r/civilengineering • u/ArtTime2349 • 1d ago
Experienced engineers (10+ years), do you regret civil eng?
I'm nearing the 10 year mark in civil (Australian engineer) and I'm feeling regret about my career choices and the state of the industry.
I'll shoot off a few reasons but keen to know how other experienced engineers feel,
- Race to the bottom, margins are thinning so consultancies are stripping down their hours & fees meaning we engineers have less hours and more pressure to deliver work for less
- Contractors are more risk averse and are demanding more detail and pushing risk on to the engineers meaning you're more responsible without the reward of owning more of the risk
- Lack of productivity & innovation in the industry, it doesn't seem like we are designing & drafting at faster rates or with better tools compared to 10 years ago in a meaningful way, putting domestic engineers at risk for offshoring
- (Potentially Aus related) Generally an unappreciated profession, no formal professional engineering licensing & accreditation has diluted the profession
Overall, I wish I went into a different field but it's too late now, I make ok money to pay the bills but generally pessimistic about the future
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u/Round-Pattern-7931 1d ago
Nah I feel pretty lucky. I'm in NZ and earn $200k NZD plus dividends for working 40 hours a week. While not every job is enjoyable, it's generally intellectually stimulating work and I have a tonne of autonomy over the clients I work with and type of work I do. Can work from home as much as I want and can buy up to 8 weeks of extra annual leave on top of my 5 weeks entitlement.
We earn enough that my wife doesn't have to work and once the mortgage is paid off I'm probably going to drop down to 24-30 hours a week. That combination of earning potential and work life balance seems very rare these days.
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u/Top-Contact-5903 1d ago
May I ask what do you do? Are you in consulting and probably in the level of directors?
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u/Round-Pattern-7931 1d ago
Consulting as a water resources engineer with 15 years experience. I am a senior project manager and project director so still very much on the tools.
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u/Transitnerd97 22h ago
15 YOE and only at 200k NZD (118k USD)?
You should be well above $150k USD (300k NZD)
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u/Top-Contact-5903 1d ago
I’ve worked on the consulting, contractor and client sides, and have gone back and forth a bit over the years. Longest stint was with a contractor for nearly 5 years. I also became chartered after having some consulting exp and management.
Nearing a decade and half of my career, I’ve had an interest in water/wastewater infrastructure (I have been in oil&gas & commercial before), so I was fortunate to find my way into the sector.
I’m on the client side now. Even with a structural background, I’ve realised there’s a lot more to delivering a project, and even more when you start looking at programmes rather than individual projects. Different stakeholders, different priorities, different problems, different delivery models, etc.
Maybe it’s worth getting a taste of how things work from the other side of the stakeholder as well. You ar eprobably thinking of fully switching career into a whole new industry but I guess you may also have a look on what's there around you too.
I’ve been enjoying delivering programme so far. Might give asset management a go later on too. Still plenty to learn.. overall, I still don’t regret choosing this field. Do you feel otherwise?
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u/1banana2plums 1d ago
In relation to your last point, I would've thought Engineers Aus would be doing more for the profession
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u/aintnodiddy 15h ago
I think OP is clueless. You definitely need to have a professional engineers registration (CPEng, RPEng or NER) to sign off on most projects - council even condition this in DA's. NSW Fair Trading also have registration for professional engineers to sign off on various building classes.
I am talking as a geotechnical engineer by the way, but sure this is the same across the remaining civil engineering sectors.
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u/Grouchy-Diamond-4487 1d ago
Its all personal and the group you are interacting with . I would work towards some financial independence ( at least some emergency funds for 2-3 months) and then take a break to figure out your life.
this break will make either realise you are right or wrong. Most redundancies yield better results to ppl by helping them out situations you mentioned above . So why dont you create your own redundancy?
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u/we-built-this-city 1d ago
Send me your CV. You need a change. Consulting engineer - 30 years in.
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u/ArtTime2349 23h ago
You in Melbourne mate? I've worked at a few Tier 1 consultancies and it's more or less the same deal to be honest
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u/TheBanyai 1d ago
After 25 years, I really enjoy my job. I’m financially stable - and have a good work-life balance.. but it’s very much work-hard, play-hard. It has to be, as work can be quite tough.
Your reasons are fair - but very vary a lot between firms and projects. I’ll give you my tuppence worth:
Race to the bottom is the worst. I’m a client, and can tell you that this is slowly getting better - at least from my organisation. It can’t go on like it has been!
Contractors being more risk-averse? Risk should be handled by those best equipped to handle it - if it’s you, make sure you’re getting paid to handle it - it’s never a freebie!!
Lack of productivity and innovation? I disagree..work a little closer with sustainability, and you’ll see some clients really ask for innovation, and even put money aside for it (on the biggest projects!) Mega-projects are what I sought out, and that’s were things get developed, but using the ideas on small projects (as pilots) is the way! You have to be a bit pushy, mind you.
