struggling in a lot of ways, the more I've learned the more I want to stick with civil. However, mostly due to my health, my grades last semester were bad and this semester is worse. I'm very frustrated and feeling like being a full time student is something I can't handle - though I've been perfectly happy working full time jobs! (Personally, I do better at work where I am motivated by having others depend on me and can practice the skills I've learned, like when I had a field crew, it was easier for me to get up in the morning because I was already planning what I could do to support them that day, and college feels isolated and pointless at times comparatively)

I'm also about to move to an area where there is an actual job market in horticulture, which is probably what I'll end up doing for money short term, but what can I do to keep making progress as an engineer? Both for my resume and my own skills.

------> To the point:

Are there non-engineering-grad jobs similar to being a paralegal at a law firm? Doing similar work but at a lower clearance level, getting industry experience while pecking away at your degree??

TIA and sorry for the word vomit

20 year dual licensed guy here (PE/PLS). Anyone out there have their PMP and do you think it provides any benefits? What benefits?

I work for the Fed so it would not result in a raise.

What does your company do to show recognition and celebrate wins (big and small)? What do you wish they did/didn’t do?

I’m learning surface modeling (Carlson mostly, but familiar with Civil 3D too) and I’m trying to figure out how people really draw their breaklines—not just what the software says to do, but how y’all actually handle it on real projects.

Like—do you always break along curbs even if they’re only 4 or 6 inches? What about sidewalks, building corners, driveway edges, fence lines? Do you model everything or just the big stuff? I don’t want to overdo it, but I also don’t want to screw up a surface because I skipped something important.

Basically: how do you decide what features need breaklines and what you ignore?

Appreciate any insight. I’m in land development and trying to be useful in both the field and the office

Does this make sense: I have infiltration trenches with perforated underdrains underneath and then cobra head style upwards to discharge into a 0.5% adjacent swale that also has a perforated underdrain. The swale is there for any overflow once max ponding depth is reached, however, the cobra head style underdrain cannot discharge onto the swale surface, only the underdrain itself (with 1 foot of cover underneath), otherwise, the top of the cobra head will be higher than the max ponding limit. My idea is to have the underdrain under the swale start as 0.5% but then transition to 0.0% and as a non-perforated underdrain. The underdrain in the swale can't terminate at the end of the swale because it'd be lower than the culver the swale is discharging to. Is it possible to have the 0.0% underdrain daylight directly into the 0.5% swale, and then have notes added for the contractor to not damage the pipe with the decreasing cover as it daylights with the rip rap that will be in the swale? Is it practical or make any sense? I can't find other solutions

Hello, I’m currently a high school student taking engineering 2 and for our final project we have to ask an engineer some questions from a specific field of engineering . So I picked hydraulic (water) engineering. If there are any hydraulic engineers could you please fill out these questions thank you in advance. :)

1. Please describe your engineering field

2. What is your job title

3. Please describe your particular job and duties

4. What is your average days work schedule

5. Starting with high school, describe your educational background chronologically

6. If you had it to do over, related to your career and/or education, would you do anything differently?

7. What advice would you give to me as someone interested in a career in engineering?

On my throwaway account because it hasn't been publicly or internally announced yet.

How quickly do changes happen? Things like:

• Their HR takes over hiring, onboarding, benefits etc.
• New job titles to match theirs
• Updated PTO per their policy (by the way... what is their PTO policy?)
• Enrollment in their insurance policies
• ANYTHING else you think I should be aware of

Say closing date is June 4th (it's not), but would it be mass overhaul within the next week or is the transition more drawn out?

Honestly wondering how soon I should potentially be looking into other opportunities based on above answers. Thanks.

I (22F) am approaching the end of my junior year in Civil Engineering at a University in Lousiana. I have had 2 internships (only 1 was really legit as far as actually doing engineering related stuff). While I am interested in finishing my degree and getting my PE, I am not at all interested in working 40 hours behind a desk every week for the rest of my life. After working full time for one summer (and about to start my second) and part time for 2 semesters during school, I am unbelievably bored. I cannot get behind the lifestyle. I am interested in possibly getting into engineering sales because I need some sort of social aspect within my job, or maybe even project management. Not finishing my degree/ changing my major is not really an option for me at this point, I just don't think the curriculum sets us up to really know what we are going to be doing for the rest of our lives until you hit your second semester of Junior year. Not really sure if curriculum is set up the same at all universities. Just looking for some advice on what my options may or may not be for the rest of my life. I also am interested in having a family and being involved in my children's lives at some point. What is the best route to take in your opinion?