General tips for recent graduate looking to move to the US and find job 1

[cuttycut]

Hey, so a few things about me, I studied and currently live in Poland, have a masters degree in Civil Engineering and im looking to move to the US fairly soon and start my career there. I grew up in the US so i have a citizenship and speak fluent english so no problems in that area. I have about 6 months of work experience with basically all of that being on site working as a field/site engineer (idk what the exact job title would be called but i was basically the construction managers right hand man assisting with everything). I really enjoy working on site rather than in the office so thats where i would like to start working when i move to the US, more specifically Chicago probably. I got my education evaluation from NCEES back and im missing about 3-4 hours in Math/Science and General Education. Do I need to get those hours before finding a job or would I be able to get one without it and get them later on. Is the FE exam something i should be looking to get asap, even though im searching for an on-site job rather than a design job? Any other general tips like where to look for a job, what salary i should expect, look for big or small companies, anything at all is greatly appreciated.

 

[zelgar]

As a State employee in Indiana for ~30 years, I can tell you that I've worked with a lot of engineers that were not born in the US. I know we're always looking for engineers, since the State typically doesn't pay as much as industry, it's not a bad place to start and the benefits are nice. When looking at the engineering jobs, don't be put off by some of the requirements (e.g., BS degree and 4 years of experience) because sometimes this is just the preferred experience. Submit your application anyways, because you never know, and nowadays, it's all electronic anyways so you're not out of any money.

Although Indianapolis, IN is about 3 hours away from Chicago, it's still a nice place to live.

In regards to your education, not being NCEES certified is only a problem when you're trying to get your FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) and PE (Professional Engineer) licensing. I would check to see if you could take night courses or online classes to get the credits you need. Even if your employer doesn't require the licensing, I suggest you try to get them, because you never know if it may become a requirement for your position.

 

[GeoEnvGuy]

Research the major city you want to live in and then apply to all the engineering firms and government agencies, you should have no problems getting a job, You will likely see more interviews in the spring with the onset of construction season and after award of annual contracts. I worked in a large consulting firm and am now in a medium size consulting firm and I like the medium size firm better, just my opinion.

 

[udraft]

With your experience you may also want to apply to construction companies as well as consultants and government agencies. Construction is a dog eat dog world, but they generally pay more than consulting engineers. Any certifications you can get (like PE) will help, but generally none are required. A bit of CAD and GIS knowledge will be helpful.

 

[bimr]

The joke in Chicago is that there are so many polish people in Chicago that Chicago qualifies as the 2nd or 3rd largest city in Poland.

There are a great number of polish people in Chicago and that will ease your transition. Being a large City, Chicago has universities where you will be able to go part-time to school and there will be a greater number of job opportunities. Chicago is also a more cosmopolitan City than some of the rural outlying states and will be more tolerant of immigrants and diversity.

If you can afford it, obtain a Masters degree in Engineering before you start working. If you can't afford that, you should be able to find employment and go to school at night.

You should definitely plan on obtaining a professional license as it helps with long-term employability.

Most of the larger companies will expect that you have a degree. The larger companies are using software based applicant recruiting systems that will automatically discard applications and resumes from applicants with no degrees. You would probably be better off looking into smaller firms. Unless you know somebody here in the States, it will be impossible to find employment here in the States unless you are here.

You can probably expect to start at $50k.

 

[IRstuff]

Don't you need an H1B to work in the US?

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[1503-44]

He's a citizen, so I'm guessing that he doesn't.

I think you will need to complete university in an accredited college to get a PE. I think all the states have that requirement now. Most PE registration boards require something like 5 years of hands on design experience under direct supervision of another registered engineer and they usually do not count any construction experience. They're basically looking for desk jockeys. You can switch to construction afterwards, if you can still sand the bright sunlight.

Good luck.

Einstein gave the same test to students every year. When asked why he would do something like that, "Because the answers had changed."

 

[swazimatt]

what is your attraction to working in the USA?

If i was you i would take advantage of being young and single and look into working in remote locations or developing countries. Having worked for US based companies in the past i got the feeling that you had to put in a lot more effort than you were paid for (eg min of 50 hour week when you are contracted for 40 hours), could be fired on a whim and most importantly you have to work in feet, pounds and inches LOL (I hope you USA engineers tell me that I have been fed lies!)

There are countries that are screaming out for engineers (australia, NZ, Canada brrr), and in those countries you will possibly end up advancing quicker and doing interesting engineering earlier in your career