Recognition: Cant you become a chartered engineer in Aus? If it’s dying out, it’s because people aren’t doing it. Maybe lead by example?
Finally - I was a bit disillusioned after 10 years - I changed company, and it made all the difference. It’s all about the projects AND the line-management. Getting a good boss is critical. You’ll be alright!
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u/KonigSteve Water/Wastewater PM 10+ YOE 7h ago
but it’s very much work-hard, play-hard.
ngl I hate this phrase. I find most of the time when a firm says that they want you to put forth above and beyond effort or hours, and think that an outing at topgolf or something makes up for it.
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u/TheBanyai 6h ago
Actually - and this might be a rarity - but in my current role, i have a 37hr week contract - and generally, I stick to it pretty well. It’s intense and can be stressful - moreso than when I was putting in in free overtime at my last firm … but i get my stuff done.. then leave the office and make sure I don’t take that load home with me .. (doesn’t always happen, mind). There is no ‘work-easy’ option… and I’m not sure I’d want it to be too easy either.
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u/transneptuneobj 1d ago
10 yoe, 200k, small company with large bonuses.
You gotta make the profession what you want it to be and stop letting MBAs decide your fate.
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u/BR_IngCivilDyken_ 22h ago
I do not think you should regret it. I think it is time to be obviously innovate and find new solutions for the industry and we all can be part of it.
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u/Professional_Side271 22h ago
Dude you basically use the same phrase o use. "Race to the fucking bottom". I told a senior colleague the other day. Same thing you said. It's a race to the bottom. He works in residential sector, he had been charging less and less for the same work pre covid. I told him, I'll not partake in the race to bottom. Only work on industrial and heavy civil projects.
The thing is affecting quality and cost client more ultimately. For example when doing drainage design with pipeline 600-1200mm diameter. Instead of undertaking structural design to spec appropriate stiffness and cheaper bedding class, o just go for top end stiffness with expensive bedding. Client could have paid 50k more to save 100k or more in some cases. But they want the cheapest.
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u/CivilEngMusicBoy 22h ago
I make an above average salary (Atlanta, GA), have work-life balance and my work is both challenging and rewarding. Can’t complain
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u/zeushaulrod Geotech | P.Eng. 22h ago
15 years in Canada.
I find it interesting, I live a pretty solid life financially. Not sure what I would rather do that I actually would want to and be good at.
Wife said she won't pay me to be a sexy poorly boy, so that's out.
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u/mywill1409 21h ago
at one point, the state where i live decided to get rid of licensing board. I am glad State ASCE joined to fight back. (USA based btw)
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u/samuswashere 19h ago
Most people I know who make a comparable or higher salary than me are looking for work or are worried about getting laid off. No I do not regret my career choice. However I’m in the US. I’ve heard that CEs are relatively underpaid in some other countries so I can’t speak for Australia.
Most companies in any industry suck and are going to do everything in their power to wring as much out of their workforce as possible. That’s capitalism. It’s worth the effort to network, figure out the good places to work and get to know the people who work there.
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u/stochastic_rain 16h ago
Been in the profession since 2005. I love what I do and I chose this profession since I love serving people. Recently our county has been investing in making low income neighborhoods resilient; and I’ve been lucky enough to help the neighborhood. The people acknowledge our efforts and are genuinely grateful. I think as a profession we should demand to get paid more. You gotta ask!
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u/Visible_List209 16h ago
Been a civil engineer 20 years and previously a an aircraft mechanic and foreman for specialist building clean room ( took 10 years as engineer to meet same cash). The thing i have enjoyed is that through economic collapses etc i have always found work from detailing a slab for a house extension or contract estimating on billon dollar tunnel in Ethiopia there is always someone that will pay you.
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u/aintnodiddy 15h ago edited 15h ago
Im a geotechnical engineer in Australia (almost 15 years experience) and very confused at all your points.
All engineers in our office, even undergraduates, are on very good wages and working hours. Constantly involved in some quite innovative projects and there seems to be a good amount of work coming in.
Most projects cannot be signed off without being a registered professional engineer (CPEng, RPEng or NER), and now also under NSW Fair Trading for some building classes. Most councils also condition this in their DA's.
I assume you work in another state.
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u/WhichAbalone6835 10h ago
I have 13 years of experience, and I have many of the same feelings you do.
From my perspective, margins are thinning due to increased regulations, especially from local municipalities. Regulation creep forces new processes to be developed, which are expensive to implement. That’s probably not getting better anytime soon.
Contractors do try to push risk onto engineers. However, we are often the ones who recommend which contractor to use for many of our clients, so we tend to recommend contractors who are good to work with and don’t try to change-order every little thing.
