5 Tips to Advance Your Civil Engineering Career - Raise - find a more meaningful working experience (2024)

• By Scott Russell Dempster

1. Choose Roles that Suit Your Interests

Are you better with abstract details or hands-on tasks? Do you work better on a site or in an office? Do you see yourself more as a manager or as a designer?
Each of these questions will help you identify where your interests lie. You may already know whether you want to pursue a consultancy or a contracting job, but you still have more decisions to make. A civil engineering career can involve designing or implementing runway modifications for airports, converting buildings to meet sustainability requirements or redesigning a highway to reduce traffic. You need to specialize in one of these areas, so you should make this decision based on your overall interests. Don’t settle for a position in non-sustainable energy if your heart lies with environmental consulting.

2. Demonstrate Your Soft Skills

Your qualifications will obviously affect your civil engineering career path, but these factors don’t guarantee professional success. While your experience may help you land a job, you’ll need to hone your soft skills if you want to thrive.
Engineering isn’t just about managing the logistics of infrastructure. You’ll also need to manage limited time and resources, communicate with team members and convey information clearly in reports and presentations. As a result, you should develop your organization, communication, and leadership abilities if you want to achieve long-term success.

3. Earn Extra Certifications

Attaining your engineering license is definitely a top priority, but what do you do after you’ve achieved this goal? Practices change relatively rapidly, so a technique that was innovative when you started out may become passé within a few years.
That’s why it’s so important to earn additional certifications. As engineering gets more competitive, you need to broaden your skills to stand out. Hiring managers look for workers who hold valuable certificates because these credentials show a worker’s initiative and versatility. If you want to keep up with an ever-changing industry, you should seriously think about seeking further certification.

4. Consider Pursuing a Master’s Degree

While most engineers only complete a bachelor’s degree, further education may help you advance your civil engineering career. A master’s degree tells hiring managers that you can handle extra responsibilities and solve difficult problems. Therefore, these qualifications can help your career, even if you’re not seeking a research or teaching position.

5. Remember: Experience Is Important

A degree is no longer enough to secure a promising position. You need proven experience if you want to gain a foothold in your industry. If you can’t build your resume through internships, you may want to consider working with a professional recruiter. These agencies can help you gain the practical knowledge you need to enter the industry.

To read more on this topic check out these blogs:

Will certifications get me a job – or do they matter?

Engineering Recruiters Can Help Advance Your Civil Engineering Career

Nuclear Attraction: 4 Ways to See If a Career in Nuclear Could Be For You