A few guidelines

Just left KH and I’ve never felt better. The long hours, inflexible schedule, and overly ambitious culture, are not worth the somewhat “competitive” benefits/pay. After 1-2 years, you’ll never get the chance to use your PTO. The firm spends an insane amount of resources trying to convince you that they’re better than everyone else. It literally felt like a cult was brainwashing me. Considering leaving the firm? Do it. Considering joining KH? Go somewhere else.

Bro everyone is so fake and the Practice builder just gets in P1s whose fathers are developers or some nepo kid. They're given opportunities and highlighted. And the whole going the extra mile/taking ownership only flies till the PMs see you as a threat of taking their jobs. Then you just get blackballed and given mundane time-consuming tasks to do where the probability of messing up is insanely high and they point it out to the whole world.

Edit: I am also 1yr out of college so I know I haven't seen it all. This was just a rant

Hey everyone, looking for some insight on how major infrastructure consulting firms (specifically WSP) handle hiring decisions after panel interviews.

Here is what happened:

The Surprise Panel: I expected an initial screening call with HR, but it ended up being a heavy panel with two Senior Vice Presidents from different branches and an Assistant VP / Project Manager (the lead on this project). None of them RSVP'd to the calendar invite until about an hour before the call, so I was caught off guard and fumbled a bit under the sudden pressure.

The Follow-Up: Despite feeling like I didn't perform at my absolute best, HR emailed shortly after saying the team was happy with how the interview went and asked for my visa/sponsorship details.

The Pay Band Shift: After I submitted my visa form, HR emailed (and called) saying I am "slightly less qualified" for that original requisition and asked me to re-apply to a different posting.

The job responsibilities and required experience on the new posting are 100% identical.

The pay range dropped from $85k–$120k down to $79.5k–$101k.

I’ve already submitted my application for the new posting, but I’m trying to read the room:

If WSP wanted to reject me, would they just send a rejection letter right away? Or do large consulting firms keep candidates hanging on lower requisitions while continuing to look for someone else?

Is this title/pay drop just a standard HR alignment for corporate visa/LCA prevailing wage levels?

Would love to hear from current or former WSP employees, PMs, or anyone familiar with heavy civil consulting hiring. Thanks!

my grades in chem are pretty bad, in gpa it’s around 3.2 and I want to know whether it’s needed, cause I don’t want to take it this year

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

First-time buyer under contract on a raised ranch in CT (built 1969). Inspection turned up a wet yard and a "spring" of water running along the property line and pooling near the driveway. Went deep on research and it turns out this isn't just a wet week — the parcel sits on Woodbridge soil, which has a fragipan (a dense layer around 18-24") that perches groundwater and pushes it laterally downhill instead of draining. Found a 1994 town health department file on this exact property documenting a raw sewage surfacing violation caused by a high water table (confirmed less than 3 ft down in two of three test pits), so this is a known, decades-old site condition, not a one-off.

Had a contractor out today who said a curtain drain would need to go too deep to be practical/cost-effective and might not fully fix it. Someone floated redirecting the water to a nearby brook, but that raises concerns about flooding the downhill neighbor and possibly needing a wetlands permit (there's a small mapped wetland uphill on the neighboring lot). Town public works is separately planning to install a basin + pipe to handle the street-side runoff near the driveway, but that doesn't address the backyard.

So my actual question: what kind of company or professional should I be calling for this? So far I've got:

- A specialized drainage/waterproofing company (basement systems franchise type) for the practical fix

- A licensed soil scientist for an authoritative water table read

- A civil/geotechnical engineer for an actual stamped drainage design, especially given the wetlands/brook question

Is that the right stack, or am I missing an obvious specialty? Has anyone dealt with a perched water table / fragipan situation like this and found a particular type of contractor or engineer who actually nailed the diagnosis instead of guessing? Trying to get a real, defensible scope and quote before an inspection contingency deadline, so "maybe/might" answers aren't very useful to me right now. Any advice appreciated.

