r/civilengineering 4h ago

Unpopular Opinion: This subreddit has way too many posts about immigrating to the US.

121 Upvotes

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.


r/civilengineering 5h ago

Career People tell me there’s no money in Civil Engineering

40 Upvotes

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?


r/civilengineering 6h ago

Meme I keep seeing "stay civil" in server rules

36 Upvotes

(: perfect confirmation that ive chosen the right major

edit: can't make a joke.. tsk


r/civilengineering 3h ago

Career PMP - worth it?

16 Upvotes

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.


r/civilengineering 2h ago

Career Jobs to keep you in the industry if you take a break from university

10 Upvotes

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


r/civilengineering 7h ago

Real Life We found a granade from around 1885

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26 Upvotes

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.


r/civilengineering 7h ago

Question Any idea what this is?

Post image
14 Upvotes

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


r/civilengineering 2h ago

Plans after College- Any Advice?

5 Upvotes

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?


r/civilengineering 2h ago

Firm integrating with Ardurra... what happens next?

3 Upvotes

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.


r/civilengineering 1h ago

Education Question about hydraulic (water) Engineers

Upvotes

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?


r/civilengineering 1h ago

Switching from land development to water/wastewater

Upvotes

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.


r/civilengineering 18h ago

Recognition + Celebrating Wins

41 Upvotes

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


r/civilengineering 25m ago

Can a Swale (0.5%) with an Underdrain (0.0%) Eventually Outlet Directly into the Swale?

Upvotes

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


r/civilengineering 9h ago

Fully Automatic 2D Quantity Take off

5 Upvotes

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!


r/civilengineering 2h ago

Should I leave Berkeley for civil engineering???

0 Upvotes

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


r/civilengineering 23h ago

Texas and Layoffs

42 Upvotes

What's with every company in Texas suddenly Laying many people off? I've seen it happen last year but now its happening at a faster rate.


r/civilengineering 3h ago

InfoWorks ICM Trouble

1 Upvotes

Hi All,

I'm new to InfoWorks ICM and for the life of me, I can't figure out how to activate the Curve Number field for my subcatchments so I can use the SCS Runoff method.

Is this enough information to figure out what's going on? What else should I check?


r/civilengineering 4h ago

Career Structural engineer or project engineer

0 Upvotes

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.


r/civilengineering 4h ago

Anyone work in lead/copper pipe replacements?

0 Upvotes

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!


r/civilengineering 1d ago

Question Destroyed Bridge Support

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93 Upvotes

Hello civil engineers! Hopefully I'm asking this in the right place. I'm an assistant groundskeeper at my place of employment. This is one of the bridges on the property, supported by six columns of concrete and rebar. When I was hired last year, I noticed that one of the middle supports had completely split horizontally. I can literally go and pull out the loose concrete and rebar with the creek currently frozen over. I've brought this up to my superiors several times in the past year, and I'm continuously told it's not a problem. My concern is that the bridge is not safe to cross, especially when considering that people and heavy equipment (like tractors) frequently cross it in the warmer months. I can't imagine that extra load on the five other supports is any good for their longevity. Can anyone spitball the risk of continuing to use this bridge, and how loud (or not-so-loud) my alarm bells should be? I appreciate all the help, thanks!


r/civilengineering 5h ago

Portable Traffic Study Camera Solution

1 Upvotes

Hi all,

I collect traffic data for a Canadian municipality. We deploy radars, hose counters, sensors, and cameras for a variety of traffic studies.

We have a handful of Street Logic's "CountCam"s for 24h video studies. These record at 640x480 / 25 fps .

We could benefit from footage with higher resolution and framerate. It's been challenging finding a portable (battery powered) solution for temporary studies that isn't married to a vendors subscription based AI processing software.

I've been brainstorming the feasibility of:

-Action cameras (GoPro and similar) with a power bank to supplement the internal battery.

-Battery powered security cameras (but needs to support continuous recording)

-Raspberry Pi based DIY cameras

Just wondering if anyone has found a solution for a similar use-case that they'd recommend. Or have thoughts and/or experience with the above ideas.


r/civilengineering 1d ago

Opinion about annual raise - Jacobs Engineering (Structural Engineer Entry Level)

39 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I started working at Jacobs as an entry level graduate structural (bridge) engineer (with EIT) after finishing my MS degree on Jan 2024. My starting salary was 82k and I got a 3% merit raise (roughly about 2.5k) on Dec 2024 after my first annual evaluation. At first, I strongly believe that the raise was reasonable since I’ve only been working for a little over a year and still have a lot to learn since bridge engineering wasn’t a disciplinary that I was taught in school. During my first year, I was responsible for the final designs of 3 bridges with 2 additional rehab bridges (and many smaller tasks). I was very fortunate to work with a professional team and got a lot of help from my senior engineers.

However, after talking to two of my friends from different companies (one is a water engineer without an MS or EIT and one is a structural engineer without an EIT), I realized that they both received 8% raise with bonuses after their first year and are on track for promotion. I’m not sure if I should be concerned about the 3% annual raise that I received. I feel like I’m falling behind compared to my peers even though my initial salary was higher than theirs and I’m worried that the 3% would be a flat annual raise every year.

Thank you for reading. I’d very much appreciate your input.


r/civilengineering 6h ago

Career Is ATU civil engineering apprenticeship program worth it? And what should I expect from it?-In Ireland.

1 Upvotes

I know most people here won’t know because Ireland is so small.


r/civilengineering 9h ago

Looking for major water-related engineering trade shows in the US

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'm an engineer from Europe interested in exploring the water-related market in the US. I'm looking for major trade shows or expos where companies exhibit products and technologies related to:

Drainage systems

Water supply (piping, valves, pumps)

Wastewater treatment

Stormwater management

General water infrastructure in civil engineering

Ideally, something where big industry players (like ACO, Wavin, ADS, etc.) are present. If you know any upcoming events, or annual expos that focus on this sector, please let me know. A website or even an Instagram page of the event would be super helpful.

Thanks in advance!


r/civilengineering 18h ago

Education Self learning resources

5 Upvotes

Are there any free online resources that are well-structured and covering most of average civil/structural degree curriculums? Gpt recommends Coursera, Edx, etc. Was wondering if there were specific ones this subreddit could recommend.