Bridge Engineer vs. Land Development Engineer Career Guidance 4

[odu0485]

Hi,

I have been a bridge engineer for about 6 months now at my firm and for a short time at a previous employer. Now that I am working in a multi-disciplinary environment, I'm finding that my interests are broadening rather than being focused on one thing (bridges) as before. I've been thinking lately about how different, easier, etc.. it would be to change specialties (if even possible) and work in general civil/site/land development. A good friend of mine works in land development so I hear things from that end of the field too and it appears interesting as well. But I know at some point, we have to pick one area and stick to it as it probably gets harder to do so as time goes on. I feel like I need to stay in the discipline I'm in for a good couple of years to really test it out and also for the sake of not having a bad looking resume which already looks like job jumping due to trying to find my path since college. I know no one field is perfect and there will always be hard days. Any guidance or thoughts on these ideas are greatly welcome. Thank you.

 

[Twinkie]

I would get all the experience you can get in bridges as a young lad. I feel like LD is a much broader field, and when times are good, easier to get a job in even if your experience is limited.

When everyone got laid off 2008-2010, the only jobs around were for niche engineers: bridges, highways, wastewater, etc ....

So what I'm saying is .... I think it would be beneficial for you to stay where you, so you have a decent amount of experience if you ever need to go back to it.

 

[civilman72]

If bridge engineering doesn't interest you, and you think LD does, then I would make the change now. The longer you wait to make the change the longer it takes for you to build the resume you want.

If you do something you enjoy doing you will be better at it and probably ultimately more successful. I would not stay in bridge engineering just because of the potential job security. It will only get harder to make the jump to LD as you get more entrenched in your current specialty.

 

[beej67]

LD is going to be an awesome field to be in until approximately 2019 when it crashes again.


Signed,
a guy who's making a lot of money in LD right now

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com

 

[cvg]

LD has never been awesome

 

[civilman72]

Well LD can be enjoyable and profitable to some of us...

And "LD" includes a very broad spectrum of civil engineering and not all jobs are dependent on the ebb and flow of true land development. The type of job you have and company you work for, their client base and diversity, will ultimately determine how exposed you are to housing/development recessions, etc. There are also plenty of secure jobs on the regulatory side of LD.

So when you making the jump?

 

[bimr]

LOL, That is great CVG. From my corner, all I see are cheapskate developers that don't want to pay much.

It seems that the LD people are just working off the inventory of crashed and burned projects from the recession and have not really started anything new.

Probably more important is the company and people that you are working for.

 

[beej67]

In Atlanta, we cleared the last of the crash-burn projects mid 2013 and now everyone is scrambling to get new stuff in the ground as fast as possible to make up for four years of stagnant markets and un-met demand. Things will be very hot here and other south eastern US metro areas for another four or five years.

And then it will be terrible again, like clockwork.

The really interesting thing about LD related engineering in the southeast right now is the companies themselves have a generation gap. They're hiring new college grads, and there's nobody they can look up to in production, since their bosses are project managers in their 40s who survived the purge. The generation between the two groups were all starved out in 09 and switched careers.



Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com

 

[odu0485]

Thanks for all the input guys.

 

[dicksewerrat]

If you really don't like bridges, go into water and wastewater. I've been in sewers since 1966 and haven't been out of work 1 day. and most of the guys in water and sewer are middle age and up.

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com

 

[brandonbw]

We have plenty of new projects in the Land Development area. Smaller developers we work with thought the crash would happen over the Summer. It didn't. The big negative is last time the economy crashed a lot of engineering companies disappeared or basically let go of everyone and kept a very small staff. You can learn a lot during a building boom. This time developers aren't just throwing money around the solve problems.

B+W Engineering and Design | Los Angeles Civil Engineer and Structural Engineer

http://bwengr.com

 

[odu0485]

I think I'm starting to realize that I may not want to be a structural engineer for a very long time. Being on the outside looking in during college and while job searching, I really though I would like it but now I'm finding it to be a little different than what I expected. I'm finding I may enjoy doing more AutoCAD and land development type of work more enjoyable and easier to comprehend. I'm also wondering if it is even possible to move into general civil site work like this after being in structural which is obviously very different. I want to make a decision on this while I am still somewhat young and early in my career before I can't switch and stuck for 40 years doing something I'm not crazy about.

 

[civilman72]

You've got some good advice above, particularly about the variability and inevitable booms and busts in LD, but there are plenty of engineers that have been successful in LD. And while bridge engineering can be very tedious it also offers good job security.

Good luck. Can't go wrong with following your heart.

 

[beej67]

LD is a relatively easy field to transition into at a young / entry level age, particularly during boom times. One of the best civil designers I ever worked with was an ex-air traffic controller. All you really need to get started is CAD familiarity and the ability to comprehend a grading plan.

As mentioned above, the hangup is boom/bust. Save money. Expect to be laid off in 2019, and then be pleasantly surprised if you're not.

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com