Career Choices as a Civil PE

[trey25624]

I recently obtained my PE and am trying to investigate what opportunities exist for me once I get licensed. I have been working as a civil engineering consultant for the last 5 years and frankly, I am getting bored. Sitting behind a desk is not what I intended by getting a civil degree. Although I have had the opportunity to work in the field it has not been to the extent I would like.
The question I am getting at is, has anyone obtained their PE and then made a career choice (off the beaten path, risky) that has given them a lot of satisfaction? I feel that a civil degree is a versatile one that presents a lot of opportunities, I just can't figure out what they are outside of the consulting business or working for the government. I am interested in starting a business at some point, and I have a curiosity when it comes to real estate and development. I'm young with few responsibilites, so I'm ready to make the sacrificies that will provide me with a satisfying career. Any input from someone who was once in a similar spot would be much appreciated.

 

[justbuildit]

I got into the heavy civil construction market working for a large contractor. I was very satisfied and am still doing it ten years later. We concentrate on transportation products which require onsite construction management, offsite estimating and job procurement, and an overall insite into what makes a business run - profit. I work on alot of the temporary engineering structures required for the work and a start to finish job interaction. It sounds like this might be for you, but you have to like it and be willing to get the job done.

 

[HgTX]

What aspects of civil engineering have you been concentrating on and bored by until now?

Hg

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[csd72]

Civil engineering is such an incredibly broad profession, some more outdoors types of work are:

Telecommunications surveying and tower design
Road integrity inspection
Construction management
Construction inspection
Structural and subsidence surveys
Facilities management (e.g roads,bridges,drainage).

I will try and think of some more.

csd

 

[trey25624]

Thanks for the input. To answer the question, I have grown bored with the type of work and the office setting. I don't mind working in an office, but I would like to be able to split time between the office and the field. Also I have focused mainly on commercial retail site developemnt, not the most interesting work.
I believe construction management could be an avenue to explore, although I haven never been real keen on the idea of spending a long period of time on a construction project. I have worked for a large contractor before as a PM assistant, and I saw the hell the PM went through for 2 years being stuck on a job that just wouldn't end.
Bottom line I think there a number of avenues to explore that a lot of newly registered PEs don't explore, they just get stuck doing consultant work. I appreciate the ideas, keep them coming.

 

[HgTX]

Again...what TYPE of work have you been doing? Construction? Structural? Geotech? Hydrological? Roadway layout? Bridge? Building? Tunnel? Environmental? "Consultant work" is a meaningless term; all it says is that someone else is hiring you (or your company) instead of having the work done in-house. "Consulting" is not inherently any more office-based than working directly for a facility owner or contractor; it's your choice of subject matter and company.

Hg



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[trey25624]

I do site design for commercial sites (retail stores). Grading, drainage, utility layout, etc. I have done Geotechnical work in the past (soil borings, report writing). I would say the Geotechnical work and surveying have probably been the most satisfying for me, which I think speaks to the fact I don't like being confined to an office.

 

[HgTX]

Most design-oriented work will keep you indoors. It'll get you the most respect from other engineers (many of whom think that engineering *is* design and don't acknowledge any other forms of engineering), but it'll keep you indoors.

"Resident engineer" type positions involve more direct involvement with the project, day-to-day real-world problem solving rather than putting something down on paper once and never thinking about it again. Typically, though, it means working directly for the facility owner (say, a DOT), unless you can find a consultant who provides these services. It also does mean being around for the entire life of the project.

My job is working for a DOT handling fabrication problems with bridge girders. My balance of office and field work is pretty much up to me. I deal with multiple projects at a time.

You could also try to hook up with a firm that does some kind of retrofit or remediation work. That will necessarily involve site visits and get you out of the office.

Hg


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[COEngineeer]

For me desigining residential houses is very satisfying. I had some experience geotechnical engineering but I didnt really like it. I could see the project from start to finish and I design the WHOLE structure instead of a small part of it.

http://www.swijetty.com

Sea Water Intake and Jetty Construction

 

[csd72]

trey,

Sounds like you have a good background for subsidence/underpinning surveys. Lots of time out in the field and some detective work in finding causes.

Look up some companies that specialise in this type of work.

csd