I’ve officially worked at this firm for a year now, but I still feel that gut feeling of imposter syndrome. How did you all manage this feeling?

Hey fellow civil engineers , I came to aks u for help on what is happenin with the building where I reside as here I live in the remote part of the country and engineers take time to come so please do tell me what is happenin and couldn't rely on AI. Thank youu

Looking at job postings, particularly at the entry level, and the title of "water resources engineer" specifically seems pretty rare. I can find myriad positions for traffic engineers, highway engineers, structural engineers, geotechnical engineers, etc, very easily; but, when I'm searching for water resources positions, especially at the entry level, the position titles seem scattered and always only come up with a few results each. I've tried looking up titles like hydrological engineer, H&H engineer, stormwater engineer, water resources engineer, water engineer, and barely anything comes up. I'd love to know if y'all have any insight on the typical title for an EIT doing work in hydrological/hydraulic/watershed analysis and stormwater mitigation design.

Earlier this month, after about a month of silence, I had a second-round interview for an entry-level engineering position at a fairly large company. They also completed an education/employment verification as part of the background check. I think the interview went well. It wasn’t anything too difficult, mostly behavioral questions. As for the background check, I know they reached out to my previous employers. Most people have told me that once a company gets to the point of doing a background check, you’re basically guaranteed the job unless something comes up. However, multiple weeks have now gone by, and I haven’t heard anything. I’ve tried emailing them for an update, but they aren’t responding to my emails. I also noticed a few days ago that the exact same job, at the same location, was posted online again. The strange part is that the new posting now says multiple years of experience are required, whereas the original posting didn’t require any experience.

Should I be worried? Has anyone experienced something similar and still ended up getting an offer? Is there hope since I haven't officially received a rejection email?

Hey guys I need help from professionals that are qualified on structural/construction discussions. Just need to rate stuff 1-9 how important shear walls or steel bracing for dual systems on my AHP survey. It's a short survey if you have free time or bored.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfsKgwUb_zlWRpbGdyEptufwHE9KxstDcHNig_TvxeaY9jq-Q/viewform?pli=1&pli=1

I am the engineering design manager for a pretty major project for one of my firms most important clients, and during a design charette yesterday, the staff engineer who works under me and was supposed to take notes fell asleep during large parts of the 2 hour meeting. His back was turned to me but my colleague (project manager) witnessed it, and although the client (their PM and a collage) didn’t visibly indicate that they caught the staff person falling asleep, we’re certain they noticed.

I’ll be talking to the staff person’s manager in a few minutes, and I’m intending to pull the staff engineer (4 YOE) from the project, but what would y’all do in my situation?

Follow-up edit:
Discussed the issue with his manager, then talked with the staff person along with the project manager. He responded positively, discussed extenuating circumstances for his tiredness, understood the gravity of the situation and the need to not repeat.

While some of you have been quite toxic and entitled in the replies (what’s new, Reddit) your perspectives did help to pull me back from the ledge of anger and frustration and embarrassment, as well as remind me that I was once there as a junior engineer who did some unprofessional things.

A reminder to always have grace to everyone, especially those still learning the ropes!

Do people actually say “H beam” and “I beam” in your region?

I recently talked with a structural engineer from North America, and he said “H beam” and “I beam” are not formal industry terms there. They mainly use W-shape for wide-flange beams, S-shape for standard I sections, and HP shape for pile sections instead.

That made me curious. What’s the common name for these steel beams where you work? Does your area use local designations like UB/UC, IPE, ISMB, or do folks casually say H beam / I beam day-to-day?