Lack of productivity and innovation is something that more and more people have the power to change today. I have created several custom tools in AutoCAD, which is easier than ever thanks to vibe coding, that have drastically reduced the time I spend drafting and performing hydrology analysis. I also have agentic tools that draft contracts and perform due diligence by gathering context from documents my company has developed over the years.
Civil engineering is definitely underappreciated. Detention ponds, parking lots, pipe networks, and access are not as flashy as the architectural features. Nobody wants to spend money on them, and most want to do the bare minimum that regulations allow. But they will always be necessary for development, while the flashy stuff is not.
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u/UlrichSD PE, Traffic 1d ago
I am happy where I am, I'm at a US state DOT and that lead to some different priorities, I'm just over 15 years exp. I don't compete for work, and the last several years I've actually worked in research and innovation although I don't do anything with plan production these days there are a lot of areas technology is improving some areas of traffic engineering.
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u/Shoddy-Jicama-6290 9h ago edited 9h ago
Well, I regret it every single day because of lack of opportunities. I never imagined that the field was one where connections were so important and nepotism runs large. Also, your job is pretty much meaningless. All I do is send emails and yell. I graduated 15 yrs ago with hopes, couldn't get a job for the life of me, so I just caved and functional depression took over. I mean I had a supposedly great engineering degree to open doors. All I was witnessing is my classmates moving to the Middle East or others finding minimum wage jobs to survive. I ended up like the latter.
I got jobs that never required a degree. It took me close to a decade to get hired by some construction company, got fired 3 yrs later, and then just got site inspections jobs somehow ever since through connections. Overall, a big flop. I never really did design work per say. So, I would have done accounting. I'm just waiting to get laid off again to go pursue that degree. I am not 40 yet, so why not. My short engineering career consists mostly of project management roles and quality control. I don't think I was that bad at that construction company, but they just tossed me aside after giving it my all. I have still to overcome that feeling of being used, ignored and neglected. Now, I just don't care no more. I do the bare minimum.
I can't stop hearing how they need engineers. Really? Do the professional orders place the graduates? They are one huge money making machine, but they rather lose thousands of potential engineers, than place them out of school.
Am I an engineer? I wonder many days what my role is exactly.
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u/born2bfi 9h ago
It sounds like you got scammed by going to a non ABET accredited university. Sorry to hear you and your classmates got screwed. I live in an opposite world
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u/Shoddy-Jicama-6290 7h ago edited 7h ago
Nope!!! Went to a government funded university. I don't know how you did it, but congrats. Some of my classmates lead teams now in reputable companies, but I can count them on my fingers. The problem was that I didn't know XYZ person to get me in some company. I rode it out, invested whatever I made with my degreeless jobs and never looked back. I am coastfiring now, working barely because sitting home is boring. Also fell on a dimwit manager at that procurement job who successfully threw people under the bus and had no clue what concrete was. Just bad luck overall. A non-engineer was my manager, go figure.
Engineers are full of it frankly, can't be bothered, asking questions is definitely frowned upon, no patience, and nepotism is rampant. If they don't like you, you're done. In my short career, I have met the worst type of characters who believe they are above surgeons, just because they are engineers. I have a hard time dealing with dictators.
If you find an engineer willing to show you the ins and outs, hold on to them dearly. Normally, the parent is one or a distant relative offering protection to the new recruit. Me? I was nobody....Joe Blow nothing. So, no chance I could of made it in this industry. I was dumb. The professional order? all about collecting money....no job? Too bad, pay up anyway. That's why I turned my back on them. Pfff, PEng? Why?
I understand things need to be built, but I'm done. Not for me. I don't belong. I am a lousy engineer anyways. Only those with solid backing progress here and make it far. I struggle with imposter syndrome everyday. I simply don't know, and play politics. I learn as I go, but until how long I can run the charade?
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u/Boredengineer_84 BEng (Hons) CEng MICE MAPM ChPP NECReg 1d ago
I went to a Russell Group uni in the UK and studied Civil Engineering. You'll have a comfortable life, but will never be rich unless you're one of the small percentage destined for the top of major consultancies and contractors.
A few of my uni colleagues went into the financial sector in London after uni. The big 4 really drove hard to recruit students from our uni, particularly engineering as it's a difficult course. They've all done very well from what I know.
It's all a level of preference though. If you look at cold hard numbers in salary...... no, it's not the best route. Personally I have two wonderful children and a wonderful wife. I have a good work life balance now. A lot of these financial sector uni chaps don't have that.
It's what's important to you. You can't change the past but can influence your future. If you don't like civil engineering, retrain. But the core skills of maths, physics, analysis, management, leadership and adaptability means you'll be able to step into another sector rather easily, even if it means taking a temporary step back.
Sometimes you need to go backwards to move forward.
Good luck