Urban planner interested in civil engineering degree

[nrschmid81]

Good Evening!

I currently work as an urban designer for a civil engineering firm in Houston. I have a BUP from UIUC and over the past decade have worked on +200 projects in five states. I spent half of college in architecture school before earning a non-design based urban planning degree. I taught myself site design, including streets and lots, and am currently the main land use designer at my firm where I design subdivisions, master planned communities, and town centers. This is my second job working at an engineering firm, although the first employer where I work directly with civil engineers on a daily basis.

I am considering pursuing a Masters in Civil Engineering degree because I want to go further in the actual design of communities, not just platting and conceptual plans. I would like to learn paving, grading, stormwater/detention design, utility planning, road alignments, etc. I have an informational interview at UH's Civil Engineering program tomorrow (

http://www.cive.uh.e...uate/master-mce).

As I do not have an accredited undergraduate engineering degree, I would have to finish a three year masters. I would continue to work at my employer as full time planner while pursuing the graduate degree part time. I am gunning for a senior position with managerial responsibilities as a planner, so I doubt I would be able to do more than one course per semester, and taking the maximum time of five years to complete degree. I have discussed this with my direct supervisor (also a planner) and my company offers tuition reimbursement. Before I even seriously apply to the program, I will have a talk with the owner of the company (a civil engineer) and find out what my options are upon graduation and if they would hire me as an E.I.T.

Anyway, I wanted to introduce myself to this forum. If anyone has general questions, comments, suggestions, please let me know! I am also interested in other chat rooms/discussion forums on the civil engineering profession. Thank you again!



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[Ron]

I applaud your initiative and wish you the best of luck! Go get that engineering degree and then get licensed. You're doing it for the right reason. If your current employer doesn't recognize your worth when you graduate and provide you with an appropriate salary bump, there are plenty who will do so. Your experience is excellent and would be a good addition to any civil engineering firm that specializes in land planning/development.

Keep in mind that you will likely have to change jobs at some point in order to get appropriate compensation, particularly in the early years of your career and soon after you are licensed. Don't despair. It often happens. Just don't burn bridges and maintain a professional attitude and demeanor through it all.

Again....good luck and don't let the length of time to you goal deter you.

 

[cvg]

without an ABET accredited undergrad degree, not sure you can get licensed as an engineer. check with your state board first

 

[77JQX]

I second cvg.

 

[jgailla]

I believe a ABET-accredited masters degree will work.
However, I think programs can be accredited for bachelors or masters but not both, so there are only a few programs that offer an ABET masters.
I worked with an engineer who had a liberal arts BA and an engineering MS and got the PE in Florida.
Of course, check with your board as cvg says.

 

[Twinkie]

Not all states require an engineering degree. Some have an experience+FE requirement you can substitute in lieu of a degree. This is what I did. My degree is in planning, sat for all my exams based on experience, but I have since completed a BSCE as well.

Some states you will not be able to get licensed in without, but I am confident an MSCE satisfies this requirement.

I'm curious, how are you getting into a Masters program without an undergrad in engineering? The core sciences and mathematics for the undergrad are 2 years on their own.

Best of luck in your endeavors!

 

[chicopee]

I believe that you can get a PE license without a degree in engineering, however, you will need to meet the conditions associated with taking those tests. I can foresee some disadvantages by not having a four year formal education with Part I of the test which since Part I is based on the fundamentals learned during those four years. Part II could probably be managed by you since that part is based on problems faced in your field. As far as a master's program, you may have to brush up on Calculus and Advanced math, so the best thing is to be evaluated by the College or University where you want to take the advanced program.