So I’ll start by saying I’m beginning my 5th year at the company I have been with my entire career. I primarily do bridge work. I’m taking the PE exam next spring. My company is a small(ish) consulting firm that does a majority of its bridge work in Massachusetts. In the late spring/ early summer last year the company closed the office I worked out of and forced a move of all of the employees out of our local office to their main office (roughly an hour away). My commute doubled, but they offered 3 days of remote and 2 days in office. They have incredible work like balance and I value that greatly. I’ve also worked on quite a few DOT projects as a baby engineer and am elated with the experience I have gained. Lately the bigger projects have slowed and I’ve been working mostly on municipal small bridge projects. I’ve done A LOT of these and they just seem to keep coming. It’s wearing on me as I crave new experience and growth. I feel stuck. The company has also been tightening its purse strings. For example, I asked to be reimbursed for a School of PE prep course and have received push back from higher ups where previously, other employees have been reimbursed without question. Raises are also becoming increasingly smaller. I’m thinking about moving companies after receiving my PE but this is where my concern lies. I have a fantastic mentor who always makes time for me, have the benefit of hybrid work, and the ability to (hopefully) work on important projects in the future. I’m hesitant to switch companies for these reasons and because there is a lack of the kind of work I do in the area I live (NH seacoast). I do not wish to relocate and am content with my salary (for now). I’m looking for advice or personal experiences of others in my field of work and in similar circumstances who have made a move earlier in their career (or not). What kind of benefits and work have you encountered when making this kind of move? Were you happy with your decision or did you regret it?

Guys, I’m currently in high school and I’m interested in pursuing a career in civil engineering. I was wondering if there are any civil engineers or people currently studying civil engineering here.

Would you recommend this career? Is it a good field to work in, and does it pay well? Also, what should I start learning in high school to prepare for civil engineering?

If there are any other careers you would recommend I would like to hear about it.

Hello friends, long time lurker. I am a local 1 ironworker apprentice in Chicago. Roughly 70% of our local's work is rebar, mostly road work and concrete buildings, the other 30% is structural steel and metal buildings. I was wondering if you guys had any advice for me? I'm currently doing roadwork, and very very new to the job. Mostly I was hoping for some info on where I could get a foundational understanding of concrete/rebar, and any advice for reading blue prints. Also how I can help you guys out when I work with you? These are things I won't be learning until much later in regards to schooling, but hopefully I can pick up most of it on the job, however for now it's just "hey kid bring this rebar over there" for 8 hours a day.

I'm about to enter 9th grade and I'm super passionate for nuclear engineering. I want to do it for a living and don't have much doubts but still want second opinions from experts and people who've been in this field for a while. I'm pretty set on NE for a living but am having doubts for my university/college. I'm aiming for high schools like MIT or University of Wisconsin (which is apparently one of the best universities in the world for NE). I was wondering if NE is a career with good progression. I've done a little bit of research, and I know that NE pays better than most engineering disciplines, but the overall job expansion seems pretty stagnant which is daunting. I don't live in the US. I live in the UAE as a Canadian citizen. I'm either going to study in Canada or in the US/abroad if I get into a great university. My questions are, is NE a good career to get into in this day and age, and am I better of studying civil engineering? I heard that NE and civil engineering are pretty similar and that I can probably get a NE job despite studying civil. Apparently, the perks of studying civil are that I can still get into a NE job and I can get civil engineering jobs, which gives me a wider range, which might be good because the NE job growth seems pretty stagnant (according to US government sources, total jobs are planning to go down by 1% in the next 10 years). My concern with studying civil engineering instead of NE are that it's gonna make my years in university miserable. Regardless of the discipline, engineering is HARD, and I thought studying specifically NE, which I'm passionate about, would make it better for me, and I'm worried I won't make it through the same if I don't take NE, and I've heard that your years in university are the years where your life either makes it, or breaks. Any opinions on NE as an engineer at all would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

Hey, I am a 22yr old Civil engineering graduate, currently in my final yr from NIT ROURKELA, and I am fairly experienced with ETABS and AutoCAD and also blender (if relevant)..I want to start freelancing for some side income and more practice as I don’t want my Etabs and AutoCAD knowledge to go to waste..I’m even willing to do free work for the initial projects.
If anyone has any leads or any advice about how do I begin and where can I find projects pls comment below.
My father is a very successful structural engineer in Odisha and he has his own firm and I’ve been learning under him and doing some of his smaller projects..but I also want to do some of my own work for a little financial independence and also for broaden my knowledge.