Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would like to know if there are engineering graduates out there having difficulty with the job market. If anyone out there had to leave the country to find employment, are there any specific countries they successfully found employment. Thank you.
What kind of Civil do you want to do?
What types of jobs have you been applying to, specifically?
Since, I only have a bachelors degree, I have been applying to everything except structural and geotechnical, since those disciplines requires a masters degree.
Since, I only have a bachelors degree, I have been applying to everything except structural and geotechnical, since those disciplines requires a masters degree.
I think right now it is easiest to get a job in Environmental entry level, because the training isn't a large curve, while in, say Structural, it is huge and requires a ton of training.
If you don't have a preference, I would try that.
Land Development which is the bulk of Civil jobs isn't doing that great right now. Hopefully it will rebound.
Just remember, no matter which profession you bring up: nurse, teacher, electrical engineer, pharmacist, somebody is going to be out there saying there are no jobs out there. I know because I have researched all of those jobs.
Yes, someone will always have difficulty finding a job. Some professions are "better" than others in terms of employment and compensation. Risk is not correlated with reward, from what I have seen. I have been applying to quite a few, but there is such a glut.
What Obama Said Today at Boeing | Slog
President Obama:
"But the tide is turning. The tide is beginning to turn our way. Over the last 23 months, businesses have created 3.7 million new jobs, and American manufacturers are hiring for the first time since. "
If this quote is correct, that means that 160,000 were created per month.
Unfortunately the info from this site: Fast Facts
The table shows that in 2009-10: 1,600,000 bachelor's, 611,000 master's, and 140,000 Doctor's degrees were awarded.
This would indicate a creation of 195,000 post-secondary education degrees awarded per "month", in a sense. I would also expect many of these people will try to enter the job market, but unfortunately, the job market cannot absorb all those college graduates (This does not include high school graduates/dropouts, also vying for those jobs).
There are going to be people like myself, that would have been better off not going to college or dare I say dropping out of high school?
I wish the government could give employers some form of tax credit for hiring people without college or high school degrees. Perhaps grant less funding of public education at the post-secondary level, to offset that tax losses.
Some of these colleges are growing bigger, with their dorms, healthcare centers, etc. The universities creating these types of services, they take away business from private companies that would be earning incomes and paying taxes. From what I understand universities don't pay taxes.
I'm not a civil engineer but I work in construction with engineers all the time. NYC is booming with construction work right now, which also means plenty of work for engineers and architects. Sounds like you're in the west coast, but doesn't hurt to apply in NYC. You can also work for a construction company with your degree, which makes just as much or more than engineers. Unless you're dead set on being an engineer.
I'm interested in employment throughout the country, even outside. I also created a thread in the Canada section to ask if they are any Americans that found employment in Canada (They would probably have to go through a lot of tape).
Do you know the names of the specific companies in New York City that I can apply to?
Off the top of my head, Langan Engineering seem to be everywhere. They are the most popular geotechnical engineering consultant right now. They hire a lot of people, even geologists. Although most of the people there are either civil or environmental majors.
WSP engineering is also pretty popular. They are a big international corporation and seem busy. The thing with NYC is that there are so many local engineering firms, most I haven't even heard of. Just do a standard search for NYC engineering jobs.
I'm interested in employment throughout the country, even outside. I also created a thread in the Canada section to ask if they are any Americans that found employment in Canada (They would probably have to go through a lot of tape).
Engineering is very regulated in Canada. Civil engineering is probably the most strict of them all.
Employers will want candidates that are either already licensed, or at least meet the province's engineering organizations education requirement
Example of Ontario's requirement here (and it sounds like a pain since you did not go to a Canadian school): Academic Requirements
Civil Engineering has been the easiest engineering program to get into at Canadian universities since before I went to school (20 years ago) because it's the least stable/lower paying/lower demand. That's not to say it's not as difficult as other engineering discipline, there's just less demand.
Yes, variables such as stability,pay, and demand seem somewhat correlated. What about electrical engineering, computer science degrees and the job market for those profession, I thought they were the least stable in Canada. There were a lot of layoffs at Nortel from the Dot-com bubble. Have those people recovered? I heard many of them are underemployed and not working in the profession. I don't know too much about the Canadian economy. Too be honest I don't know of any tech company besides Nortel and Research in Motion (Another company facing financial trouble). I know Canada has a lot of oil/gas & mining companies and they are well known throughout the world.
I looked at some of the credentials of civil engineers in Canada. Seems like the designation of EIT, PE, is also used up there. I would venture to guess that the exam is "equivalent"? You are familiar with the Michael Lindeburg manuals used in preparation for the license exams, etc?
Yes, someone will always have difficulty finding a job. Some professions are "better" than others in terms of employment and compensation. Risk is not correlated with reward, from what I have seen. I have been applying to quite a few, but there is such a glut.
What Obama Said Today at Boeing | Slog
President Obama:
"But the tide is turning. The tide is beginning to turn our way. Over the last 23 months, businesses have created 3.7 million new jobs, and American manufacturers are hiring for the first time since. "
If this quote is correct, that means that 160,000 were created per month.
Seems to me you're not really interested in being a Civil Engineer.
You just want a job where you can find a job and keep a job. Sometimes I think that way too.
If that's the case, then you should have to gone to medical school. That's the only way to avoid the possibility of long unemployment and layoffs. Maybe dentistry. Maybe nursing. Not much else is immune to it. Yes, some fields and majors are better than others. But if you turn 180 degrees now, will it be worth it? Who knows?
Is Electrical Engineering better? Maybe. I see a lot more listings for it, but it is also a much more popular degree. Is it worth going back to school for another 3 years to get that degree? The trend for EEs is supposed to go south.
Is it worth it to do something you have absolutely zero interest in just for the sake of job security? I dunno.
We're really all in the same boat.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
