Alternate CE paths

[jeffcivil2]

Even though there's room for improvement in my skills, I can't see myself taking the standard civil engineering career path of either doing residential or commericial development for private developers, or working for utility companies/governments in that area.

I definitely want to stay in private industry, because my opinion is people who are more driven are rewarded more here, but I'd like to do something more technologically advanced. Civil engineering, unlike other disciplines such as aerospace, mechanical, and electrical, aren't very technologically advanced. After all, we're dealing with concrete, steel, and fluid mechanics.. subjects that in my opinion get old fast.

Two out of the norm areas I'm looking into are alternative energy companies and/or mass transit. I'm having a problem getting into the door with my past experience.

PS... I get really offended when people say "transportation engineering" when All they work on is roads. They SHOULD just call it "traffic engineering", and accept that they are narrow minded in terms of transportation.

 

[cvg]

"traffic engineering" is generally related strictly to signing, striping, signalization and traffic capacity studies. Only a small subset of transportation...

Generally it is the larger, well known companies that are involved with mass transit plans. Often times, it is Construction manager at risk or design build and so the projects are developed by marketing the large contractors. Archer Western, Kiewitt, Sundt etc. And by the way, mass transit such as light rail plans requires all types of engineers, not just transportation, but also utility, right of way, drainage, structural, electrical, mechanical, landscape architects, architects, traffic, public involvement, environmental, permits specialists and on and on.

alternative energy companies generally hire consultants to do most of the work. They will typically need an environmental firm to do the permitting and a civil / multi-disciplined firm to do all the up front engineering work. The companies generally don't have many engineers on staff and they are usually electrical.

I work for a large AE firm and we are doing both light rail and alternative energy projects.

 

[Lion06]

I don't know..........if you think steel and concrete get old fast you probably haven't been exposed to much in a real design office.
It might get old fast when you are given all parameters and constraints by a professor (or possibly a more senior engineer), but when you have to actually frame out the building; coordinate with the architect about why you can't have a column where it makes most sense for your framing then reframe; calc the loads; determine which beams can and can't (or should and shouldn't be) composite; size the deck; design the lateral system for strength, stability, drift, etc...; make sure specific serviceability considerations are met (which can be and often are different for different portions of the building - i.e. the deflection for spandrels supporting curtain wall is much more stringent than your typical L/360); etc.; etc.; etc.
Maybe you're that good, I don't know, but it doesn't get old fast to a lot of us.
There really is so much to know and learn about steel (or any other material really). I guess it could get old fast if all you are doing is being given an ultimate moment and designing for flexure based on Mp.
Just my two cents.

 

[HgTX]

If you think concrete and steel "get old fast", what makes you think mass transit will be so much more exciting? It's the same design principles, locating the route, building the structures, etc., only for a mass transit system instead of a highway.

"PS... I get really offended when people say "transportation engineering" when All they work on is roads. They SHOULD just call it "traffic engineering", and accept that they are narrow minded in terms of transportation."

Funny, I get really offended when people (like the uninformed who set up our job titles in the database) call me a "transportation engineer" because I deal with structures, not roads.

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[Umassengr]

Jeffcivil2

The technology may not be advancing as fast as other more modern engineering dicipline are , but remember you're part of the worlds oldest (or second oldest depending on your viewpoint) profession. We alter the environment that we live in to suit the needs of society, and that has been happening since the beginning of time. Those other diciplines have only been around for a a few hundred years. So give our profession a break if it has slowed down a bit in its progression.

You have placed yourself and your profession in a tight box and you need to poke your head out and look around.

I agree with StructuralEIT when he says that it does not get old for most of us. If you want to take a different path along your career that is fine and good, but your have a very narrow view of the profession based on your statement. I think you need to realize how many paths are available for you to pursue before you start limiting yourself to the two or three that you listed in your OP.