Discussion Thread

  • 1.  Becoming a Well Rounded Civil Engineering Intern Candidate

    Posted 12-06-2019 08:11 AM
    Hello everyone! I'm a Junior Civil Engineering major that attends NJIT. I'm commencing the end of my 5th semester in college, and time couldn't be flying faster: the beginning of the semester felt like it happened last week, the end of the semester is in a couple of weeks, and before I know it, i'll be out in the workforce in a little under 2 full years! (That's the goal)

    My great group of friends have gained internship experience already, and I'm the one who didn't put the effort in during sophomore year to get one. However, I feel more motivated than ever to work on getting that internship. However, I don't feel confident in my technical background. I had a couple of classes of Civil 3D, Revit, and now VISSIM. Projects were done using these programs and I've got great grades from these courses, but I know these inteoductory courses only scratch the surface of the softwares' full potential. I feel like I don't know these programs well enough to get an internship.

    Also, due to my work background, (i'm a manager for a retailer that I worked up to from being a cashier) I haven't been putting enough time into my classes so my GPA is just above a 3.0. It has given me managerial and management experience, as well as social customer experiences, but I don't know if they're good enough. 

    Are there any general things employers really look for in Civil Engineering students for internship positions? I'm really looking forward to using my free time over the winter break to work on skills to help me prepare me for interviews, and hopefully future internships, but I want to stand out and be an impactful intern. 

    I hope I was able to get my idea through clearly. Thank you!

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    Hugo Dos Santos S.M.ASCE
    B.S. Civil Engineering, NJIT 2021
    Union NJ
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  • 2.  RE: Becoming a Well Rounded Civil Engineering Intern Candidate

    Posted 12-07-2019 09:12 AM
    In my company interns are all purpose players. They will do some design work, some field engineering, some surveying.  This exercise to meant to give the intern a look at what the different options there are in civil engineering and also give the company a look at what you do well and what you need more practice with. Not all of civil engineering is CAD. I had zero experience with CAD at the time of my graduation. My company made me a field engineer where you don't need to know CAD and when I was available I was given CAD tasks that gave me the opportunity the learn the program.  Something employers are looking for is people willing to work out in the field. If you're willing to work in the field I would let the interviewer know that Getting field experience, gaining knowledge in how things are built is a great complement to design.  As you build your construction knowledge you can also work on your CAD skills. I have worked on designs that are one page with a few polilines and some annotations to 1600 page plan sets. There is plenty of variability to build your skills. The more you're wiling to do, the more you know, the more valuable you will be to potential employers.

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    Dustin Leduc A.M.ASCE
    Field Engineer
    Sambatek
    Shakopee MN
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    Original Message


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